


Sanctuary, Secrets, Sacrifice

by Kayemen22



Series: Home, Heart, Hero [5]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Action & Romance, Arrowcave (Arrow TV 2012), Bruce Wayne is Batman, DC Comics References, Fantasy, Original Character(s), Superman Played by Henry Cavill, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 480,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23164657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayemen22/pseuds/Kayemen22
Summary: Katie and Oliver embark on a new journey together. One neither is sure they're ready for, but will face together. There was no time for mad men with neat magic tricks or secrets. How can two heroes find time to bring a life in this world while battling the criminals bold enough to come to their city? Love will be their greatest weapon...until that love is tested. Will they survive?
Relationships: Felicity Smoak/Bruce Wayne, Oliver Queen/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Home, Heart, Hero [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1499735
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Reality VS Fantasy

**Chapter 1**

**Reality VS Fantasy**

_"We don't create a fantasy world to escape reality. We create it to be able to stay."_

_-Lynda Barry_

* * *

Fantasy is defined as " _the faculty or activity of imagining things, especially things that are impossible or improbable."_ A lot of people fall victim to fantasy, confusing it with reality which can sometimes be easy to do.

In a quiet neighborhood, in a beautiful house lived two former heroes who gave up the life that seemed to bring just as much pain as happiness. They realized that a life of crime fighting was probably no place for a child, that neither really expected to somehow take over their lives in such little time. They were now just regular people, and they were actually liking it.

Oliver was running. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and Oliver couldn't waste the chance for a nice run around the neighborhood. He smiled, and waved at his neighbors as he passed them. Surprisingly everyone they'd met were really nice, which made settling in and making friends really easy. After a couple of blocks, Oliver finally returned home, heading straight for the kitchen to grab some water. What he didn't expect was there to be someone who didn't live there to already be nosing around the refrigerator.

"You're not my girlfriend." Oliver said and the curly haired woman nearly jumped out of her skin before turning to the man.

"No, I'm not." the woman sighed before closing the fridge and turning to the man. "Your girlfriend is in the exact same spot, looking at the exact same unmoving walls. And I got hungry, but you two need food." the woman looked over to the clock and sighed. "I have a lecture I should be heading over to." she turned back to Oliver. "Tell your baby mama to make up her mind already." the woman laughed as she walked over, grabbing her bag before heading for the door.

"Nice to see you too Debra." Oliver said with a wave as the woman left. He walked over to the fridge, noticing that she was right and that they did need to head to the market. He grabbed a bottle of water before heading upstairs and going to the room he knows he'll find the woman. The moment he peeks inside, he can't even stop the smile on his lips at the sight of the woman sitting on the floor in her paint stained overalls. Her eyes are looking between the walls, all with a couple of streaks of yellow paint.

"Debra is gone." Oliver spoke from the hallway. "I guess she didn't think helping you paint in here would be a week long job."

"I just want to choose the right color." Katie said.

"They're all yellow." Oliver stated, and Katie turned a glare to the man. "I'm sure whatever color you paint the room, our daughter will love it." Katie simply shook her head before turning back around to the walls. "Twinkie, we can't start moving the furniture in until it's painted. We have to pick a color."

"Fine!" the said glancing around at the walls. She tilted her head slightly before giving a nod. "Lemon twist. That's the color."

"Great, I will call the hardware store and see if they have any in stock, and hopefully I can pick it up tomorrow morning." Oliver gave a smile about to turn, but stopped. "Why aren't you leaving?"

"I like to sit in here." Katie replied not glancing over to the man. He tilted his head, before chuckling as he walked over.

"Why do I get the feeling you've been sitting here for so long because you can't get up without help." he stood above her and she glared up to the man.

"I will never admit that Mr. Queen." the woman replied taking the man's extended hands, and letting him help her to her feet. "How was your run?"

"Great." the man replied placing a kiss to the woman's lips. "I'm getting used to running without chasing someone."

"And I like you less bruised and battered." the woman slides a hand along Oliver's cheek. He once again leaned in capturing her lips. "And freshly showered. I love you all clean, and freshly showered." she muttered against his lips with a laugh.

"You mean you don't like when I'm all sweaty?" Oliver asked, bringing his arms around the woman, making her squirm. "You know for some reason I thought you did."

"And you say I'm not funny." Katie replied, as she unzipped the man's hoodie. "So I called Speedy again today."

"How'd that go?" Oliver asked tugging off the hoodie.

"Well she answered. Probably said five words maximum before we ended the call." Katie says with a shake of her head. "I knew she was going to take it hard, but I didn't know it would take this long. I mean Felicity got over it in like two weeks."

"Look, she just needs some more time." Oliver says placing another kiss to Katie's cheek. "I mean at some point she's going to want to see her niece, and that means she will have to speak to us."

"So we're probably going to have to wait until the birth of our child to speak to her?" Katie asked and Oliver shrugged.

"I promise Thea won't be mad forever. Right now I'm going shower, then call the hardware store and then we can head to the market."

"Ugh, we're leaving?" she asked as she followed the man to the bedroom. "Why? I don't want to put on real clothes."

"We need food, plus I have to pick some things up for brunch tomorrow." Oliver recounted as he walked into the bedroom. "So yes you have to put on real clothes!"

"Will I have to cook anything for this brunch?!" Katie called.

"We actually like the Hoffman's!" Oliver replied and Katie couldn't help but laugh. "I will do the cooking, unless you want to break out your world famous almost edible pancakes."

"You're still not funny!"

Oliver and Katie's new reality consisted of normal trips to the market. Katie held a basket on her arm as she mulled down the aisles glancing at the fruits and vegetables. She usually only grabbed things she wanted to eat right away, and would let Oliver choose whatever he was going to use for their meals. She stopped and glanced over to see Oliver speaking with one of the vendors and she just shook her head. He'd been on a health food kick since he was cooking for her. Making sure everything he cooked was fresh, and was grown without pesticides. He'd been reading a lot about the joys of pregnancy, and making sure anything that went into her body wouldn't somehow hurt the baby.

Suddenly an instinct Katie hadn't felt in a while kicked in. She felt eyes on her. She lifted her head, turning slightly to the other faces in the market trying to spot anyone out of place. There was a man, holding up a melon with his phone to his ear. He glanced over to her for only a second before putting the fruit down and turning and walking for the door.

"Hey." Oliver spoke suddenly beside her. "Everything alright?" he asked and Katie turned to him wondering what she should say. The truth was she didn't know if anything was truly wrong, and she didn't want some weird moment of paranoia to tear them from the little piece of normalcy they had carved out here.

"Yeah, I was looking for peaches, but I couldn't find them." Katie replied and Oliver quirked a brow. "What?"

"You're standing in front of the peaches." Oliver said and Katie turned and as the man said, there they were. She laughed and just shrugged before grabbing a couple. "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, pregnancy brain I guess." the woman replied before nudging her head to the clerk. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yeah." Oliver replied taking the basket from the woman and heading toward the front to pay. Katie stood beside Oliver as he paid for their food, when a flyer caught her eye. "Hey-" Oliver appeared behind her. "What's that?"

"Looks like there's a carnival tonight." Katie replied reading the flyer. "All proceeds are going to the St Agnes Orphanage. That's nice." she turned to Oliver with a smile. "What do you think? Wanna take me out on a date Mr. Queen?" Oliver smiled turning back to the flyer. He wasn't a big fan of crowds. There was always too much risk of someone getting too close to them.

"I don't know—" he started, as he turned to Katie who stared at him with those brown eyes that got him all the time. "I'm going to be a push over dad." Katie laughed with a shake of her head. "Alright, this could be fun."

"Yeah, we can see who can win the most prizes." Katie said as she headed for the door. Oliver let out a sigh, because he knew how competitive the woman could be.

That night Oliver and Katie strolled hand in hand down the aisles of the brightly lit carnival. Katie glanced over to Oliver who had a bit of a frown on his face. They'd actually played a couple of games, and Katie actually was the first to win between the two of them. Unfortunately it was a game of balloon darts. She only popped one more than he did, winning her the game.

"Maybe your aim is a little off." she teased, trying not to laugh.

"Twinkie-" she laughed as the man shook his head. "That game was rigged."

"Oliver all of these games are rigged. That's how they make money. I beat the system and won you a very adorable lion that you still have to name." Oliver looked down to the stuffed toy in his hand. "How about Liver?" he turned a look to her. "Liver the lion." the woman just laughed.

"I am going to win you something." Oliver declared staking out the booths for the right one. Katie forgot how competitive the man could get sometimes. "We are not leaving this carnival until I win you something."

"Or I win you something else. I mean I'm obviously better at the games than you are and-" another glare came her way, and she couldn't stop laughing. "Well if you're this determined, then I'm going to need something to snack on."

"No more hotdogs, Twinkie." the man said, still keeping his eyes on the booths. "You had three."

"I would appreciate if you didn't count what I eat and then throw the number in my face."

"I'm just saying they're not good for the baby. Dr. Frances says-" Dr. Frances was the author of one of the baby books Oliver has read and just loves to quote. Katie usually tunes him out when he does.

"Well Dr. Robins says screw Dr. Frances, and let her eat her hotdog." Katie replied with a sweet smile. "And I don't even want a hot dog, I wanted cotton candy."

"That's a lot of sugar Twinkie-"

"You know Dr. Queen, I'm going to go get my own cotton candy." the woman stalked off toward the vendor and Oliver sighed before following behind her.

"Oh I know that look." a voice spoke, and Oliver looked up to see a familiar couple. "You started doing that thing where you recount what she eats, didn't you? I told you not to do that dude. Pregnant ladies get crazy."

"Are you saying I was crazy, Brad?"

"No, I'm just speaking in general."

"Debra, Brad. I think this is the part I remind you that we're in public." Oliver said and the couple turned back to the man with a smile. Oliver and Katie met Debra and Brad the first week of moving into the house. They were nice people, funny, kind of the cool parents in their neighborhood.

"Thanks." Brad said before looking down to the stuffed lion in Oliver's hand. "Did you win that for the future missus-" Debra slapped the man's chest just as Katie walked over, taking a bite out of her cotton candy. "Oh, hey Katie."

"Hey, I didn't know you two were coming here."

"It was spur of the moment. We got a babysitter and couldn't waste another evening going to that stupid bar." Debra said turning a look to her husband.

"You say stupid, I say a great entertainment establishment." Brad replied turning a smile to his wife. The man turned back to the couple. "So what's good here? I've been forced to win as many prizes as possible for this woman."

"I just said if you love me, I won't leave here empty handed." Debra replied and her husband shook his head before turning back to Oliver. "Where did you win the lion?"

"He didn't." Katie chuckled and both Debra and Brad looked from Katie to Oliver, attempting and failing to hold in their laughter.

"Laugh it up. I am going to win something." Oliver replied before grabbing Katie's hand and pulling her with him. Debra and Brad tagged along for the pure entertainment.

The night loomed on, and Oliver was still determined after endless playing and losing of games. At the moment he was stuck on a ring toss game, Katie was positive was rigged. But Oliver wouldn't give up. She found a seat nearby where her and Debra watched Oliver and Brad attempt to beat the unbeatable game.

"Alright, I'm giving them a half an hour, then we're getting out of here. I'm tired and you look like you need to get off of your feet." Debra said and Katie just gave a tired smile as she looked over to her frustrated boyfriend. Debra followed her eyes and smiled. "So I know we've only known each other for a month, and I promised I wouldn't bring this up again but-"

"Deb." Katie warned lightly and the woman sighed.

"Like there is about to be a whole human pulled out of you, wouldn't you want her to come to a world where her mommy and daddy who seem to be crazy about each other are also married." Katie simply rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time the conversation had come up. For some reason when their neighbors find out that Oliver and Katie weren't married, they couldn't fathom the idea of why.

"Me and Oliver will get married when we're meant to get married."

"So if he asked you today, would you say yes?" Katie turned to the woman with a quirked brow. "That's a fair question."

"Also an oddly specific question." Katie replied glancing over to the guys. "You know something I don't?"

"Why would I know anything?" Debra asked with a light laugh as she turned back to the guys. "Oliver only talks to Brad, and I can barely get two words out of Brad when we're at home." the woman smiled. "It's one of the things I love about him."

"You guys are so weird." Katie muttered with a shake of her head before letting out a sigh. "I have to pee. Are there bathrooms here?"

"Just skeevy porta-potties." Debra says helping the woman stand to her feet. "There's a burger place across the street I'm sure it won't be riddled with as many diseases." Katie turned a darkened look to the woman. "C'mon."

"I should tell Oliver I'm leaving." Katie said glancing over to the man who seemed to be focusing intensely on the game.

"I don't think we should bother them when they're in their zone." Debra said with a shake of her head. "By the time we get back, we can finally drag them away." Katie glanced over once more and figured she'd let the man have his fun for a little while longer.

"Fine, let's go." Katie says and the women ventured out of the carnival, to the burger joint across the street.

They walked inside and when Katie spotted the bathroom sign she rushed off. She didn't know that she'd actually caught someone's eye. Someone who didn't expect to see her walk through the doors of his favorite burger spot.

"Excuse me." a voice startled Debra who sat at the booth waiting for Katie. She turned to a handsome man, who turned slightly before looking back to her. "That woman you were just with. Who is she?"

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Debra asked, trying her best to inch away from the man. "Look my husband and her very large boyfriend are across the street and will hurt you-"

"Deb-" both turned to see Katie who looked at the man with wide eyes. "What-" she couldn't believe it. "What are you doing here?"

"No, what are you doing here?" the man asked. "I figured you were smart enough to stay away from here after what happened the last time."

"I'm smart enough to stay far away from Ferris Airfield and people named Hal Jordan." Katie replied before looking over to her friend who looked confused. "We should get back before the guys notice we're gone." Debra simply nodded before following Katie out the door.

"Guys!" Hal called behind them. They both looked back to see he was indeed following them. "Is my old friend Richie here. I'd like to have a little chat with my buddy. I nearly lost my job because of him and his-" the man shook his head. "Apparently very rich wife."

"What is he talking about?" Debra asked looking over to Katie who just shook her head.

"I need to talk to him." Katie replied before nudging her head back to the carnival. "You want to start heading back, and I'll catch up." Debra looked hesitant to walk away. "I'll be fine. He's sort of an old acquaintance. I just need a few minutes."

"Ok I guess." Debra said looking back to the man before heading back toward the carnival. Once the woman was gone, Katie walked over to the man.

"So you and Richie are married and have a baby on the way, thats-" Hal just shook his head. "That's awesome."

"I'm not married to Richard. I never was."

"You know I kind of figured that when my boss brought me into his office and showed me a surveillance video of me talking to my ex con friend and his possible terrorist wife."

"I'm not-"

"I know. I figured that part out when I saw you on television and there weren't armed men trying to put you in jail." Hal replied. "You want to tell me what the hell that was? Why you and Richard came to me, why I was told you were a terrorist, but then it turns out you weren't."

"You're asking for the moon and the stars Hal, and I'm telling you that I can't give them to you. All you need to know is that it's over now."

"That's not enough. You have no idea how close I was to losing everything I worked for, just by being seen with you."

"You're right, I don't and I'm sorry you were brought into it. If it was my decision, you would not have been, but it's done. You have a life now, and so do I, so how about you just keep living it." Katie turned and the man grabbed her by the arm. "Hey, let me go!" Katie jerked out of his grasp, unknowingly stumbling back into the street.

 _"Oh Nura."_ a familiar voice whispered and Katie whipped her head around for the source. It was the voice of a dead man. A voice she thought she would never hear. She turned and there he was, standing just a few feet away from her with that sadistic smile on his face. In that moment, the world seemed to crumble around her and all sound seemed to float away. It's why she couldn't hear Oliver calling out to her. Why she couldn't hear Hal yelling at her to get out of the street. It's also why she didn't see the semi speeding right toward her.

All she saw was the demon.

The world only came back the moment she was literally jerked from her spot, and forced back onto the sidewalk by Hal, who held the woman by her shoulders yelling at her.

"What is wrong with you?! Are you crazy?!" he glanced back to see the truck continue to speed away before turning back to Katie whose eyes still stared behind him. "Hey, seriously, are you ok?"

"Twinkie?" Oliver's voice called as he ran the rest of the distance to Katie, pushing Hal out of the way to look Katie over. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?" Katie finally turned her eyes to him and shook her head. "What the hell happened?" he looked from Katie to Hal, his eyes darkening at the man. "Who the hell are you?"

"He grabbed her!" Oliver glanced back to see Debra and Brad running over. Debra pointed to Hal. "I saw you grab her and when she pulled away, she almost fell back." Oliver turned back to the man who held up his hands.

"We were just talking."

"What kind of talking were you doing that needed you to touch her." Oliver said, taking a step toward the man before Katie caught his arm. Oliver turned all of his attention back to Katie. "I'm taking you home." Oliver wrapped an arm around her and ushered her toward the car.

"You're Hal Jordan." Brad said once they were standing in front of the man. He looked over to his wife who glared at the man. "C'mon, you know Hal Jordan. He's one of the pilots over at Ferris."

"I don't care who he is." Debra said turning back to Hal. "What kind of a man puts his hands on a pregnant woman?"

"Hey, it wasn't like that. I wasn't trying to hurt her, I just wanted to talk." Hal said glancing down the block to see Katie and Oliver getting further away. "That woman almost ruined my life." he shook his head before turning back to the couple.

"Look Hal, I'm a big fan of yours but I should let you know that guy who was just here, the one who almost tore you a new one, that woman is his pregnant girlfriend, pregnant soon to be wife if he's lucky. I'm literally surprised you're not a pool of blood and guts right now because I know for a fact how protective he is of her. I don't know what your deal is, what beef you have with Katie, but if I were you I'd drop it." he brought an arm around his wife before they headed for their car.

Hal stood there for a few moments longer, wondering if he could just drop one of the biggest mysteries of his life.

When Oliver and Katie walked inside the house, Katie was fully prepared to just walk upstairs and go to bed as if the last moments didn't happen.

"We're talking about this!" Oliver called after her before she could walk up the stairs. She let out a sigh before turning to the man. "Who was that guy?"

"His name is Hal Jordan. He's a pilot over at Ferris Air."

"Alright, how do you know him?"

"I don't really know him. I met him once during a very confusing time of my life." Katie answered vaguely. They'd been together for years, but those stories about their lives before returning home was still something very hard to just put out there. "It's not really a big deal." Oliver just stood there, looking at her, waiting for her to finally tell him the truth. Katie let out another deep sigh. "Fine. You know about me running into Harrison Wells in Bosnia. Well ARGUS found me, Lyla to be exact found and passed me off to someone who would be able to get me home."

"Who?"

"Richard Grayson." Katie said and Oliver quirked a brow in confusion. "Some guy shows up on a private plane and tells me my good friend Bruce Wayne sent him to make sure I get home and I for some reason believed him." she shook her head as she thought back on it and how foolish she was. "First he told me that I needed to clear my name. Once I cleared my name I could go home without any problems."

"Why did you need to clear your name?"

"Well maybe because a good portion of the American government thought I was terrorist." Katie said, noticing Oliver's eyes go slightly wide at the statement. He was trying not show any judgment, but she could see the shock in his eyes. "Because when you're kidnapped by extremists for years and one day they just let you go, people get suspicious. They asked me questions and I didn't have answers and because of that I became a suspect. So I ran and because of that, I looked more suspicious."

"So what was Richard's plan to clear your name?"

"Talk to his old pal Hal Jordan who worked for a pretty influential man."

"Carl Ferris?" Oliver asked and Katie nodded.

"He figured he could get Hal to convince Carl that I'm innocent and somehow he could work his magic to let the world know I was innocent. You know saying this out loud makes it seem even more ridiculous." the woman shook her head. "Hal didn't believe Richard, and I stopped believing Richard could help and when I tried to leave I was caught. Carl called lots of men with guns and I was taken away."

"Taken where?"

"Now that's a story for a different day." Katie replied placing a kiss to the man's lips. "Hal's upset because I think his involvement nearly lost him his job I guess. He wants answers and I can't give them to him without putting him in even more danger."

"Well hopefully he got the hint."

"Well you gave him your murder glare, I'm sure he got it." Katie replied before turning and heading upstairs.

"If hasn't, I'll make sure he does." Oliver muttered.

He stood there for a moment watching until she was gone, before letting out a deep breath. This night didn't go as he planned. He didn't expect his girlfriend to almost get hit by truck, or him almost murdering a stranger for being the cause. He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out the small velvet box, flipping it open to see his mother's ring. He really didn't expect this to still be in his pocket.

"If at first you don't succeed." the man muttered before closing the box and slipping it back into his pocket.

Felicity Smoak had been dreaming about her bed all day. She'd been in meetings day in and day out since she took over Palmer Tech. She walked into the door of her apartment, kicking off her shoes about to head off to change when there was an immediate knock at her door.

"Why me?" she sighed before turning back to her door, and looking out the peep hole. "This can't be good." she pulled open the door to find Laurel and Thea standing there. The latter looking like she didn't want to be there. "Kind of late for girl's night, isn't it?" Laurel and Thea walked in without an invitation and Felicity could practically see her bed getting further and further away as she closed her door. "So I take it your run in with the ghosts didn't go as planned tonight."

"These guys are good." Laurel said with a shake of her head. "They're quick and we're no match for them."

"I get it, look Bruce is dealing with a bunch of stuff in Gotham, but he said he would drop all of it and come back to help with these ghosts." Felicity said glancing over to Thea who still had a bit of a sour look. "Which I don't believe is the reason you're here." she turned back to Laurel with a quirked brow.

"The city needs the Arrow."

"The Arrow is off living happily ever after with the woman he loves while they prepare to have a baby." Felicity replied with a shake of her head. "Oliver left because he felt you guys could handle these situations."

"You sound like John." Laurel muttered. "Look this could get bad, and I totally respect Oliver wanting to distance himself from this but-"

"But the Arrow's life is more important than Oliver's life?"

"Fine, I will play the bad guy and say yes." Laurel replied with a shrug. "Right now people are afraid to step out of their houses. That's not the type of city we should be living in and if Oliver could help with that, with just that, I promise he can sail back on whatever love boat he and Twinkie are on right now."

"Oliver wouldn't come back even if we asked." Thea said and they looked over to the woman. "It's what he does. He leaves the people who need him the most." she looked over to Laurel. "Save yourself the trouble. I'm going home." and with that the woman stalked out the door.

"So I still see she's still upset about them leaving." Felicity said turning back to Laurel. "You're upset too."

"I got why they left. A vacation is good, I get that, but never coming back. I don't get that. This is their home, this is where their family is. This is their city where they're needed."

"This is where both of their parents died, or thought they died. Where they've been lied to, where they've risked loosing each other dozens of times." Felicity shook her head. "Look I hate that they left and that they aren't coming back, and yeah there was initial shock and anger, but after that I had to think about what they were doing this for. They want a life. The lives that were stolen from them. They have a chance to get that back."

"Those lives may have been stolen, but it lead them to the lives they made here. Look if this thing keeps getting worse with the ghosts, which I'm sure it is, we are going to need Oliver and maybe even Katie in some way." with that the woman also stalked out the door. Felicity stood there for a moment with a shake of her head. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin the lives Katie and Oliver had going for them.

The next day, as Oliver moved around the kitchen effortlessly preparing brunch, Katie stood in the bathroom looking back at her reflection.

"You did not see him." she said to herself. She could barely sleep after the previous night. "He's dead. Oliver killed him and he can not hurt you anymore." she dropped her head still unable to not see his face. "You did not see him." she looked back up to the mirror. "He's dead. Oliver-" there was a knock at the door startling her.

"Twinkie, you ready. Steve and Laura are here." Oliver said and Katie let out another sigh before bringing a smile to her face, and pulling open the door.

"Yeah, lets go." she attempted to walk past him toward the door, but he quickly moved in front of her.

"You sure you're alright. I felt you tossing and turning last night."

"And I told you, your kid is a night owl who likes to party like a rock star. I'm fine." she replied before nudging her head for the door. "C'mon lets not keep them waiting."

Laura and Steve Hoffman were their more adult neighbors. They always have very good advice, and kind of reminded Oliver of parents they would like to be. Laura seemed to adore Oliver who shared her love in cooking. Katie practically had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at another compliment about the eggs Oliver made in the slow cooker.

"So I heard you two ran into Deb and Brad at the carnival last night." Laura said looking over to the couple. Laura and Steve weren't fans of Debra and Brad, but in public you'd think they were best friends at the amount of fake smiling and compliments tossed around.

"Laura-" Steve warned slightly to butt out, but the woman simply shrugged.

"No, it's ok. It was pretty fun until some creep started harassing Katie."

"That's why I made Laura carry around pepper spray. These assholes look for helpless women to mess with." Steve said with a shake of his head.

"You should probably get me some pepper spray." Katie says looking over to Oliver. "Maybe then guys will know better than to mess with little ole helpless me."

"I don't think that's necessary. I'm your pepper spray, dear." Oliver said and Katie couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm dear, now?" Katie asked and Oliver shook his head. He actually tried to stray away from calling her Twinkie in front of the Hoffman's who seemed to look at him weird when he did. Katie actually hated how much he wanted to be accepted by this couple. "And I have to once again use the restroom." Oliver stood to his feet to help the woman stand. Something she's told him a million times he didn't have to do, but it hasn't really made a difference. "Thank you, Liver." she made sure to say the stupid nickname so the couple across from them could hear before she hurried inside to the bathroom.

"I didn't mean to offend her." Steve said once Katie was gone and Oliver shook his head.

"She's just pregnant." Oliver replied with a shrug. It had become an excuse he's use a lot for Katie’s snippy behavior.

"Well I know all about that." Steve chuckled, only to get elbowed by his wife.

"So do you have it on you?" Laura whispered as she leaned in. "You have it on you, right?"

"Laura-"

"Oh, shush." Laura said turning to Oliver who glanced over his shoulder to make sure the coast was clear before turning back and slyly slipping the box from his pocket, opening it to show the woman. Steve seems to whistle at the sight of the ring, while his wife just marvels at it. "It's stunning."

"It was my mother's." Oliver said looking down to the ring. He promised the next time he put this ring on Katie's finger, she wouldn't want to take it off.

"So when are you going to pop the question?" Steve asked.

"Tonight." Oliver said. He knew for a while now that after everything that has happened in these last couple of months, the next logical move was once again trying to make this woman his wife. He turned his head slightly when he heard the footsteps behind him and he quickly closed the box and slipped it back into his pocket.

"Oooh, whispering, what are you guys-" the doorbell suddenly rang and Katie turned. "Oh, I got it." Oliver quirked a brow, not sure who would be showing up at their door.

"Excuse me." Oliver says standing to his feet and heading off to the door as well. When he walked over he saw Katie standing at the open door, with wide eyes and he quickly rushed over to see the man from last night standing there. "How did you find out where we live?"

"Look I'm not here to make trouble, I'm just here to talk." he looked down to Katie. "I need answers."

"You're seriously showing up to our house, uninvited demanding answers." Oliver said with a nod. "How about I give them to you. Twinkie, could you step aside please."

"Twinkie?" Hal said in confusion.

"Oliver get me a pen." Katie said and Oliver and Hal looked at her in confusion. She looked back to Oliver with a nudge of her head. "A pen and paper please." Oliver glanced around before spotting a pen and paper on the mail table. He grabbed it and handed to the woman who scribbled something and handed to the man.

"What is this?" Hal asked looking down to the phone number.

"Your pal Richie's number. Tell him you found me and won't leave me alone until you get your answers. The truth Mr. Jordan is you're here because Richard brought you in, whatever you need to know, he will give it to you. Now the next time you show up at our house uninvited, I'm going to have to show you my pepper spray." with that the woman took a step back and closed the door.

"You sure giving him Richard's number was the best thing to do?" Oliver asked and Katie turned with a shrug.

"Richard is a smart man sometimes. Hopefully Hal is too. If not, I think your conversing skills may be needed."

"They were probably needed right now." Oliver says going over to the window to see the man getting into his car.

"But it's brunch day with the Hoffmans!" Katie says with obvious sarcasm. "You've been looking forward to this day, and impressing Laura with your culinary skills and your slow cooker." Oliver looked over to the woman with a shake of his head.

"Is this jealousy, doctor?" Oliver asked walking over to the woman.

"No, more annoyance than anything. C'mon, they probably think we're off having unmarried sex while they're out there." Katie said before turning and heading back out to the deck.

The last moments of their brunch did get a bit awkward, and Katie was glad when the Hoffmans finally left. She gathered dishes from the table, and brought them to the sink where Oliver was already washing. She grabbed a towel and moved to stand beside the man, as she began drying the dishes. Oliver smiled over to her, actually liking simple moments like this where they just do the dishes together.

"You're staring, Mr. Queen." Katie says glancing over to the man. "And you're smiling. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"I'm really liking this life we got here."

"I think I am too." Katie replied with a smile as she looked back down to the plate in her hands. She let out a yawn unintentionally. "Sorry."

"Hey, why don't you go take a nap, and I will finish these." Oliver said taking the plate from her hand.

"Oliver this is a lot of dishes, and I'm not even that-" another yawn escaped her lips which didn't help her argument at all. "That proves nothing."

"Go, Twinkie. I got this." Oliver said and Katie shook her head, but decided to listen. He leaned in for a kiss, only for her to stop short.

"Don't stop calling me Twinkie because of what other people think. I'm your Twinkie, and you're my Liver and that's all that matters." Katie says before giving the man a chaste kiss. Oliver watched as she turned and headed for the stairs. He was sure tonight would be the night. He was going to ask her to marry him.

Martin Ellis stood outside the familiar door of his bosses penthouse just as he does every time he arrives. He's never quite prepared for what he sees on the other side, but he always takes a deep breath before walking inside. He goes up the stairs, down the long halls until he arrives at Jacob's bedroom that's slightly ajar.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to a hospital. I'm sure you'll be more comfortable and-"

"We've already discussed this." Martin heard Jacob's voice that now wheezed when he spoke. "I have everything you need here, and anything you may need I can get. Your job is to make me better."

"Yes sir." Martin heard the footsteps before the door opened to reveal the young doctor. "Mr. Ellis."

"Dr. Mills." Martin greeted as he stepped aside. "How is he doing?"

"Not good. He's seems to be getting worse." Ethan said glancing back into the room to see the man lying back on the bed, the oxygen mask around his face. "We need to figure out what's wrong with him and I can't do that here."

"You heard him, he's not going to any hospitals. The last thing that can happen is him revealing to the world that he's still alive."

"Fine, doesn't ARGUS have medical facilities?"

"He's not going there either. He doesn't trust any of them. Especially after what happened?" Ethan just shook his head.

"Well then I don't know how I can help him." Ethan said before walking away.

Martin took a deep breath before walking into the bedroom, still never quite ready for the site of Jacob lying in that bed looking utterly helpless. He would never show it though. Always kept on the mask of an unaffected man who could handle anything. He walked over, taking a seat in his usual spot beside the man's bed.

"At some point you're going to have to admit what this is. No tests will find anything natural happening to you because this isn't natural. Darhk-"

"He's still in Star City?" Jacob wheezed and Martin gave a nod. "Lane and Harper?"

"There's still no sign of either of them." Martin replied with a shake of his head. "Chances of either of them being alive-"

"They're useful. Darhk knows that, they're alive." Jacob replied before looking over to the man. "My daughter?"

"They're still in Coast City and don't seem to be making plans to leave. It's close, a little too close for comfort, but right now no one knows where they are." Martin reached into his bag and pulled out his Ipad, before pulling up the images sent to him. He handed the tablet to Jacob, who smiled at the sight of his daughter at some type of carnival. She was laughing as she looked over to Oliver. She looked so happy. He swiped to the next picture that showed just how big she'd gotten and he couldn't get over how much she looked like her mother. "There was a small glitch we didn't expect." Jacob turned to the man. "Hal Jordan, the pilot Richard roped in during Katherine's last visit to Coast City. He spotted Katie near the carnival and hasn't let bygones be. He showed up at the house earlier today, but she gave him something."

"What?"

"No idea, but we're keeping an eye on him."

"Some pilot will not ruin this for her." Jacob said turning back to the picture. "Ensure that."

"Yes sir." Martin says standing to his feet. "It would seem, Mr. Diggle, Ms. Lance and the young Ms. Queen are no match for Darhk's Hive."

"Waller hasn't made any moves?"

"None that I see. She's keeping a low profile. Limiting her involvement for some reason."

"What about Bruce?"

"Bruce is attempting to help Mr. Fox keep both Wayne Enterprises and Robins Incorporated afloat after Mr. Palmer's death."

"We get anything back on that explosion?"

"Not yet. We've read all the evidence reports and the damage is too severe to even expect any type of remains to be found." Martin replied.

"What are you not saying, Martin?"

"Something you don't want to hear." '

"Hasn't stopped you before." Jacob said watching the man.

"This plan, this entire plan started because you wanted to ensure your daughter was ready to face him." Martin said. "Right now you want to keep her far away from this city, but everyday is proving that maybe this city still needs her and Mr. Queen. They are ready to face him."

"Martin, you were right." Jacob says and Martin looks down to him in confusion. "That is something I don't want to hear. Go. Keep an eye on my daughter and keep trying to find Lane and Harper. If anything has happened to them there are going to be a lot of people on our backs."

"Kent's already becoming a problem."

"I assumed he would."

Katie didn't know how long she'd been sleeping until the whiff of food cooking seemed to stir her awake. She opened her eyes looked over to to the clock to see she'd been napping for a couple of hours. She sat up and looked at the window to see that it was already night time.

"Maybe I was tired." she muttered before standing out of bed and heading downstairs. When she came downstairs, she didn't expect the dining room table to be decked out with their nice plates and lit candles. She watched as Oliver came out of the kitchen to place down silverware. He looked over to her with a smile.

"You're awake. Great. Dinner is almost ready." he rushed back into the kitchen and Katie narrowed her eyes before walking over. Oliver walked back from the kitchen and pulled a chair out for her to sit and she was still a bit confused, but she sat down. "So how was your nap?"

"Much needed. Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked like you needed the rest." Oliver says before heading back into the kitchen. Katie turned back to the table, with a quirked brow.

"So what's the occasion?"

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked bringing out a pitcher of lemonade and pouring Katie a glass.

"I mean all of this." Katie says gesturing to the table.

"There has to be an occasion for dinner?" he asked before heading back into the kitchen, which Katie was starting to believe was his way of avoiding her questions. "So we're having chicken, it's a new recipe, but I think you're gonna like it."

Katie held her questions during dinner, hoping the truth behind this production would finally come out.

"So I called the hardware store, and I can pick up the paint tomorrow. Hopefully we can finish painting this weekend and start moving in the furniture." Oliver says and Katie gives a nod.

"Sounds great, have you chosen a crib yet?"

"I'm working on it." he replied and Katie chuckled. "It's not an easy decision."

"So are you nervous yet?" Katie asked and the man looked over and sighed.

"Not as nervous as I thought I would be. Maybe once we hit month nine, I'll become a crazy person."

"You're already crazy." Katie chuckles as she takes another bite of her chicken. "This is actually good Mr. Queen." she looked over to the man with a smile. "I think next time I should cook our next random overly extravagant dinner."

"That's not necessary." Oliver replied bringing his glass to his lips. "I like cooking for you."

"And I like you cooking for me, but I would like to return the favor."

"You don't have to." He shook his head and Katie looked over to him with a quirk brow and he laughed. "What?"

"Fine, I'm not the best cook in the world, but there are some things I can make that will knock your socks off, Liver."

"I'm sure there is Twinkie." Oliver said before looking down to her plate. "Done?" the woman gave a nod and watched as the man gathered the plates and headed inside of the kitchen.

"You know I'm still waiting for you to tell me what this is about?"

"This is dinner. Dinner is just dinner." Oliver called back to her, but she didn't believe it.

"I don't know Liver. This seems like something else. Are we celebrating something?"

"You know that depends on how desert goes." Oliver replied and Katie sighed as she slid a hand over her belly.

"I think you may have done the impossible, because I can't take another bite." Katie replied as Oliver came back out.

Oliver looked down to the souffle's he'd made and pulled the ring from his pocket, placing it on top of one of them.

"You have to take a bite or two of these souffles I made. There's chocolate, so I'm sure our daughter will love them too." the man said with a smile. Suddenly the doorbell rang and Oliver lifted his head annoyed at the interruption.

"I guess the chocolate will have to wait." Katie says standing to her feet about to go to the door, but Oliver placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Why don't I get it, in case our pilot friend is back for that pepper spray." Oliver says walking around toward the door. Katie groaned as she followed behind the man hoping it didn't turn into a bail her boyfriend out of jail kind of night. When Oliver opened the door, neither expected to see Laurel and Thea standing there.

"Hi." Laurel said looking between the couple. "We probably should've called first." Oliver's face was serious, as he glanced behind the pair before stepping aside to let them in.

"Is everything alright?" Katie asked looking from Laurel to Thea who seemed to be looking around the house instead of her.

"We need your help." Laurel says over to Oliver who moves to stand beside Katie.

"Help with what exactly?" Oliver asked and Thea scoffed. "Thea-"

"This was a mistake." Thea said to Laurel who just shook her head. She turned back to Oliver and Katie. "Have you even been checking in with what's going on back home?"

"Thea we've been kind of busy getting ready for the baby. We don't watch much television."

"Maybe you should start." Laurel said before pointing to the couch. "Sit." she spotted the remote and turned on the television to a news story about an attack on the police station.

"The media has been calling them the Ghosts. They're like nothing we'd ever seen before. Well-trained, well-armed." Laurel sighed turning back to the couple.

"And committed. Anytime we get too close to one of them, they off themselves with cyanide." Thea said.

"What's their agenda?" Oliver asked and Katie glanced to him for a moment before turning back to Laurel and Thea.

"At first we thought they were thieves because they were hitting banks and jewelry stores." Laurel said.

"Then we found out that they'd just been building their war chest. They've now been stealing munitions and heavy arms." Thea continued. "And assassinating people."

"Where are the police?" Oliver asked.

"Overwhelmed." Laurel replied.

"Well, a group of this size has to work out of a central location, a base of operations." Oliver suggested.

"Which we haven't been able to find." 

"Dig seems to think we can handle it." Thea added, taking a seat across from the couple.

"You disagree?" Oliver asked.

"I think we're in over our heads with this. And believe me the last place I want to be right now is right here, when you've made your decisions clear,"

"But we need the Arrow." Laurel finally said the words out loud and it's the words Oliver wasn't ready to hear. Not now, not when they had their own reality where the Arrow is just a figment. He sighed, standing to his feet with a shake of his head before turning back to them.

"The Arrow's dead." Oliver countered firmly.

"We're hoping that's not the case. We're hoping that you can't change who you are in your bones." Laurel stated just as firmly.

"Come help us stop these guys." Thea finally said out right as she went to Laurel's side. "And then you can come back to your- your domestic life of tranquility and souffles." Oliver let out a sigh, before looking over to Katie who had yet to say a word.

"You're uncharacteristically quiet." Oliver said and Katie looked from him to Laurel and Thea. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out immediately. The truth was, a trip back to Starling was not something she was jumping at the chance to do. It was actually the last thing she wanted to do. But Laurel and Thea were standing right here asking for Oliver's help and she knows that means the city is probably in some serious trouble. She just thought for a while there, that wasn't their problem anymore.

"I have to pee." Katie said suddenly before standing to her feet and heading upstairs. Oliver let out another sigh before turning back to Laurel and his sister.

"Oliver-" the man held up a hand to stop Laurel from another speech.

"She has to agree. I'm not leaving without her, and if she doesn't want to go, then we won't." Oliver said.

"Then I will talk to her, explain how serious this is." Laurel suggested.

"She knows how serious this is." Thea said with a shake of her head. "She just feels safer here than she did there. It's why you didn't come back." Oliver didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. "You were protecting your family, and I promise this won't risk any of that. Nothing will hurt her with us there." she turned toward the stairs, "I will talk to her." Thea turned and headed up the stairs, not really sure where she was going. She stopped when she spotted Katie in one of the rooms, just sitting on the floor. "Why is this room empty?" Thea walked inside, noticing the streaks of different yellow paint across the wall. "This is the baby's room."

"I finally picked the paint yesterday. Oliver was going to pick it up tomorrow so we could start painting." Katie said as Thea walked over and took the seat beside her on the floor. "I guess that probably isn't happening."

"Katie-"

"We're going." Katie says turning to the young woman. "We're going back home so Oliver can help stop the bad guys terrorizing the city." she looked back to the walls and shook her head. "I knew that the moment the two of you walked through the door."

"I'm sorry." Thea said and Katie looked over to her. "I didn't really understand why you guys weren't coming back but then I come here and I see it." she looked over to Katie, then down to her belly a smile coming to her lips. "It's my niece who's really running the show." she looked up to Katie. "May I?" Katie just gave a nod, before the woman placed her hands on Katie's belly.

"She's usually a night owl, so maybe-" a smile tugged at her lips when she felt the kick. She looked over to Thea whose eyes lit up at the feeling underneath her hands. "I think she's happy to hear your voice."

"She is, isn't she?" Thea said before leaning into Katie's belly to continue talking. Katie smiled before lifting her head to see Oliver standing at the door. She simply gave him a nod, but he could see in her eyes how much she didn't want to do this.

"We should be getting ready." Oliver spoke and Thea looked over to him with a frown. "Don't worry, she actually kicks all the time." Thea stood to her feet about to help Katie stand, but Oliver walked over. "I got her, we should be downstairs soon."

"Ok." Thea said before leaving the couple.

"Do you want to talk?" Oliver asked helping Katie to stand. The woman just shook her head.

"What's there to talk about?" Katie asked placing her hands on the man's chest as she looked up to his eyes.

"How about feelings. All the ones you're desperately trying not to show right now." Oliver replies sliding a hand along her back. "If you don't want to do this then-"

"We're doing this Oliver." Katie says placing a kiss to the man's lips. "I'm going to go pack some stuff just in case." she pulled away fro him, leaving him in the empty nursery.

"We're coming back." he muttered to himself. It was a silent promise he wanted to keep because this life, this new life was something he wasn't ready to give up.

Their fantasy had become their reality and it would take jaws of life to steal it away.


	2. Welcome Home, Heart, and Heroes

**Chapter 2**

**Welcome Home, Heart, and Heroes**

_"Running away will never make you free."_

_-Kenny Loggins_

* * *

It seemed the moment they crossed the city limits back home, it was as if they could feel it in their bones.

"Star City." Katie spoke when she saw the sign. "Different name, same messed up people." Oliver reached over taking her hand and she looked over to him.

"Don't worry, we won't be here long. We will find these guys, stop whatever they're planning and head back home."

"I'm holding you to that, Liver." Katie replied lying her head back and glancing to the familiar streets. "Now that I'm actually here, I may have to make an appearance at the company. I'm sure Ray will probably have some ridiculously over the top welcome back party." she lifted her head when she could've sworn she saw him again. The demon. She looked over to Oliver who was looking ahead before turning back.

"It's tough not to look out this window with wonder."

"Wonder what?" Katie asked tearing her eyes from the window and turning to Oliver.

"What did we really accomplish?"

When they arrived at the team's new hideout, Oliver took Katie's hand and followed behind Laurel and his sister.

"Why are we at the shipping yard?" Katie whispered over Oliver.

"Because I hate Bruce Wayne." Oliver muttered with a shake of his head. He watched as Laurel appeared out side the shipping container, and a hand scanner appeared. Once the doors opened, Oliver moved pretty quickly, wanting to get this done so they could head back home.

"Katie and I have a lot to catch up on, so maybe take us through all the evidence the team has gathered." Oliver said as they entered the familiar lair.

"That's easy." Thea replied. "Nothing."

"Ok, so maybe we'll go through all the encounters that you've had with the ghosts, everywhere they've hidden, and places you can cross..." they stopped walking when they saw John and Felicity who turned with two very different looks on their faces.

"Oh my gosh!" Felicity squealed before hurrying over to Katie. "Look at you. Those pictures do not do you justice. You're beautiful and glowing." she brought her arms around the woman in a hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Smoaks." Katie says hugging the woman as well. Once she pulled away, Katie looked over to John whose glare seemed fixed on Oliver. "Missed you too, Mr. Diggle." John didn't say anything.

"John-" Oliver started but the man wasn't hearing it.

"We should've discussed this."

"Me and Thea did." Laurel replied. "We need him."

"John, I'm not expecting you to welcome me back with open arms." Oliver said, but John still wasn't ready to let the things of the past go. "What I did to you is not easily forgiven. I'm here to help you with your problem, and then I'm gone." Oliver promised.

"Oliver, we don't need your help. And if we did, we'd probably choose someone who didn't kidnap my wife and endanger my child."

"John, no one is here asking you to pretend like it didn't." Katie replied. "I get forgiving is hard. I know that first hand from these past couple of months. The truth is that there are bad people in this city. Bad people you haven't been able to stop. Bad people who are still in this city that houses your wife and daughter. You're angry, then be angry. Doesn't stop the bad guys from being bad guys."

"I get that, I really do, but I can't go into battle with a man I can't trust."

"Understood, but that hack I was working on for Kord Industries finally went through." Felicity said walking over to the computer. "I wanted to see what the Ghosts stole and there. Cluster bombs. Sensor fused and high yield. Any more powerful and they'd have to be nuclear."

They all turned to John, knowing they needed him to make a decision about their next move.

"What do you want to do, John?" Laurel asked and the man sighed.

"I'm gonna do whatever it takes to save my city."

And so things seem to fall back into place or at least as close to it as possible. The team stood around trying to find some sort of motive for these Ghosts. Katie actually seemed to zone out during the discussion. She simply moved about the lair, until stopping in front of a wall of weapons. She hadn't seen or touched a weapon in months and it seemed just the sight of so many triggered something inside of her. Something she thought she ran away from, but apparently she hasn't.

"Twinkie-" she heard Oliver call her name, and she turned to see everyone was gone except him and Felicity who was doing something on the computer. "Where were you just now?"

"Ghosts." Katie said with a shake of her head. "Very stupid name. I also refuse to believe they just popped up out of no where. They've struck somewhere before. Similar crimes, different cities." she noticed the smile on Oliver's lips. "What?"

"This stuff is usually helpful during the team discussion." Oliver said bringing his arms around her. "Which for the moment, you are a part of. You should let everyone hear what you think."

"Oliver, they came all the way to Coast City for you, not the pregnant lady." Katie replied with a shrug. "I'm just here as your plus one."

"You know that's not true, your input is valued the same as everyone else." Oliver said. "I value your input because out of everything I've heard tonight, you're the first person to suggest looking into who these guys were before they came to Star City. It was smart, and it could help us."

"Felicity-"

"Oh I've been eavesdropping the entire time and have already begun a search for any similarities between these guys in other cities." Felicity said looking over to the couple with a smile. "Oh, and Twinkie you're never a plus one here. You're a full fledged member of Team Robins."

"Such a sweet talker Smoaks." Katie says looking over to the woman. "What are you aiming at?"

"I can be nice and not want anything in return." Felicity replied with a shrug. "I mean sure giving me first naming rights to our little baby Twiver would be awesome. Especially since Thea got middle name, it would be fair, but it's totally up to you."

"Felicity, we're going to name our daughter." Oliver said and the woman just huffed before looking back down to the computer.

"Where's the bathroom?" Katie asked looking around before spotting it. "Oh, there it is. I'll be right back."

"Ok, then we can find somewhere for you to rest."

"But I'm not tired, and I think I would rather stick around here." Katie replied with a smile. "Plus we have no where to go. My loft has been sold and I don't want to impose on anyone. We're fine here for now." she placed a kiss on the man's cheek before hurrying to the bathroom. The moment she was gone, Oliver took out his cell phone before dialing and bring the phone to his ear.

"Yes, I would like a room please." Oliver spoke, glancing over to Felicity who was shaking her head at the man. "We shouldn't need it for long." Once the room was reserved, Oliver walked over to Felicity to see if she had found anything.

"So I didn't see the thing that shall not be spoken out loud on Katie's finger." Felicity said looking over to the man who sighed. "I thought the Twiver love boat would've ended with a proposal."

"I was this close, but then Laurel and my sister show up at the door and then-" the man turned pulling the box out of his pocket. "I'm still carrying this in my pocket." he shook his head before tucking it away. "We've made so much progress. I'm not gonna say we've gotten back what we lost, but we have something else. Something stronger." he looked over to the bright smile of Felicity Smoak. "I don't want to lose that."

"You won't and I'm sure you will find another perfect moment without any interruptions."

"Hopefully that happens soon. I would very much like to get married before the baby is born." Oliver replied as the door to the bathroom opened and he turned as Katie walked out.

"That bathroom is ridiculously nice." Katie said with a shake of her head. "Where is Bruce anyway?"

"Gotham for work. Things have sort of been going down hill since-" Felicity stopped talking when she realized the moment she'd been dreading just popped up out of nowhere. "Have you been keeping tabs on the company?"

"Not really." Katie said with a shrug. "More like not at all. I kind of trusted Lucius with RI and trusted Ray to keep the New Beginnings Initiative on track." the woman took a step forward. "Please don't tell me there's been a problem." Felicity let out a sigh before standing to her feet and walking around to the woman.

"I'm afraid you're not going to forgive me for this, even though I did this from the heart because I knew how much this trip with Oliver, I knew how important it was, I knew how much you needed to get away from all of this and I didn't want to ruin it."

"Felicity what's going on?" Oliver asked walking over to stand beside Katie. The blonde wasn't sure how to begin this conversation, so she decided to just get it over with.

"I'm the current CEO of Palmer Technologies." Felicity said and they both seemed confused.

"I don't understand. Ray gave you the company. Why would he do that and not tell me? Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"So much has happened since you left. I mean I was shocked too. Bruce and I were on an island in Bali when the call came in and I just couldn't believe it was true." Felicity recounted, tears starting to swell in her eyes. "I don't know why he chose me-" she shook her head. "I mean I'm the last person who should be running a billion dollar company, but he really chose me." Felicity turned to Katie and watched as the woman seemed to realize the truth.

"No." Katie said with a shake of her head as she backed away from the woman. "No, no Ray's not-" she turned away closing her eyes and taking a few steps away from the woman.

"Felicity, what happened?" Oliver asked.

"He was working on the suit in the lab, and there was an explosion. He died doing what he loved." Felicity looked over to Katie. "There were questions about your absence during all of this, but I assured the media that you were broken up about it, and that you were grieving privately. Mr. Fox released a statement on behalf of you and the company, giving your condolences. Everything was covered." Felicity stood there waiting for Katie to turn around and give some type of reaction. "Katie-"

"Maybe we should go." Oliver suggested walking over to Katie. "It's been a long night, and you need to get off your feet." he looked over to Felicity. "You will give me a call when you find something."

"Yeah, but-"

"Felicity, this conversation is over." Oliver stated firmly and the woman simply gave a nod before watching the man bring an arm around Katie and walk toward the stairs.

When they arrived at the hotel, Katie still hadn't said a word as she kicked off her shoes and went to lay down. Oliver didn't want to push, not tonight and so he would let her rest. He walked over to the window and looked out to the familiar sight of the city and he couldn't believe they were really back. He soon heard the soft snores of Katie and he looked over to see the woman had already fallen asleep.

There was a sudden knock on the door, and Oliver quirked a brow. No one knew where they were, and he made sure to leave out the do not disturb sign so Katie could rest. He went over to the door, and looked out the peep hole, only to let out a deep sigh at the sight of the man on the other side. There was another knock, and Oliver quickly opened the door, bringing a finger to his lips before walking out and closing the door behind him.

"You shouldn't be here Martin."

"Funny." Martin said. "I was just about to tell you the same thing." the man shook his head. "I just told Jacob the both of you were back here, and he's furious."

"I don't care what Jacob is feeling right now. Something is happening in this city, and my friends asked for my help, so I'm helping." Oliver said and Martin dropped his head. "You really shouldn't be here. The last thing I want is for her to see you and upset her more than she is."

"Why is she upset?" Martin asked looking back up to the man.

"We weren't told about Ray and what happened to him." Oliver said and Martin turned away. "What do you know about what happened to him?"

"Nothing more than what everyone else knows. There was an explosion, but no remains found. The damage was too bad."

"What do you know about these Ghosts?" Oliver asked and Martin shook his head.

"Oliver, you need to stay away from these people and make sure Katherine does too." Martin replied and Oliver waited for him to explain. "I know you have no reason to, but just trust me on this."

"You're right, I have no reason to trust you Martin. Now leave." With that Oliver went back into their room. He looked over, glad Katie was still sleeping before walking over to stand by the window. He felt the need to stand watch, to make sure he was completely aware of everything happening around them. He's not sure how long he'd been standing there before he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to see Felicity's name.

"What have you found, Felicity?"

" _I hacked Kord Industries to check their design schematics for their bombs. Turns out they have a GPS tracker built in."_

"You find out where it is?

" _At least where they've been. GPS is offline now, but their last location was... Admiral Transport interchange. It's a truck depot outside Pennytown. Closed up shop two months ago."_

"I'll call Thea. You get Laurel and Dig." Oliver turned about to grab his jacket, but stopped at the sight of his very pregnant girlfriend still sleeping. "Wait."

" _Wait, what?"_ Felicity asked. _"Oliver what's wrong?"_

"Twinkie, I can't-" the man can't even remember the last time he'd left the woman's side for more than a half an hour in these past few months. He definitely didn't want leave her now, not in this city.

" _Oliver, Katie will be fine. You could bring her back here. It's safe here."_

Yet another thing Oliver didn't want to do right now was wake Katie up when rest is the one thing she is supposed to be getting right now.

"Oliver?"

Oliver simply ended the call, before just standing there trying to make a decision. Soon he wouldn't have to.

"Why are you just standing there, watching me?" Katie asked tiredly, before looking over to the clock. It was still really late, but the man still looked wide awake.

"Felicity called. We have a lead on the Ghosts." Oliver said and Katie turned back to the man, not expecting that to happen so soon.

"Oh." the woman said sitting up from the bed. "So you have to go, right?" Oliver walked over and took a seat on the edge of the bed beside her. "Liver, you remember how this works."

"Things are different now." Oliver replied placing a hand on Katie's belly. "And I'm not sure I can just leave the two of you."

"You're not leaving. You're just going away for a little bit and then you're going to come back and rub my back in that way I like and everything will be fine." Katie says placing a hand on the side of the man's face. "Everything will be fine." she only half believed that, but knew it was something the man needed to hear to do the one thing she's not even sure she wants him to do.

"I love you." Oliver declares, and the woman always finds a smile at the words.

"And I really like you a lot." she replied and the man couldn't help the small laugh. "You should go."

"I know, but you can't stay here. Not by yourself." Oliver said standing to his feet. "And I hate to do this, but I can only completely focus on stopping these guys if I'm not worried about you."

"I'm not going back to the shipping yard. I need some time away from Felicity." Katie replied and Oliver sighed not sure where else to take her. "I know where I can go, but you can't be there." the man gave her a quirked brow. "Well not too close, unless you want to get shot."

Katie found herself outside the familiar door before lifting a fist to knock. Soon the door opened and appeared the smiling face of an old friend.

"You're huge!" Lyla says bringing the woman in a hug.

"Oh, shut up." Katie replies as the woman pulls away. "Is John here?"

"No, he just got a call from Felicity and had to go, why?" Lyla asked when Katie turned and gave a small whistle. Lyla looked up to see Oliver step from behind the corner of the hall and she stood a bit straighter.

"Apparently Oliver thinks I need protection and since you're the most kick ass person I know, I figured you wouldn't mind me hanging around." Katie said and Lyla shook her head.

"Of course not." Lyla replied looking over to Oliver. "I will look after them."

"Thanks Lyla." Oliver replied with a nod before looking over to Katie, still hesitant to leave, but he knew he had to and so he turn and disappeared down the hall.

"Come in, I'll make us some tea." Lyla said ushering the woman inside.

Katie spent most of her time with Lyla on the woman's laptop, attempting to catch up on all the things she's missed since she'd been gone.

"They all looked into Ray's death and they didn't find anything that could've pointed to foul play." Lyla said appearing at the woman's side. "It truly was an accident. I had no idea no one told you what happened."

"Yeah, I'm surrounded by people who think they know what's best for me." Katie says before closing the laptop. "It's annoying every time."

"I'm sure it truly didn't come from a place to hurt you. I'm sure Felicity didn't want to ruin the new life you and Oliver seemed to be making for yourself." Lyla replied. "How have you guys been?"

"We've been good." Katie replied with a slight smile. "Kind of better than good actually. I think that's why it's sort of scary to be back here you know." she looked over to the woman. "This is where all the dark stuff creeps back into our relationship and I don't know, I like our simple home life where I decided on paint colors and Oliver was an apron strap away from a housewife." she shook her head as she looked over to a sleeping baby Sara and she smiled. "It took a lot to get where we are, I just don't want to risk everything."

"Have you talked to Oliver about this?"

"It's hard to talk to Oliver now a days." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "Because he's become really good at hiding his true feeling sometimes just to please me." she turned back to the woman and sighed. "He's trying so hard to really be something else with me in that house, with the cooking and the making friends with the normal people, but I know this-" the looked over to the window. "This city is a big part of his life. That hood and that bow, they're his limbs and I know he misses them."

"What about you, do you miss it?"

"I forgot the smell of blood. Forgot that tingling feeling you get after a really brutal fight." the woman turned away. "I forgot that rush you get during a fight." she turned back to the woman with a smile. "But I can explain to you in great detail the feelings that move inside of me when I feel this little girl kick. I can describe the look of amazement on Oliver's face every time he touches my stomach and he feels her moving." Katie stood to her feet and walked over to the window. "I miss the people the most. I miss my family, friends. But this place, I was taken a long time ago and I still haven't found my way back to what it was. This was home. And then it just wasn't anymore."

"You need to talk to Oliver." Lyla says looking back to the woman. "You need to tell him how you feel."

"Maybe." Katie replied turning to the woman. "I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight, knowing he's out there. Do you have food? Eating makes me less anxious."

"I'm sure it does." Lyla laughed as she stood to her feet and headed inside the kitchen.

Oliver found falling back into the shadows easier than expected as he, John, Thea and Laurel skulked overhead watching what looked like a meeting of the Ghosts and their boss.

"Gentlemen, the world's a- it's a funny place." the voice of the man said as he walked in front of the men who stood completely still on either side of him. "It resists change. It fights progress. And so the only way to move things forward is to fight back. And you men are here today because you understand that. But our cause is only as strong as our weakest man." the man stopped and turned his head slightly. "Mr. Alvarez, please step forward." one of the soldiers took a step forward and removed his mask. "You commanded the hijacking the other night, the cluster bombs from Kord Industries."

"Yes, sir. We encountered some resistance, but we handled it." the soldier explained.

"Hand—hand-" the boss seemed to chuckle at the words. "Well, I guess my definition of "handled" is a little different than yours. You see, when I "handle" a problem, the problem dies."

"Sir, we got away with the bombs- " the soldier started but, his boss wasn't listening. The man continued to walk between his men.

"Shh! You know, I love this town in the fall. I wonder if that's why she chose it." The man mused at the thought of the woman whose presence here seems stronger than it should since she's dead. The man simply shook his head before turning back to his men. "I mean, yes, it looks pretty much the same as it does in the other 3 seasons, but I admire consistency. I respect dependability." he looked over to Mr. Alvarez. "And you've shown me neither. So now, allow me to show you something. It's another kind of beauty. It's the manipulation of primordial energies." he looked over to one of his men who remained completely still. "No? Over your head?" he continued walking toward Alvarez. "Yeah. The grazing of the levers that God uses to move the world. No? No" he stopped right in front of the man and just sighed. "This." suddenly he placed a hand on the man's chest. The team watched in horror as something happened to the man. Something that seemed to turning the man's skin grey. It looked like it was killing him.

"Oh my god?" Laurel gasped.

"What the hell is that?" Thea asked.

Oliver knew there was no more time to waste, so he pulled on the ski mask, and stood to his feet.

"Move!" he ordered and after that, what you expect would happen, happened.

Lyla stood rocking a sleepy Sara in her arms. The child awakened a few moments ago, but Lyla had a bottle ready and the child was already drifting back to sleep. She gently lowered the baby back to her crib before turning to Katie who she expected to see, but she only found an empty apartment and a wide open door.

"Katie?" Lyla called walking over to the door, and looking out, but not spotting the woman anywhere.

Katie wasn't sure where she was going, or even why she was going anywhere this late. It was as if something was calling her. Something she couldn't explain, but whatever it was seemed to be pulling her. She was walking down the dark streets of Star City, probably looking completely crazy out here alone. Suddenly the feeling stopped. Katie found herself standing in the middle of no where. There was an odd smell in the air, which she believes means she was somewhere near some sort of factory, but she has no idea why. She placed a hand protectively over her belly. As she stood there, she soon realized how dangerous this was and how much danger she could be in, just being here all alone.

"You look like you could use a ride." a voice spoke, and Katie whipped around clutching her chest. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Martin, you son of a bitch. What are you doing here?" she asked still slightly shaking at the sudden appearance of the man.

"You fell off the grid. Your father actually preferred you off the grid. Sure he would've loved to have known where you were, but the truth was, if he couldn't find you then no one else could." Martin said with a shake of his head. "But now you're here. At this very moment you're a sitting duck actually."

" I don't know-" the woman looked around, still trying to make sense of this. "I don't know why I'm here." she turned back to the man. "I was with Lyla, and then it was as if something took a hold of me and was pulling me to something. That makes no sense." Katie shook her head, as she brought her arms around herself, now noticing how cold it was.

"I should get you out of here." Martin said and Katie turned a glare. "Or I can leave you here, but you should know if I leave you here there is a very good chance your father will murder me."

"Not a good selling point, Martin." Katie replied before finally giving in and letting the man get her out of here.

The team returned back to the hideout, beat up but mostly confused. At least they were able to find out what their plan was. It was an attack on the new train station. The news didn't seem to ease them though. None of them were sure what they witnessed tonight. Well not all of them. They recounted the events to Felicity who immediately assumed they were dealing with a metahuman.

"He wasn't a metahuman." Oliver said with certainty.

"Oliver, what that man did was not natural." Laurel said looking over to the man.

"I know. It was mystical."

"How can you be so sure?" John asked the question they were all wondering right now.

"Because I've seen things. There's things that can't be explained, even by science."

"I suppose you aren't going to tell us about these things you've seen, Oliver."

"We need to focus on finding the cluster bombs." Oliver said walking over to Felicity just as John's phone rang. He looked down to the number to see that it was Lyla, and he quickly stepped away to answer.

"Hey, what's up? Is everything alright?" John asked.

 _"I don't know."_ Lyla replied. _"Katie's gone."_

"What do you mean gone?"

_"I was rocking Sara back to sleep after she'd woken up, and then I turned and she was gone. I didn't even hear her leave."_

"Hey, it's not your fault. Katie is an adult. Maybe—maybe she-" John dropped his head because Katie didn't seem like disappearing was something she was doing now. He couldn't believe she'd risk the safety of her baby by doing something stupid.

 _"You have to tell Oliver."_ That was the last thing John wanted to do, but he knew he had to. _"John-"_

"I will. Call if she comes back." John ended the call and turned to see Oliver standing there and from the look on his face, it would seem he heard everything. "Oliver-"

"If she comes back?" Oliver said in confusion. "Who was on the phone?"

"That was Lyla. She doesn't know what happened, but she was taking care of Sara and when she turned back Katie was gone." the moment the words came of John's mouth, Oliver was already heading for the door. He'd only taken a couple of steps before the door slid open and there stood Katie.

"Twinkie." Oliver rushed up the rest of the stairs, bringing his arms around the woman. "You're shaking, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's cold, and I don't have a jacket." Katie replied as Oliver helped her down the rest of the stairs. He kept his arms around her, hoping to warm her up. "Oliver, I'm fine, How did it go tonight?"

"How about I tell you on the way back to our hotel." Oliver says still watching the woman and just knowing something isn't right. He looked over to John. "I'll meet you at the train station tomorrow." John simply nodded before watching the couple leave.

Katie hoped to avoid all questions, and she thought the silent car ride was a sign her plan could work, but the moment they walked into the room all hope was lost.

"Tell me what happened." Katie sighed turning to the man. "Twinkie-"

"I don't know." the woman replied honestly. She shook her head as she slid her fingers through her hair still not able to make sense of the night. "I was at the apartment with Lyla, I was fine and then something happened." she looked over to the man who waited for her to elaborate. "You want there to be more than that, but there isn't. Something happened, I felt like I needed to leave and then it just stopped."

"What stopped?"

"Whatever it was that was pulling me." Katie looked to Oliver and she could tell this didn't make sense to him. She couldn't blame him, because it barely made sense to her. "Maybe there really is a such thing as pregnancy brain and I just spaced."

"Twinkie, I want to understand."

"There's really nothing to understand because it's crazy. I had a crazy moment, it's over and now we focus on bad guys with bombs. I heard you mention the train station. Is that the target?"

"Twinkie-"

"I don't have any more answers for you Oliver. Right now I'm fine, our daughter is fine. There are also explosives out there. What are they blowing up?"

"There is a new train station. It's the target."

"Train Station?" Katie asked turning slightly in thought.

"What is it?"

"I remember a train station from Star City to Central City as an idea for one of the projects for New Beginnings." Katie turned back to Oliver. "Why blow up the train station?"

"I don't know, look tomorrow we're gonna check over the building before the opening." Oliver replied and Katie gave a nod. "I want to focus on finding this bomb, on making sure no one gets hurt, but right now all I think I will focus on is if you're going to have another crazy moment and just disappear again."

"That's not gonna happen again."

"Twinkie, it can't happen again and to ensure that it doesn't, tomorrow you're going to stick around the hideout-" Katie opened her mouth to argue, but Oliver simply continued. "I know you don't want to, but I need you somewhere with locked doors that keep bad people out and keep you in."

"You make me sound like a child." Katie replied with a shake of her head before heading to the bathroom. "I do not need a babysitter!" Oliver walked over to the bathroom door, planting his hands on the outside of the door. "I am an adult and I can take care of myself!" the man couldn't help but smile at the woman's tantrum. "It would be a good idea if you remember that."

"I will." the man said and the door pulled open to find Katie now wearing a bathrobe. She placed a hand on the side of his face.

"You fought bad guys tonight." she said and the man let out a deep sigh. "Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

"I'm a little sore, doctor, but I"m alright." Oliver placed a hand on the woman's hip and brought her closer. "I'm better now."

"Maybe a shower will help." Katie says before turning and walking into the bathroom. After everything that has happened tonight, his biggest regret was that the engagement ring was still weighing in his pocket. Oliver simply shook his head before stepping into the bathroom.

The next day, Katie found herself trying to keep as much distance between her and Felicity as possible. Oliver walked over to her, attempting to reassure her that she wouldn't have to be here long.

"Oliver, just go look for explosives." Katie says and the man places a kiss on her cheek. "I will be fine." the man went to follow the others, but Katie grabbed his arm. "Don't forget to come back to me."

"There's nothing in this world that could stop me." Oliver said leaning into capture the woman's lips. "It's almost over. We're almost home." Katie placed her hands on the man's chest and smiled up to him.

"You should get going then." Katie says and the man placed one final kiss to her cheek, while placing a hand on her belly for a moment before hurrying out the door. Once they were gone, Katie was left alone with Felicity who looked over to her with a smile.

"And then there were two." Felicity nervously laughed and Katie simply shook her head before wandering off. "We should talk. I mean technically now we're like business partners." Katie glanced over to her. "I've taken on Ray's role with New Beginnings, so at some point we're going to have to speak." Katie still didn't say anything, and Felicity let out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I know it wasn't my place to keep something so important from you. It's just-"

"The next words out of your mouth are gonna be an excuse." Katie finally said stopping and looking over to the woman. "Some creation in your mind that you believe justified you lying to me for months."

"Katie-"

"Felicity, I need you to stop talking and just listen." Katie says walking over to the woman . "I love you, you're my best friend, but you're right, right now you're my business partner and as such I think you should know that if you ever do something like this again I will be forced to contact my lawyers to figure out a way to sever the contract between RI and Palmer Technologies." Katie turned when she got a sudden idea. "The train station. We're still a controlling party, right?"

"Uh yeah, why-" Katie walked over to the woman who took a slight step back.

"I'm not gonna hit you, but I need your phone." Felicity handed the woman her phone before watching her dial a number. "Lucius, hi, it's Katie." the woman nervously laughed. "Yeah, maybe I should've called, but hey I was on vacation, now I'm back." she looked over to Felicity. "The rail station opening today, I-" Katie's brow furrowed as the man said how important the opening was not only to the city, but the company as well. "So me suggesting that we postpone it might not be a good idea?" Katie simply shook her head. "Never mind, I was just nervous I guess. Forget I called. Look it was nice-" Katie turned to Felicity with a nervous look. "I'm sorry. No it's just-" Katie closed her eyes and dropped her head.

"What is he saying?" Felicity asked and Katie looked over to her.

"No, I do understand. I'm just not sure I'm the right person. I mean Felicity-" Katie looked to the woman as the man continued and she was sure arguing was no use. "I mean sure. If it's what's best for the company, I will do it. Thanks Lucius, I will talk to you later." Katie ended the call before giving the phone back to the woman.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing good. And nothing Oliver is going to like." Katie says before dropping back in her seat.

The moment Oliver returned to the hide out both turned to him and for some reason he didn't like the looks of nervousness on their faces.

"Oh you're back." Felicity said walking over to him. "Tell me you found explosives and have already saved the day."

"Not exactly." Oliver replied walking around the woman to Katie. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, what did you find at the station?"

"We didn't find anything, but I did run into Lance." Oliver said and Katie placed a hand on his arm, figuring the meeting didn't go too well.

"Why don't I give you two a minute." Felicity said before leaving the couple and heading for the stairs.

"Let me guess, you run into Lance after all this time and he gives you a hug and tells you that he missed you?" Oliver just shook his head.

"It's not just Lance. Thea-" the man sighs walking over to sit. "There's something wrong with Thea, I know it but, she doesn't want my help and neither does Diggle." the man dropped his head. "We should've never come back here." For some reason hearing Oliver say the words that echoed in her mind over and over again, just didn't sound right. She didn't like to hear the man give up on something she knew was important to him.

"Fine, let's go home." Katie says walking over to take a seat on the man's lap. He brought an arm around her and dropped his head to her shoulder. "So explosives go off and people might get killed. People die everyday. I mean your sister, sure something might be wrong with her, but people have crazy moments and they work through them." Katie looked down to the man as she gently ran a hand across the back of his head. "I mean John. He's just a guy you met a couple of years ago." the woman closed her eyes as Oliver brought a hand to rest on her stomach. "So tell me which one of those things are you willing to walk away from right now? Because if you can tell me just one, we can get our stuff and head straight to that hardware store so we can pick up that lemon twist paint, and we can start painting our daughter's room."

"Do you want to stay here?" Oliver asked her and Katie placed a kiss on top of his head before standing from his lap.

"The train station. Tell me you found something?" Katie asked and Oliver stood to his feet and walked over to her. "Liver, I can't answer that question right now because I'm not really sure yet. When I am I will tell you, I promise."

"Lance was right about one thing."

"About what?"

"A few months ago he told me that all I brought back from the island was pain, misery, and darkness. Of course I knew that the moment we came back here, that darkness would be waiting for me."

"Oh, Liver, he's wrong. Dead wrong." Katie says placing a hand on the side of the man's face. "You didn't bring the darkness back with you from Lian Yu. Whatever darkness was there, stayed there. "

"Twinkie, I'm telling you that the only way I know how to fight the darkness is to be darkness. That is why I left." he placed a hand on her stomach and smiled. "I don't want to be that type of person any more. I can't be that type of person anymore."

"Ok, then how about you be someone different." Katie replied moving in closer to the man. "Someone who likes to cook, but also likes to save people. That guy's ok. Plus you don't have to do it alone. I mean there's lots of people who will help keep the darkness at bay."

"You're gonna be one of them, right?"Oliver asked and she turned away slightly, and the man laughed.

"I mean, if I have to, I guess." Katie replied and Oliver brought his lips to hers before looking down to her belly.

"Don't be mean like your mommy." Oliver looked back up to Katie who stared at him before groaning and dropping her head to his chest. "You want to tell me what you don't want to tell me?" the woman muffled something against his chest that he didn't quite make out. He brought a hand to the side of Katie's face and lifted her eyes to him. "Ok, now this time, English."

"I had this idea that since RI is the leading company over this opening, maybe we could postpone it until we figured out where these explosives were."

"And?"

"And apparently the company really needs the positive publicity from this station. I didn't realize how downhill things were going, so they're really grasping for everything they can to stay above water and this train station is one of them." the woman shook her head.

"You couldn't stop the opening. That's fine, we'll find another way."

"That's not all. Lucius seemed to think that since this was a New Beginnings project, that it would be great publicity to have the living controlling partner speak tonight before the first train comes in." Oliver looked at her for a moment.

"I'm sorry, are you saying that he wants you who is carrying my unborn daughter to speak at a train station that will most likely explode."

"To be fair, no one really knows about that second part which is why I think he made the suggestion."

"But because you knew about the second part, you declined, right?" Oliver asked and Katie turned away from the man. "Twinkie, tell me you didn't."

"Oliver, this is my company." Katie says turning back to the man. "I left and things went to shit and now I have a chance to at least fix it a little."

"You know I hear what you're saying, but in my head all I keep seeing is my pregnant girlfriend inside of building that could explode at any moment. I'm not alright with this."

"Oliver the thing is, New Beginnings was an opportunity I created for people who really needed an opportunity. This train station opened up jobs, it's giving people a chance to visit their families and if I can make sure it sees the light of day, then I'm going to do it. So find the explosives." the woman looked at her watch. "I have to go."

"What, now?" Oliver asked with a shake of his head. "Alone-"

"No, Lucius is bringing a car, and I'm told since we're like big wigs, security is gonna be kind of tight, so don't worry about me." she placed her hands on his chest. "Oliver do you really wanna know why the darkness will never take over?" she took the man's hands and placed them on her stomach. "Because we somehow created a light." she looked down to her stomach and shook her head. "It's still blows my mind, but we did." she looked up to the man with a smile. "So if you ever feel yourself being pulled into the darkness, remember-" she looked down to her stomach. "Remember her." she looked back up to the man. "It's what I do and it really works." she placed a kiss to he man's lips as the sound of footsteps headed their way.

"Hey, there is a very expensive looking car out there." Thea said. Katie and Oliver pulled back, their eyes still on each other. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone and handed it to the woman.

"When this phone rings, I want you to answer. If you do not answer, I don't care where ever I am or whatever I'm doing, I will come for you." Oliver said as Katie took the phone. "I love you." Katie smiled up to the man.

"And I seriously like you a lot." Katie replied before placing a kiss to the man's nose before hurrying for the door.

"What was that about?" John asked and Oliver turned to them.

"That was Twinkie giving us a little more incentive to figuring out where these explosives are." Felicity said walking in and turning to them. "She's going to be speaking at the opening tonight, and since none of us want an exploding Twinkie-" she heard Oliver groan. "Sorry, we don't want her hurt, we need to figure out when and where these explosives are gonna go off."

"Well the train station was a bust." Laurel said. "No incendiaries on the platform, on the tracks, or inside any of the trains."

"Yeah, but if there's no bomb in the station, then how did they expect to blow it up?" Thea asked, and suddenly a phone rang.

"It's me." Felicity said pulling out her phone. She looked down to the number. "I think it's Twinkie." she was about to answer, but Oliver grabbed the phone and quickly answered.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

" _Oh, nothing. Just had the wildest thought. You said you didn't find explosives at the station, what if they're not there."_

"What do you mean?"

" _You didn't bring the darkness Oliver. What if the explosives aren't there because the ghosts are going to bring them."_

"Bring, them how-" it clicked and Oliver turned to the others. "The train. They're going to bring the explosives on the train." the turned. "Twinkie, I don't want you there. Just-"

" _Oliver there are people at that station, and I'm half way there. Find the train, stop it, if it gets too close call me and I am out of there, I promise. But I will not leave without getting as many people out of there as I can. I'm part of the reason it's opening, I'm not risking those people’s lives. I'll be at the station waiting for you to save the day."_

Oliver groaned when the line ended, but there was no time to stop and be upset. He turned to the others and took a deep breath, trying to focus on the problem at hand and not Katie driving off to danger.

"Felicity-"

"Find out when that train is about to arrive." the woman said rushing over to her computer. "Got it. Expected ETA is 9:58 to coincide with the arrival of the train from Central City."

"Alright, suit up!" John announced, and he, Laurel and Thea all rushed off. Oliver stood there for a moment before Felicity turned to him.

"You know now might be a good time to tell you that Cisco worked on something for you before he knew you were leaving." Felicity said before nudging her head for the man to follow. "Bruce kind of threw a fit that I wanted to keep this here, but like most of our arguments, I won." Oliver followed Felicity over to something covered in a tarp. She reached forward and pulled it away, revealing a new suit that even impressed Oliver.

Katie stood in the train station her eyes scanning the area. She was sure these Ghost guys would probably make an appearance, but she's sure the reason for their name meant she probably wouldn't be able to easily spot them.

"And here is your water." Lucius said offering the bottle to the woman who took it. "You know I'm still not use to this." the man said looking down to the woman's large belly. "It's a good look on you, you know."

"Well it's a look that is going to end in a couple of months." Katie replied taking a sip from the bottle, her eyes still darting across the room.

"Are you looking for someone?" Lucius asked. "You're looking around as if you're expecting to see someone." Katie looked over to him, as one of the assistants walked over.

"We're ready for you now, doctor." the woman said and Katie simply gave a nod before turning to Lucius and handing him the water bottle.

"Wish me luck." Katie said before turning and heading for the step that lead to the stage.

"Everyone, I would like for you to welcome one of the people who made this possible. CEO of Robins Incorporated, Dr. Katherine Robins." There was a roar of applause. And for the life of her, Katie didn't understand why these people were actually happy to see her. She pulled on a smile, as she walked on the stage, kind of disappointed at the large crowd. Apparently even the short notice mention of her name could bring in a crowd.

"Hello everyone, I want to say that I really appreciate you all coming out today to witness something much more than a simple train making a simple stop here. What you're about to witness is the hard work of hundreds of people who worked tirelessly to make sure that your travel was the last thing you had to worry about." the woman dropped her head for a moment before looking up to the eyes on her. "You know if Ray were here, his speech would probably be big, and he'd say a bunch of words that only half of us understood and the other half would probably have to look up on our way home. But I have to believe if Ray were here, he'd say how happy he was that this was taking off, but he would also say that this was only the beginning. I know since Ray's passing, things have been happening in this city and I know it's scary and I know you're not sure where to turn, but I promise you there are people here who are fighting for you, who will protect you and who will do their best to make sure you all get back to your families. Once again I want thank you all for coming out and I want to welcome you to the new Star City Train Station. Have a great night."

The crowd erupted in more applause, and she heard questions being shouted to her, but she took a step back and watched as the managers came forward for the ribbon cutting. The phone in her pocket suddenly rang and she pulled it out, her heart instantly dropping from her chest. She brought the phone to her ear.

"Get out of there." came Oliver's voice, and Katie's eyes went to all the people still there, "Twinkie-"

"Ok." she replied before ending the call. She should turn and head for the door, but instead, she ran back up the podium. "Everyone, I have just been made aware of a possible terror threat, so for your safety, I need you all to exit this building." they all just stood there, in confusion. "Now! You need to leave now!" there was a sudden spark from overhead ,and Katie looked up to see Thea, decked out in her Arsenal suit. Everyone lifted their head.

"Everyone, get out of here!" she yelled, which seemed to make the people move a little quicker. Katie turned about to heading from the stage, where Lucius was waiting for her.

"I'm getting you out of here." the man said bringing an arm around the woman to help her out to the car. Katie was about to get inside, when she heard the familiar whistle of the impending train. "Katie we have to go." Katie turned back to the man and shook her head.

"I told someone not to run from who they were today, and now I think it's time I did the same."

"What are you talking about?"

"The less you know the better, just know that I will be alright." Katie says pulling away from the man and sifting through the crowd. Lucius couldn't follow her, even if he wanted.

It was strange. It was happening again. There was something inside of Katie that she couldn't explain, she couldn't describe. There was something, pulling her, drawing her near and with all her will power, she just couldn't stop it. She suddenly stopped, her feet on the tracks of the train. She could feel the vibrations, could hear the train moving in closer, but she didn't have that instinct, that thing that tells you when dangers is coming. There was no urge to move. She kept her feet on the tracks, as a train headed right toward her.

 _"Well Nura."_ the voice spoke, and Katie turned with wide eyes at the man who she wished to hell she couldn't see.

"You're dead." she said with a shake of her head. "You're not here, Oliver killed you. You can't hurt me anymore."

 _"You're right, I can't hurt you, Nura. I'm not here to hurt you."_ the man said walking over to her. _"I'm here to warn you. It's about to happen."_

"What's about to happen?"

_"Your life is about to change forever."_

_"Stop the train."_ a modulated voice spoke from somewhere, and Katie turned.

 _"No, I don't want to."_ another voice replied, this one seeming slightly familiar. _"Even if I did, I couldn't. I destroyed the braking system 20 miles ago."_

_"Willing to die to destroy a train station?"_

_"No, that would be ridiculous."_

Katie closed her eyes, for a moment before releasing a deep breath. Suddenly she feels herself moving and when she opens her eyes, she standing on the train. She sees Oliver, and he's wearing his hood. It looks different than the one before. He's talking to a man, bleach blonde hair who Katie can't help but feel she's seen before.

 _"Then how are you planning on getting off the train?"_ Oliver asked his arrow pointed at the man.

 _"Oh, you don't know who I am, do you? I'm Damian Darhk."_ The man said, and it seemed just the mere mention of the man's name sets something off in Oliver who releases the arrow, only for the man to simply lift a hand and stop the arrow from even touching him. Katie tilts her head at the sight, unable to even believe her own eyes. Oliver continued to shoot arrow after arrow that the man continued to block. He realized he needed a new tactic, so he stalked toward the man.

Katie stood there watching the fight, unable to do anything but watch. Damian was good, and no matter what Oliver did, he met each punch harder and quicker. He got the drop on on Oliver too many times, taunting him every time he did.

 _"Whoo! Is that all you got?"_ Darhk said before grabbing the man and slamming against the wall, before placing a hand on his chest, causing Oliver to scream in pain. _"It seems you've much in common with the Arrow. You're both dead."_

"No!" Katie yelled.

Physically she wasn't on that train but one of the two men heard her. Damian turned his head, not sure where the voice had come from. He looked over his shoulder with narrowing eyes unable to knock the feeling that someone was there. He heard Oliver groan and he turned back to the man.

He didn't expect the dart in his back. He turned to see another man holding the gun as he dropped to his knees. Darhk, placed a hand on his chest as he looked up and he could've sworn he saw a woman. So eerily familiar, but he could barely focus on her and then suddenly she was gone. He looked back to the men, and took this moment of distraction to leave.

When Katie opened her eyes, she found herself once again back on those train tracks. She felt her heart ramming in her chest, not sure what just happened or if any of it was real. There was a light in the distance, and she could see the train, see it coming right for her, and that natural instinct still didn't kick in. She should be scared, but for some reason she wasn't. It was as if she knew for a fact, she wouldn't be hurt.

 _"Get off the tracks, Nura."_ it was the demon once again, this time standing right in front of her. " _It's filled with explosives, and it's heading straight for you and your baby."_ Katie looked from him to the train, her heart feeling like it was going to beat from her chest. _"Nura, what is that feeling?"_

"I don't know." she replied her hands clenching at her side.

 _"C'mon, Nura, tell me what that feeling is?"_ she turned to him, a smile tugging at his lips and it made her sick. It was the smile that would always haunt her. " _This is your chance to leave, and remain blissfully ignorant to what you are."_ Katie looked up to the train, her head screaming at her to move, to run, to do something other than just stand here, but she couldn't.

Suddenly the train exploded, and Katie's eyes went wide. She could feel the heat, and the vibrations from all around her. The train was only getting closer. She couldn't move, her eyes focused only on that train until something struck. An impossibility that seemed to slip from her lips.

"Stop." it was a whisper. It was barely a whisper, and yet it was enough. The train stopped, almost instantly. The flames still danced in front of her, a sight completely unnatural. "How-"

 _"You have always underestimated your abilities Nura."_ the demon spoke and Katie glanced over to him. _"And now you will be the key to my return."_

"This isn't real." she said with a shake of her head. "You're not real, and this-" she turned back to the train in front of her. "This isn't real. It's—it's a hallucination. It's because I'm here. Back in this city." she turned back to him. "But not for long. We're getting out of here." she turned, her feet finally listening to her brain and letting her walk. She continued walking until she found the flashing lights of police and the fire department. She didn't stop walking, not until a hand caught her arm and she whipped around to very familiar face.

"Doc, what are you still doing here, I thought-" the woman threw herself into Lance's arms. He looked down to her in confusion, but he brought his arms around her. "It's alright. You're alright."

Katie ended up back at the police station. Lance brought her to his office, where he let her lie down on the old couch in the corner. He brought her in some water.

"Here you go." the man said handing the cup to her. "Did you need something else? I could get you food or-"

"I'm fine, Captain." Katie said taking a sip from the cup. "Just wasn't really expecting tonight's events." she looked back over to the man with a shake of her head. "Was anyone hurt?"

"Just minor injuries from people trying to get out of there, but other than that there haven't been any fatalities reported." the man said still looking the woman over. "Are you sure you don't want a doctor to look you over, you're looking kind of pale."

"I'm fine really. Just a bit shaken up. It's been a while since I've been in the middle of excitement like tonight." she looked to the man's casted arm. "Did that happen tonight?" the man looked down, but shook his head.

"Different day, different excitement. But it's fine." he looked back up to the woman. "I noticed you and Oliver were gone for a while I thought I wouldn't see either of you again."

"You know I thought the same thing too, but nothing is ever definite." she replied with a slight shake of her head. "I should go, Oliver's probably tearing through this city to find me."

"No, I called Laurel, told her to pass along a message to him to let him know you were here and safe." the man replied and Katie gave a small smile. "Are you sure there isn't anything I can do? I haven't been around a pregnant woman since Dinah was pregnant with Sara, so I'm a bit out of my element."

"You're doing fine." Katie said when there was a sudden knock at the door. They both turned as Quentin stood to his feet and went over to open the door. The moment he did, he took a step to the side, and watched as Oliver rushed inside dropping to Katie's side. Despite what Quentin felt for the man, he respected the protectiveness he had over the woman. It's one of the reasons he wasn't as worried about her absence around the city.

"Are you alright?" Oliver asked, still clearly worried. When he returned back to the hideout and there was no word on Katie's whereabouts, he went crazy with worry. He placed a hand on her cheek. "Maybe we should go to the doctor?"

"I'm fine." she said placing her hands on the sides of his face. "Right now, looking at you in front of me, I am more than fine."

"What happened?"

"I got your call, tried to get people out of there, but I got separated from Lucius. I found Lance, and he brought me back here." she chose not to mention her crazy moment at the train tracks figuring worrying him even more tonight wouldn't help. "But I'm good. I could probably use a nice hot bath, and a cheese burger, but other than that, I'm good, really." Oliver stared at her for moment, still taking in that she really was alright, before he brought his arms around her.

"Ok." the man pressed a kiss to her cheek. "C'mon." he helped the woman to her feet and they headed for the door, stopping in front of the Captain. "I know you have a pretty obvious opinion of me, but I want you to know I appreciate what you did tonight." he looked over to Katie, who held on to his side with a slight smile before turning back to the man. "Thank you." Lance simply gave the man a nod before watching the man leave.

When they returned to their room that night, Katie walked over to flip on the television. The news was playing the expected story of the explosion, and Katie can't help but go back to that moment the tracks. That impossible moment.

" _We've talked to witnesses who were inside the station only moments before the chaos erupted."the reporter spoke. "They all recounted the moment they were warned to get to safety by Dr. Katherine Robins. The socialite has been noticeably absent these last couple of months, many speculating that she was gone for good. But tonight the woman returned, and did the one thing we've always been able to count on her for. Tonight Star City thanks you Dr. Robins, and we're glad you're back."_

Katie grabbed the remote, and flicked off the television. She dropped her head, when Oliver took the seat beside her, and brought a hand to gently rub circles along her back. A soft smile came to her lips as she dropped her head to his shoulder.

"Twinkie, I have to tell you something." Oliver said and Katie closed her eyes because she knew he was about to say something she didn't like. "Damian Darhk was on that train. He's the one behind these Ghost attacks and he's still out there." the woman didn't say anything and the man glanced down to her. "I'm fully prepared to get in a car and drive back to our house, and first thing in the morning, I'll pick up that paint and we can invite over Debra and Brad. We can make a party out of it." he placed a kiss on top of her head.

"We made a mistake." Katie mutters as she mindlessly slides her hand across his chest. "We mistook fantasy for reality. We wanted it so badly, so fiercely that we forgot who we were." she looked up to the man's eyes. "You're a man who fights so fiercely against the bad people in the world. And I'm the woman who's usually right there at your side fighting along with you. In some form." she said with a light laugh as she dropped her eyes from his. "We ran from reality, but it only caught up to us. It's time for us to stop running."

"Are you sure?" Oliver asked asked. She wasn't sure. She was almost one hundred percent positive that she did not want to do this. It hadn't even been a full forty eight hours, and the darkness she'd tried to give Oliver hope against, was starting to consume her. "Twinkie-" she stood to her feet and walked over to stand in front of the window. She didn't want to lie. "We'll leave. Right now." she turned back to the man and sighed. he stood to his feet and walked over to her.

"So the choice comes between the safety of this city and me and you choose me."

"Every time." Oliver replied bringing his hands to her waist. She looked up to his eyes, and could practically see the war going on inside of himself. He made a promise to this city and a man he knows could tear it apart is somewhere in the shadows.

"I would never forgive myself if anything happened if we left and didn't even try to help." she placed her hands on the man's chest and decided that this had to happen. She gave a nod before looking up to his eyes again. "We're doing this. We're staying. This city needs that light inside of you." the man leaned in to capture the woman's lips in a kiss he'd seemed to need in this moment after all the craziness. He didn't want to tell her what happened on that train, how Darhk seemed to be able to drain the life from him. It was her face he saw in those moments before John saved him.

"I think there's one more thing I should do." Oliver said and Katie looked at him with a furrowed brow. "One more trip, then I promise a warm bed that we won't have to get out of for the next couple of days.

"That is a promise you better keep, Mr. Queen." Katie replied before taking his hand and letting him pull her away.

They returned to the lair, where Katie, Felicity, Laurel and Thea all crowded around one of the monitors, a smile on their face at the sight on the screen.

" _5_ _months ago, the Arrow died. But what he stood for didn't. It lived on in the heroes who took up his mantle. People who believe that this city should never descend into hopelessness. Who believe although light is full of darkness, that darkness can be the key to find light."_ Katie smiled at the man's words, her hand sliding across her belly, the baby seeming to be enjoying the sound of her father's voice. _"And tonight, I am declaring my intention to stand with them, to fight for this city, to be the symbol of hope that the Arrow never was. I am the Green Arrow."_

The signal suddenly dropped and they all turned to Katie who looked over to them with a quirked brow.

"Don't look at me like that." she warned. "This is not a big deal."

"It kind of is." Felicity replied. "Twiver has come home, the band is back together."

"Almost together." Thea said placing a hand on Katie's belly. "Twinkie's gonna be benched for most of the game."

"Well when the time comes, I'm sure the Guardian will make her grand entrance too." Felicity said with a nudge of her head and Katie quirked a brow, but they followed after her. "Cisco seemed way too excited about this, and I will admit it is awesome." Next to the case that held the Green Arrow suit was another display case covered. Felicity reached over and pulled off the tarp, and their eyes when to the leather suit inside. They all noticed the amount of detail from the strategically placed holsters to the, knife vest. Katie's eyes went up to the yellow domino mask hidden under the black hood.

"That is one bad ass suit." Thea marveled before turning to Katie.

"As if I would ever be able to fit into that at all." Katie muttered with a shake of her head. "I think my crime fighting days are behind me." the woman walked over and the others followed.

"What does that mean?" Laurel asked.

"It means, you need me, I'm here. I mean I'm still a doctor so if you get banged up and Ethan's busy, I can help. Or you guys find yourself in a problem and need it looked at a different way, then I'm there, but I just can't see myself picking up a weapon and hurting people anymore." she looked down to her belly. "I don't know, I just can't see myself shaping this life inside of me and having the nerve to take someone else's."

"So what you're saying is the baby is making you soft?" Thea asked and Katie rolled her eyes at the woman. "You know I can't believe it. You still got that look in your eyes Twinkie. I refuse to believe the fight has just left you." They all turned as Oliver and John walked back in.

"Now, if I'm not mistaken I was promised a bed I wouldn't have leave for like ever." Katie said as Oliver walked over to her.

"Alright, let me change and we can head out." Oliver said placing a kiss to the woman's lips before going to change out of the Green Arrow suit.

They were in the car driving when Katie realized they weren't heading toward the hotel. She turned to the man behind the wheel with a furrowed brow.

"Where are we going, Mr. Queen?"

"A promise is a promise doctor." Oliver replied and Katie narrowed her eyes at the man. Soon they pulled up in front of a familiar building and Katie looked up to it in confusion.

"Why are we at Thea's place?" Katie asked looking over to the man who didn't say a word before stepping out of the car and walking over to open the woman's door. "I don't like surprises Liver."

"You like some surprises." Oliver replied as he took her hand and lead her inside. He didn't say much as they rode the elevator. And Katie just continued to watch him, waiting for him to tell her what was going on. "C'mon." He lead her off the elevator and headed to the door. Once inside, Katie noticed how empty it was except for a couple of boxes.

"What is this?"

"Thea has been staying with Laurel." Oliver said and Katie turned to her. "Once you left, she didn't want to stay here alone after what happened here." Katie turned looking over to the spot they'd found Thea. It's an image she doesn't think she will ever forget. "So at the moment it's vacant." Katie turned to the man before walking over to one of the boxes and looking inside.

"This is our stuff." she said looking over to the man. "When have you had time to have movers get our stuff here?"

"Do you really want to know the hows and whys of all of this Twinkie, or do you want to see that very nice bed that's upstairs?" Oliver asked and Katie just shook her head but took the man's hand and let him lead her upstairs.

It was late that night, when Katie looked over to Oliver who was soundly sleeping. Tonight sleep just wasn't coming to her as easily. She stood as quietly as she could, and slipped out of the room to not disturb the man. Katie knew the reason she couldn't sleep, knew what had her brain still spinning. She stood on the balcony of the loft, and looked out to the city lights and sighed. She learned to breathe the moment she left this city, and now she was back and all the nerves just came rushing back. Her hand slid over her belly as she felt the not so gentle kicks of someone else not getting any sleep tonight. Katie let out a deep sigh before turning and heading back inside deciding that maybe a snack will help. She headed for the kitchen, but stopped when she thought she heard someone outside the door. This was one of those moments Oliver would tell her to call him so he could be the one to check it out. A part of her knew she should, but another part of her figured she also might just be hearing things. She walked over to the door, and looked out the peep hole and just as she thought, no one was there.

"This place is already driving you crazy." she muttered before turning and heading for the kitchen. Suddenly the sound of something sliding under the door stopped her and she looked down to the white envelope now in front of her. It was yet another moment, she's sure Oliver would tell her to find him so he can be the one to determine what was happening. She shook her head before walking over and picking up the envelope, opening it and staring in confusion at the contents.

"Twinkie?" she looks up to see Oliver walk down the stair, his voice still filled with sleep as he looks to the woman. "What's that?" she looks back to the envelope before suddenly feeling her throat start to constrict. The envelope falls from her hands, as she brings her hands around her throat trying and failing catch the air to her lungs. "Twinkie!" Oliver runs over to her as she nearly collapses to the floor. "What-" he looks over to the envelope, now able to see black rose pedals that had fallen from the envelope.

In a chair, a very comfortable chair if he had so say so himself sat a man with a dilemma. On one hand, he knew he should focus on the destruction of Star City that would bring about the new world order. On the other hand he was tingling. He didn't tingle. There was nothing inside of him that should tingle, and yet in this moment he felt something moving underneath his skin. Coursing through his veins. It's a feeling that both intrigues and worries him at the same time. His eyes are locked on the screen as he plays the news coverage over and over again.

_"... know since Ray's passing, things have been happening in this city and I know it's scary and I know you're not sure where to turn, but I promise you there are people here who are fighting for you, who will protect you and who will do their best to make sure you all get back to your families. I once again I want thank you all for coming out and I want to welcome you to the new Star City Train Station. Have a great night."_

He paused the screen which was a close up of the smile on her face. It was the smile he would remember for as long as he lived.

"Minnah's daughter."

For some reason that made him laugh. He'd found her and now he would have to shift focus. There was a knock at his door and he looked up to see one of his men.

"Was the mission successful?" Darhk asked.

"Ms. Robins was being rushed to the hospital when I left." the man said and Darhk turned back to the image with a furrowed brow, before waving off the man to leave.

"Maybe she didn't inherit her mother's gifts." the man said with shake of his head before flicking of the television. "Shame."


	3. Making Reality Work

**Chapter 3**

**Making Reality Work**

_"What are you hiding? No one ever asks that."_

_-Sarah Vowell_

* * *

It was rare that Oliver Queen felt the thirst of blood lust. Rare that he wanted to feel someone's blood on his fingers, see that last breath escape their lips.

Oliver was a man who was shipwrecked on an island, who went through long, grueling tasks to find himself back home. When Oliver returned to Starling he didn't know who he was. He knew what he wanted to represent, what he thought his city needed, but for the longest time he didn't truly know who he was. There was always this battle within himself, pulling him to roles he thought he should fill, but none of them truly showed who he was as a person. Over the course of the last couple of months something Oliver didn't expect to happen, actually happened. He discovered who Oliver Queen really was.

He was a father. There wasn't an actual child born yet, but everyday he felt the title of father really become a part of who he was. And it was only made possible by a woman who also helped him realize who he was. Oliver realized that he was hers. In every sense, and every meaning of the phrase, he belonged to her.

So as the man paced aimlessly through the pale halls of the hospital, his mind seemed to erupt with countless thoughts of the woman he'd just witnessed being rolled away on a stretcher. He was trying to imagine a life where he was told that the woman whisked away from him wouldn't be coming back. For some reason he couldn't imagine it, he couldn't see a future with such a moment. Because he was Oliver Queen and he only existed to be that unborn child's father, and he lived to love that woman unconditionally and if he could do neither of those things then in all actuality there was no Oliver Queen.

At some point Felicity showed up at the hospital, and then his sister, and somewhere during that time Laurel and John arrived. At various moments they tried talking to him, trying to get him to tell them what happened, but it was strange because Oliver saw them, knew they were near him and yet he didn't hear a word from their mouths. He continued to pace. He didn't pace, because pacing was the same as walking in place, and walking in place was the same as not moving. And not moving was the same as doing nothing. For some reason right now pacing didn't feel like he was doing nothing. In all reality he was going over every moment of this night. From getting out of bed, and not seeing her, to walking out and seeing her standing there holding an envelope. It always ends with the frightened look on her face as she collapses. That moment is etched in his memory. Making that blood lust so much stronger. He was going to find out who did this and they were going to pay dearly.

When the woman who was almost killed in a possible explosion just hours prior, then is suddenly rushed to the hospital, suspicions start to rise. It's why Captain Quentin Lance showed up at the hospital the moment he found out the news. His daughter spotted him first and quickly went over to him.

"Hey, there any news?" he asked when she walked over.

"Not yet." Laurel replied. "Has the police been to her place, yet?"

"Yeah, no one saw or heard anything. There are no prints on the envelope, and no DNA has been found." Lance said looking back over to Oliver. "All I have is him. The only person with her when this happened." Quentin was about to walk over, but his daughter caught his arm.

"Oliver isn't ready for your questions right now." Laurel said with a shake of her head. "The last time he saw Katie she was unconscious and he hasn't heard anything yet. Just give him some time." Lance let out a sigh. He understood what she was saying, knew he could probably wait, but he wanted to find the person behind this as soon as possible.

"Fine." Lance replied. "I'm going to head back to the station. I have some guys combing through surveillance footage from surrounding buildings to see if they can see anything. Call me when there is news." Laurel gave her father a nod before watching the man rush off.

"Did the police find anything at the loft?"John asked appearing at Laurel's side.

"No. Whoever did this was clean, left nothing behind that can trace back to them." Laurel looked over to Oliver who continued to pace the small space of the waiting room and sighed. "He can't keep this up." the woman walked over to Oliver and placed herself in his path to finally stop him from moving. "Oliver, I can't imagine what you're feeling right now, but you have to stop for a second and just breathe." Oliver looked down to the woman. He could see her lips moving, but he still couldn't hear her. He witnessed his entire world being rolled away on a stretcher, and now something was broken inside of him. "Oliver?" Oliver lifted his head at the sight of Ethan finally appearing from behind the double doors, and without hesitation Oliver rushed over to him.

"I want to see her." it was the first words they'd heard come from the man's mouth since they arrived. Ethan looked up to the man, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't you sit down first?"

"I don't want to sit down, I want to see her now." Oliver replied, this time much more aggressively.

"Oliver, you need to calm down and first just listen to what Ethan has to say." Laurel said before turning to the doctor. "Is she alright?"

"She's fine." Ethan said turning back to Oliver. "So is your daughter."

"That's good, right?" Felicity asked drying her eyes as best she can with her fingers.

"It is, but I'm still a bit worried, because we have no idea what was wrong with her."

"What do you mean?" Oliver questioned. "She's allergic to roses, someone slid an envelope filled with rose pedals underneath the door and when she picked it up, she had a reaction."

"That's what we assumed, but I found none of the general markers for an allergic reaction."

"She was having trouble breathing."

"Which can occur when you feel anxious. She probably believed she was having an allergic reaction too and it just scared her."

"So what are you saying, she's not allergic to roses?" Oliver asked with a shake of his head.

"I'm saying what happened tonight was not an allergic reaction. It was something that rendered her unconscious just by touching it. Whatever was sent to her was very dangerous. Maybe because she only touched the envelope it didn't have it's intended affect, but she's lucky." the man shook his head as he looked to the others. "Is there any lead on where this came from?"

"The police have nothing." Laurel said and Ethan sighed before turning back to Oliver.

"Look, I'm going to let you see her, but all of this kind of freaked her out and she's a little shaken and I need you not to be. I need you to be strong, and to do whatever you have to, to keep her calm, alright? Can you do that?"

"Yes, I just—tell me where she is." Oliver said once again and Ethan simply nudged his head for the man to follow. When they arrived outside the door, Oliver took one final moment to try to rid himself of the fear, and anxiousness that had taken over his entire body. Ethan was right, he needed to be strong for her and that's what he was going to do.

"Hey, it's ok if you need a minute." Ethan said turning to the man. "You went through this too, and if you can't-" Oliver stopped listening to the man and finally walked through the door.

The room itself, was dim. The blinds were drawn, not really letting much light in. There was a subtle beeping sound coming from one of the machines next to her bed. His eyes went to the woman lying on the bed, her back to him as she looks to the window. She lifted her head and looked over to him, and for some reason seeing the man made her release a heavy sigh.

"So, I had this weird dream-" Katie spoke as Oliver walked over and took a seat on the edge of her bed, automatically taking her hand in his. "I couldn't sleep, so I went and got some air on the balcony, but that didn't work. So I decide maybe a snack would help, because food solves everything." the man cracked a smile as he gave the woman's hand a gentle squeeze. "I thought I heard someone outside the door when I walked by, and I distinctly remember thinking that maybe I should call Liver, but I thought I was having another one my crazy moments." she closed her eyes and dropped her head. "Those moments where I see things and I hear things that just can't be-" she looked back up to the man with tears in her eyes. "It was an envelope. It was harmless and yet-" she placed a hand on her belly and closed her eyes with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry." she looked back up to Oliver and the tears just continued to fall. "It was was stupid, and I should've known better and because of it, I risked-"

"Hey, Twinkie, look at me." Oliver said placing his hands on the sides of the woman's face and leaning into her as much as he could. "This is not your fault. You did nothing wrong, and right now everything is fine. You're here-" he placed a kiss to her lips before placing a hand on her belly. "She's still here and she's still perfect."

Jacob Robins kept his eyes on Martin who stood muttering on the phone. Soon Martin turned to him and gave him a thumbs up, that let Jacob breathe since finding out about his daughter being rushed to the hospital.

"Thank you Dr. Mills, we'll be in touch." Martin ended the call, letting out a deep sigh of his own before walking over to sit beside his boss. "Her and the baby are completely fine."

"Completely fine people aren't rushed to the hospital." Jacob wheezed through the oxygen mask. "What happened?"

"According to the statement Oliver gave to the police, someone slipped an envelope filled with black rose pedals underneath the door. When she picked it up, he believed she had an allergic reaction, but according to Dr. Mills-"

"There was no allergic reaction." Jacob spoke closing his eyes and letting out another sigh. "It's because she's not allergic to roses." Martin frown in confusion. He remembered many times in the past when Katie was just a little girl and would visit her father at work how the man made a priority to rid the offices of roses because of his daughter's allergy.

"I thought-"

"You thought what I wanted you to think. What I wanted her to think." Jacob replied with a slight shake of his head. "Roses were a calling card for Darhk. He would send them to enemies and the moment the person touched a single pedal-"

"They're rushed to the hospital for allergies?"

"No, they die." Jacob replied looking over to the man. "He sent those pedals as a test. A test she survived."

"Why do I get the feeling, Mr. Darhk will not go away because of this."

"Because he isn't. Eyes on her at all times, and when we get the shot take it."

"Yes sir." Martin says standing to his feet and and heading for the door, but stopping. "Sir-" he turned back to Jacob. "This-" he gestured to the man and the machines he was now attached to helping him stay alive. "You can't live like this."

"I'm not going to a hospital."

"Then at least let me bring her here?" Jacob shook his head at the thought. "She deserves to know what's happening and-"

"Worry about keeping eyes on my daughter. Worry about locating Mr. Harper and Ms. Lane. You know what, worry about Damian Darhk finding out who my daughter is, but Martin, do not worry about me."

"Yes sir." Martin replied before turning and hurrying from the room.

The night of the rose pedals was a night neither Katie nor Oliver thought they would ever get past. A night they went back to often, but day after day it got easier. To make sure Katie truly was alright, Ethan ordered two weeks bed rest which she hated, but would do at the insistence of practically everyone. The weeks were long, but she made it through, not completely hating hanging out in bed while Oliver waited on her. She assumed when they came back to Starling, and he returned to his mantle as the city's hero she wouldn't see him as much but apparently that wasn't true. Oliver never left her side, which worried her when the bed rest was finally lifted.

The week after she was finally lifted from bed rest, Katie thought it was finally time to start getting back to her own reality. And that meant getting back to a company that seemed to be going downhill since she left. This morning, Katie stood in the bathroom fully dressed as she looked at herself in the mirror hoping to calm herself from the sudden nervousness. She actually called a meeting with members of the board of directors and a couple of department heads from the company. This would be the first ever meeting she would be at the head of and she wasn't completely confident she could pull it off, but she was the one in charge and that meant she was the one who had to do something.

"You can do this." Katie whispered one more time as she smooth out her skirt, and once again tried to button her blazer, but it was no use. Her belly was not letting it happen. She just shook her head before turning and walking from the bathroom, only to find Oliver standing right there. "I'm not doing this again with you Oliver." the woman walked past him back to the bedroom to fetch her shoes.

"Maybe we should do this again, because you don't seem to understand what you're doing." Oliver followed closely behind her. "Someone tried to kill you-"

"No." the woman said with a pointed finger toward the man. "Someone slipped an envelope under Thea's door. No one knew we were here, so it could've been your sister someone was trying to kill. Or it could've been the wrong door. There was no evidence proving that envelope was meant for me." she went over to the closet. "Have you seen my black shoes that are comfortable and don't make my feet look giant?"

"Twinkie, you were taken to a hospital and-"

"Oliver, I don't need a recap, because unfortunately I was there." Katie says walking from the closet in hopes of finding her shoes. "You want me to be scared, to stay locked in this apartment where we just lay in bed and watch television and eat but the problem is the world is still spinning outside these walls." She turned to the man. "You told this city that you were back and that you would help protect them and for almost a week you've been here." Oliver opened his mouth to reply, but she held up a hand. "And I'm not saying you shouldn't have been here, I loved that you were here, but I'm fine now, I am able to return to my life and you are able to do the same. You don't have to worry about me." the woman walked passed the man out of the room, and headed downstairs where she began sifting through the boxes they still had to unpack. "Have you seriously not seen my shoes? I swear I seen them."

"Fine, if you're going then so am I." the woman sighed and turned to the man. "That sounds reasonable."

"It does, but you seem to be forgetting one thing." Katie says before grabbing the remote and flicking on the television to the news that was currently playing a story of the latest attack of the city's Ghosts. "Damien Darhk is still here and he doesn't seem to be leaving." she turned to the man. "We need to find out why and if it has anything to do with my mother and you can't do that babysitting me." Oliver glanced over to the television. He was very aware of the Ghost presence in this city and Damien Darhk, the man with abilities he doesn't know if he will be able to beat. He turned back to Katie who was sifting through another box and he let out a sigh. He walked over to the couch, and slid his hand underneath before pulling out the shoes she was looking for. The woman looked over to him, her eyes going wide for a moment before taking them from him.

"You know I could've just worn different shoes, not having these wouldn't have stopped me from leaving."

"These are the only shoes you have that aren't sneakers and that are actually comfortable. You were either not going or wearing those furry slippers you have." Oliver replied bringing his arms around her. "I don't like this."

"We came back Oliver, and that means we have to deal with what we came back to." the woman replied bringing her lips to his. "We're going to be fine." the woman dropped the shoes to the floor and slipped them on her feet. "I don't really know how long this meeting will take, but I'll have my phone." she looked up to the man's eyes. "Oliver, RI is heavily guarded. Ever since that David situation they've really stepped it up."

"I will see about that when I drop you off." Oliver replied and Katie turned with a half smile. "What?"

"Actually, I have a ride." the woman replied. "My own driver slash bodyguard so to speak." there was a knock at the door and Oliver turned around. "Liver-" the man stalked toward the door. "Be nice." the moment he opened the door, Oliver just shook his head.

"Hello Bruce."

"Oliver, good to see you." Bruce replied looking into the loft and spotting Katie. A big smile pulled at his lips when he saw the woman. "Robins-" he walked inside sans invitation, which annoyed Oliver but he kept it to himself. "You look good, kid." the man brought his arms around her in a hug. "I don't think my arms quite fit around you." the woman pulled back and punched him in the shoulder. "So fat jokes are a no."

"Big no." Katie says before looking down to the gift bag in the man's hand. "What's that?" Bruce looked down to the bag before handing to the woman.

"So I was in Gotham and spotted that and thought I would get it for your spawn." Bruce said and Katie glared up to the man before looking inside the bag, and bursting into laughter.

"What is it?" Oliver asked walking over and Katie shook her head before reaching into the bag and pulling out a tiny baby onesie. The woman held it up before turning it to the front, where there was a black Batman symbol. "You have to be kidding me?" the man shook his head before turning to Bruce. "My daughter will never, as long as there is a breath in my body, wear that."

"Liver, you have to admit this is ridiculously adorable." Katie says looking at the tiny outfit. She looked over to Oliver who still just shook his head before turning to Bruce. "Since when does the Batman have his own baby clothing line?"

"Since the world is full of people who want to make money." Bruce replied. "Speaking of, you sure you're ready for this meeting? You're walking into a room of some very important people with the company and I can only imagine they aren't going to be the most pleasant people to be around. They're blaming the company’s downfall on the lack of stable leadership."

"I can't blame them. When I was handed this company I barely wanted anything to do with it and so I tried to hand it to anyone who would take it and Wayne was the lucky winner. I put the company in this weird limbo and now I have to fix it."

"Things I never thought I would hear come out of your mouth. I thought running this company was the last thing you wanted to do. What's changed?"

"The fact that I didn't want it and yet couldn't get rid of the damn thing." Katie replied looking around the room for her purse. "I have to accept the fact that until something changes, I am the controlling power of a company and those people who I employ deserve leadership that they can depend on." she turned back to Bruce who was smiling. "Don't give me that look." she looked over to Oliver. "My bag is-"

"Kitchen." Oliver replied and Katie gave a nod before heading for the kitchen. Once she was gone, the man turned to Bruce who sighed knowing there were probably about to be some threats about to be thrown his way.

"Before you start-"

"What do you know about Damian Darhk?" Oliver asked seriously. Bruce glanced over to the kitchen before taking a step toward the man.

"Felicity told me you saw him. He was on the train that almost blew up the station." Bruce replied and Oliver nodded. Bruce knew a lot more about Damian, but none that helped find him and nothing he was going to tell the man in front of him. He would learn from his mistakes. "I don't know much. He was an enemy of the demon. They both wanted to be Ra's, but we all knew who won."

"What are the chances he's in Star City because of Katie?" Oliver asked. It was the nagging thought he just couldn't let go. It's the thought that is the reason he doesn't want Katie out of his sight. "I mean why would he want anything to do with her? To hurt Ra's? He's dead. To hurt Grace? She's dead too. What's the point?"

"I'm sorry Oliver, I don't have those answers. What I know is that I will be with her all day today. She doesn't leave my side, I promise." Bruce said and Oliver sighed. He disliked the man in front of him very much, but having Bruce with her made him feel a whole lot better about this meeting. Oliver looked back over to the kitchen with a quirked brow. "How long does it take to get a bag?" Bruce asked following his eyes and Oliver simply smiled.

"She's probably eating." Oliver said and Bruce laughed. "No, she's definitely eating." the woman finally appeared from the kitchen walking over to Bruce.

"So you ready?"

"Yeah." he replied. "You know you have something-" he gestured to the crumbs on her cheek and the man couldn't help but laugh. "So you're at the stage where you like to eat everything."

"Not everything." Katie replied trying to wipe her face. She walked over to Oliver. "Did I get it?" he brought a hand to her cheek and gently wiped away any crumbs. "Ok, I can do this. You can do this. We can do this, ok?"

"Ok." Oliver replied, leaning forward and bringing his lips to the woman.

"Enough of that, now." Bruce said and Oliver glared over to the man. "This meeting shouldn't be that long. You'll see her before you know it."

"Make sure she sits and isn't moving around a lot." Oliver says over to the man who nods.

"You know, I usually know at what points I should stand and sit." Katie replied looking over to the man. "Just a FYI. We have to go. Bye." With one more kiss, and a gentle rub to her belly, Oliver watched as the pair rushed out of the loft. The moment they were gone, Oliver took a deep breath trying to settle his own nervousness. He slipped his phone from his pocket and dialed a familiar number.

"Felicity, it's me I-" the man paused when the woman interrupted. "Yes she's on her way, Bruce just came by to pick her up." the man quirked a brow at the next question. "Just now. What do you mean you didn't know he was in the city?" the man just shook his head. "Look I'm calling because I need to know where you guys are on the Ghosts front?"

Katie stood on the elevator of RI, once again feeling a serge of nervousness. Bruce had been looking at something on his phone for most of the drive, trying to limit the conversation between them. He knew too much. He knew things he wished he didn't know about the woman, things he knew he couldn't just tell her or it would really crush her. He looked over to the woman, noticing the hand sliding across her stomach.

"Lucius is gonna be here, right?" she asked suddenly turning to the man.

"He couldn't make it. He's dealing with stuff back home." Bruce replied and he saw the woman visibly deflate. "Robins, you called this meeting, you took the initiative and made the executive decision that your company needed to make a plan to fix this problem it's fallen into your hands. You can do this."

"Yeah I can, but like you said these people may not be very pleasant."

"You've dealt with unpleasant people before." Bruce replied and the woman looked over to him. "Show them whose in charge." the doors finally opened and there standing was a really young blonde woman smiling brightly at the pair.

"Mr. Wayne, Ms. Robins-" the woman suddenly frowned before turning to the woman. "Or should I call you Dr. Robins-" she turned to Bruce. "I'm sorry, I'm just nervous." she turned back to Katie. "It's been a long time since you've been here and I'm not quite sure what to do." Katie and Bruce just stared at the woman before Katie turned to Bruce.

"Do you know who this woman is?" Katie asked before turning back to the blonde.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." the woman held out a hand. "My name is Claire Hastings."

"Hi Claire, I'm Katherine Robins, and I would very much like to get off the elevator now." Katie said with a smile.

"I'm so sorry." Claire took a step to the side and Katie and Bruce finally stepped off of the elevator.

"Why are you bombarding us on the elevator, Ms. Hastings?"

"Because she's your assistant." Bruce said when his phone suddenly rang. "It's Richie, I have to take this." the man didn't wait for a reply before walking off, but still able to see the woman.

"Assistant?" Katie says turning back to the blonde who was still standing there smiling at her. "Since when do I have an assistant?"

"I actually was hired the day you became the boss around here." Claire replied and Katie's eyes widened. "You were never really here though, so I never had much to do, but it looks like that's all about to change I guess."

"Yeah." Katie replied turning and looking down to the boardroom.

"I believe everyone is here and waiting for you." Claire said before holding out a folder to Katie. "Mr. Fox wanted me to give you this." Katie opened the folder to see a list of names, and departments written next to them. "Everyone's been buzzing since you called this meeting. Lots of questions are popping up."

"What's the question I should be most worried about?" Katie asked reading over the list.

"Why are you like crazy pregnant right now?" Claire asked and Katie lifted her head turning to the woman now realizing the baby probably was a big surprise since there wasn't some formal announcement. "Before you go in there, did you need me to get you anything, anything at all."

"No, I'm actually going to need someone to write stuff down in there for me." Katie says and she noticed the woman eyes widen.

"You want me in the meeting?"

"Are you not able to be in the meeting?" Katie asked with a quirked brow. She'd never had an assistant, so she really wasn't sure what the woman should and shouldn't be doing.

"I can be, it's just assistants aren't usually included in such big meetings." Claire replied looking down to the board room.

"Well I believe I will need some assistance in there, and I'm sure you're aware anything discussed in there-"

"Oh absolutely. The entire staff is required to sign all those disclosures. So if anyone goes out an blabs about the new RI smart watch, then we're under the jail." Claire said with a nervous laugh. "I just need to grab a note pad-"

"You won't need it." Katie replied before turning and walking over to Bruce who was just ending his call. "You ready."

"I actually have to make another call." Bruce said looking over to the woman. "You should go, you got this."

"Why do I have a feeling this was all part of some elaborate plan between you and Lucius?" Katie said and Bruce simply shrugged.

"It's your meeting, Robins. Remember you're the woman controlling this, so no matter what happens, keep the control." Bruce said and Katie let out another sigh as Claire walked over.

"I guess we should go inside." Katie said and Bruce watched as the two women walked into the boardroom, the door closing behind them. The man smiled before hearing the ring of the elevator. He turned, his eyes going wide to the blonde that stepped off of the elevator. She looked around for a moment before spotting him and he could tell from the way she walked toward him, she was not happy.

"Ms. Smoak, I should be getting to the meeting-" Bruce tried to back away, but Felicity caught his jacket and pulled him back to her. "You're probably wondering why I haven't called."

"I was specifically wondering why my boyfriend snuck back into town without letting me know." Felicity said folding her arms over her chest.

"How do you know I wasn't trying to surprise you?" Bruce asked. He wasn't but it made a good point. The woman scoffed with a shake of her head, before turning away from the man, but he could see her thinking about it, see her doubting her anger. She looked back over to him. "I guess the surprise is ruined."

"I don't believe you. Just like I didn't believe you when you said you just had to rush off to Gotham to see about the company Lucius has been on top of for a long time without your input." Felicity replied. "That night with Barry and Richard, they told you something, something you won't tell me."

"Something I can't tell you." Bruce said grabbing the woman's arm and pulling her with him into one of the empty offices. "We talked about this."

"We did and the fact still remains that if this relationship will work there has to be honesty. I've seen what secrets can do to a relationship, and I don't want that to happen with us." Felicity replied. "Look whatever it is, I can handle it."

"You can't, because I can't." Bruce ran a hand over his face and sighed. "I'm in the middle of something that you can't be in the middle of. It's very dangerous and the less people that know the safer they will be." Felicity shook her head before turning and heading for the door. "Felicity, this secret has to stay secret. If you knew you wouldn't be able to say anything."

"And why not?" the woman whipped around about to the man. "What the hell is going on, Bruce?"

"I'm sorry Felicity, I can't tell you. I can't put you in the middle of this and have you risk losing so much."

"So then how does this work?" Felicity asked with a shrug. "How do you and I work if you can't be honest with me one hundred percent of the time."

"Felicity, I do not want this to come between us. I love you." the man said walking over to the woman only for her to take a step away. "Look the truth is, I care more about your safety than you liking me. If I tell you, your life will be in more danger than it already is."

"What could be that big?" Bruce didn't say anything and Felicity just shook her head before turning and storming from the office. Bruce didn't go after her, even though he wanted to. The problem was she wanted something he couldn't give her. She wanted something no one could know about.

The moment Katie walked into the boardroom, all sound suddenly stopped. Her heart rammed in her chest as she walked to the only empty seat at the table that seemed to be strategically placed so everyone could see her. She pulled on a bright smile as she looked to their faces.

"Good morning everyone, I know this meeting was probably unexpected for you-"

"More like completely unexpected." one of them said and Katie turned to the man who sat further down, lounging back in his seat. "Why are we here?"

"Well-" Katie cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "Robins Incorporated seems to be in trouble financially, and-"

"And I don't think that's our fault." the man once again interrupted and Katie turned with a quirked brow. "This company is only as good as the head on it's shoulders and the problem comes when our head decides she's tired or she wants to be a doctor so she gets another head who runs a competing company. This company's financial troubles rest on your shoulders Dr. Robins."

There was a chill that went through the room in that moment as Katie stared at the man in a way that no one could quite read. She knew what this was, knew he was testing her, seeing how far he could push her until she folds.

"Was there anything else, or can we go? We're very busy people doctor." Katie chuckled for some reason as everyone in the room seemed to stare warily between her and the very outspoken gentleman.

"I'm sorry, what's your name?" Katie asked

"Campbell. Joshua Campbell, one of the senior board members and head of R&D here at RI." the man replied proudly.

"Well Mr. Campbell, first I would like to say thank you for coming today." the woman said glancing around to the people around the table. "I know all of your time is precious, and please trust me when I say that I would not have called you here if I didn't feel it was necessary."

"Which it-"

"When I open up the floor for comments Mr. Campbell, I will be sure to tell you, but until then, I am going to have to ask you not to interrupt me again." she waited for a smart reply, but the man simply nodded and Katie turned back to the group around the table. "Fine, I will take ownership in my part in all of this. When my father-" she dropped her head, and once again cleared her throat before looking back up to the group. "When my father died, and named me the CEO of this company, I didn't get it and I'm pretty sure none of you did either. So I fought this position. I considered the merger with QC, but that fell through and Wayne Enterprises initiated their POA when they thought I wasn't working in the best interests of the company, and I was relieved that this-" the woman gestured to the people at the table. "This wasn't my responsibility anymore. Then I realized that no matter who is sitting at the head of this table, my name would always be on the side of this building. It's my name, so I made the decision to finally step into the shoes forced in front of me and I promise all of you, I will wear them." the woman gave a nod before finally taking a seat. "I called this meeting because we need a plan. I'm not here everyday, and I don't see everything which is why I wanted members of the board and some of the department heads here together. This company was always ahead of the curve, always innovative, always top of it's class. I need to know what changed, and how we can fix it. I asked you all to bring a plan for your own departments, one you believe will contribute to the success of this company. We will discuss if those plans will be effective, or if they need to be altered." everyone once again gave a nod. "Before we start, I guess now I will open the floor to any comments or concerns anyone has at the moment." everyone's eyes turned to Joshua who smiled, but shook his head. "Well alright then, who would like to start?"

Oliver was listening. He heard Laurel, and all the intel that was gathered that proved tonight the ghosts would be planting a bomb at the source of the city's water supply. He stood, his phone in his hand, wondering if now would be a good time to check in with Katie. He glanced down to the screen, when Laurel turned to him.

"Oliver?" he quickly looked back up to her. "Did you hear what I said?" Oliver just gave a nod before looking down to the monitor which showed the schematics of the water plant. She narrowed her eyes for a moment. "Look if it's too soon for you to be back out there-" Oliver looked over to the woman with a quirked brow. "I know since Katie was in the hospital, you've been a little on edge. I'm actually surprised you're here, but if you're going to be here, then you have to be here."

"I know." Oliver said knowing she was right. He needed to focus on the mission at hand, and that meant believing that Katie was really alright and that he shouldn't worry so much. "Tonight we'll stop them."

Both turned at the sound of high heeled feet. Felicity walked inside not sparing a glance or greeting to either of them as she went over to sit in front of her computer. Oliver and Laurel share a look before going over to the woman.

"Is everything alright?" Laurel asked.

"Men are idiots." Felicity stated plainly before turning to Oliver who lifted his hands as he backed away.

"I think I'm going to go over there." the man pointed behind him before turning and getting away from another woman and another mood that scared the hell out of him.

"So this is about Bruce, I assume?" Laurel asked and Felicity simply pursed her lips as she pecked the keys of her keyboard a bit harder than necessary. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not particularly."

"Ok." Laurel said before glancing over to Oliver. "I'm going to call John and Thea, see what time they should be here."

"And I will be here trying to figure out the best place to put a bomb to destroy our water system." Felicity quipped not even sparing the woman a glance.

"Alright then." Laurel said before turning and walking away. She looked over to Oliver who gave a questioning look, but the woman only shrugged.

Katie sat at the head of the table, her eyes darting back and forth as person after person was speaking. She assumed the dialog was a good thing, and there were ideas already written on the board. She realized this was actually working the way she wanted. She was glad, because it became a win win for her and the company. The company benefited from all the great ideas being tossed around right now. She benefited by taking up a much needed distraction from the fact she thinks she may actually be going crazy. She needed to be here and not in her head, or focusing on being back in this city. There was a clock, but no one was really paying attention to it. They found themselves genuinely trying to map out plans for different departments. Dinner was ordered, and at some point Bruce slipped in, smiling at Katie who stood by one of the department heads as he explained something to her. It was extremely late, but everyone in the room felt like something was accomplished. When the ideas suddenly stopped, and everyone just looked tired, Katie stood to her feet and walked over to the board now covered in ideas to help push the company back into the right direction.

"Alright, I will have this typed up and sent to all of you." she turned back to the board and smiled. "Look I know this won't be easy, I know this won't happen overnight, but we have a plan, so I have the utmost confidence that RI will finally live up to the expectations of our customers and our community. You will all receive a copy of this plan and if you have any more ideas you can send them to my assistant." Katie turned pointing to the woman, now realizing she'd forgotten her name.

"Claire." the woman sighed, and Katie gave an apologetic smiled before turning back to the group.

"You can email Claire and we can work this into our plan. If there's nothing else, you're all free to go." Katie watched as members stood to their feet, conversations drifting out the door. One member did walk over to her before leaving. "Was there something I could help you with Mr. Campbell?"

"You know a lot of us weren't sure you could handle this. Hell some of us still think you can't. But what you did today-" he looked back to the white board, with all the notes and ideas he really think will help this company. "May be the start of you proving a lot of us wrong."

"I think that's a compliment, so I'm going to say thank you."

"Well you're welcome, and I agree with you this will not be easy. But if you don't mind me speaking freely?"

"Kind of late for that, isn't it?"

The man chuckled as he dropped his head for a moment before looking back to the woman. "Officially I'm not allowed to even bring this up according to those boring HR meetings, but I think you need to know. You're the face of this company. This city loves you and the grunt of our customer base sticks with us because of the loyalty to your last name. You being here, being at the head will help us, but you're the one who is going to have accept it and stand in it. I think that starts with telling this city where you stand, and maybe, just maybe why you're mysteriously pregnant." Katie turned to the man with a quirked brow. "It's the topic no one wanted to bring up, but it's going to have to come up at some point."

"Well thanks for your brutal honesty Mr. Campbell."

"Everyone calls me Josh, I guess you can do the same." the man looked up to the clock and huffed. "My wife is going to kill me." he looked over to Katie. "Have a good night, boss." the man gave a nod before hurrying from the boardroom.

"I guess I should get started on this." Claire said looking to the white board.

"Seriously?" Katie asked and the woman turned to her. "It's really late. Can that wait until tomorrow?" Claire looked to Katie with a furrowed brow.

"I think the look is because you're the one who is supposed to answer that question Robins." Bruce said and Katie glared over to the man who still sat at the table.

"Of course." Katie says turning to the woman with a smile. "It's late, and this can wait until tomorrow. Thanks so much for you help, and I hope you have a great evening."

"You too, ma'am-"

"Ugh, please never ever call me ma'am. Call me Katie, and when we need to look professional around scary business people, call me Ms. Robins. Deal?"

"Yeah, deal." Claire said unable not to laugh. "Have a good night." the woman soon left leaving Katie, who turned to Bruce who sat back in chair looking over to her.

"I see you were absent for most of the meeting."

"Well you had it all under control from what I saw." Bruce said before standing to his feet. "You ready to go home?" Katie walked over to the man, something seeming different about him. "What?"

"You look sad, what's up?"

"I don't look sad, stop being weird." the man said placing a hand on the small of the woman's back, and ushering her to the door. "Let's get you home before we have a guy in a hood stalking us."

When Katie walked through the door of the loft, her eyes looked up searching for Oliver.

"Hey, Liver you here?!" she called dropping her bag to the couch and heading to the kitchen. Oliver wasn't there, and that strangely ruined her mood a bit.

"I think he's still out Robins." Bruce said as Katie walked back into the living room. He noticed the look on the woman's face, and knew something was wrong. "What's up?"

"No, I just thought-" she shook her head because when she actually thinks about it, it's her that seems foolish. "I was kind of proud of myself today. I had this great day, and I just thought it would only get better the moment I walked through door and saw Oliver and told him how awesome I was. He would've made dinner, and the day would've been kind of perfect." she turned to Bruce who looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"But you already ate? Why would you want more food?"

"And now I think you should leave. There is no judging here."

"I'm not judging, I'm just saying no human should eat as much as you do and-" Katie hit his arm before pointing to the door.

"Get out!" she snapped before heading up the stairs.

"Fine, but come lock the door." Katie stopped and turned to the man. "People want to hurt you, so a locked door isn't too much to ask." Katie rolled her eyes before following the man to the door. "Don't open the door for anyone you don't know. You hear a strange noise you lock yourself in your room and you call me or Oliver, but call me first."

"Well can I at least stay up past curfew?" the woman asked and the man laughed. "I'm not a child, and I don't like being treated as such."

"Yeah, well you'll thank me one day." Bruce said as he stepped outside the door. "I'll call Oliver, let him know you're back so he can wrap up whatever he's doing."

"I don't think that's how the job works. You know that better than anyone." Katie replied grabbing the door. "Goodnight Wayne."

"Goodnight Robins." Bruce didn't actually start moving until the woman closed the door, and he heard the sound of the locks. He took out his cell phone as he headed for the elevator, deciding to call Oliver anyway.

It was late. Really, really late and Katie lay in bed wide awake. She couldn't sleep. She didn't want to go to sleep without Oliver lying beside her. Now she was worried. Katie has worried about the man before, but not like tonight. She was actually a bit nervous, as she sat with her cell phone beside her on the bed. The problem was, she had no idea where he was or what he was doing or the type of danger he was in. She wanted to call him, but she knew if she did he'd know how much of a clingy girlfriend she was starting to turn into. She glanced over to the clock, and she couldn't help it. She grabbed her phone and dialed his number. A sigh of relief escaped her when she heard the line answer.

"Hello?" Katie frowned, because that was not Oliver answering his phone. She looked down to the phone, making sure she dialed the right number, before bringing it back to her ear. "Katie?"

"Felicity, why are you answering Oliver's phone?"

"Oh, he and the team are out trying to find a bomb at the water plant, and he left his phone here. Are you ok? I'm supposed to let him know if you call. Wait, you're not in labor, are you?" Katie opened her mouth to speak, but Felicity just kept going. "If you are, you should call an ambulance, right? I mean you know that you're a doctor, but maybe I should call-"

"Felicity, how much coffee have you had?"

"I kind of lost count." the woman replied meekly. "Look I'm sorry, what's going on?"

"I just wanted to call Oliver's phone and hear his voice on the other end. Instead I'm hearing yours." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "But I know this. I know he keeps his personal phone behind, in case he drops it or something. He doesn't want to be linked to the places he goes. I know that."

"Katie, I could patch you through to him. It's fine."

"No, it's not, because for some reason I forgot what this really was, which was stupid of me. If he's out there, then he's busy and I don't want to distract him." the woman felt a tear on her cheek that surprised her. She didn't want to cry, crying didn't fix what was happening, and yet the tears didn't stop. She sniffed back tears and Felicity heard.

"Are you crying?" Felicity asked suddenly worried. She knew Katie wasn't a crier and if this brought her to tears then maybe it was serious. "I can literally have Oliver on the line in seconds. Please don't cry."

"Felicity, it's fine. I pregnant and a hormonal mess and I cry when I don't get what I want sometimes. Right now that's Oliver, but I will get over it. Uh, you will be getting an email soon about plans we're going to be implementing at RI, some I want to integrate into the New Beginnings Initiative. So I want you to look them over and let me know what you think."

"Katie, I can-"

"Just watch out for him and make sure he makes it back to me, ok?"

"Of course." Felicity replied before hearing the line end. Felicity sat there for a moment before turning at the sound of her name from the comlink.

"Felicity, the bomb?! Do you know where it is?"

"Um-" the woman was typing away, when she noticed the heat signatures. "I'm showing it's on the ground level."

"Got it." Oliver replied.

"You better move. The signal strength I'm reading, they can blow the treatment plant from Central City." Felicity replied with a shake of her head.

Felicity threw her fists in the air when Oliver announced that he'd stopped the bomb. She let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright, Diggle is on his way down for dismantling." Felicity replied. "And Oliver you should probably hurry back."

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Well it's late, and like any concerned girlfriend would, Katie called and you didn't answer. Pregnant Twinkie cries more than normal Twinkie, right?" The woman didn't get an answer as the man rushed to his motorcycle.

Katie stood at the balcony of the loft, her eyes barely opened as she looked out to twinkling lights of Star City this warm evening...early morning. Without realizing it, the woman leaned a bit more against the balcony, and accidentally knocked over her mug of tea.

"Shit!" she cursed. She looked down to the shards of glass, and sighed before attempting to bend down to pick them up. Once such a simple task, now more difficult with the extra weight around her midsection. She must have reached down too far, because there was a sudden sharp pain that shot up her back. "Son of a-" she straightened back up, but the pain was still lingering. The sound of the door caught her ears and she turned just as Oliver walked inside. He felt the wind from outside, and walked over to see the woman gripping her back, then down to the shards of glass on the ground.

"Twinkie, are you alright?" he brought an arm around her and helped her back inside, making sure to keep her away from the glass.

"I'm fine, I knocked over the mug and forgot bending down is something I can't do anymore." the woman grimaced as she took a seat on the couch, still trying to rub the soreness away. Oliver took the seat beside her, moving her hand so he could try to alleviate the pain.

"I should've been here. I'm sorry." the man said and Katie turned to him with a shake of her head.

"Oliver, I'm fine really. Broken glass is the least of my worries, and my back will stop hurting." the woman replied.

"Felicity told me you called, I left my phone-"

"Oliver, I know." Katie replied placing a hand on the man's cheek. She could tell he really felt bad and she really didn't want him to. "I get how this works. I forgot for a moment, but I'm starting to realize how this life will be."

"This isn't how our lives will be. This was one night that ran long, they won't all be like this." Oliver assured and Katie just smiled with a nod. "I will make sure I have my phone on me at all times, so when you call I will answer, I promise. I don't want you to think I'm not accessible to you at any time. Even when I'm wearing that hood, you are my first priority."

"Oliver, I know that. I understand why you don't take your personal phone out with you. I'm not going to tell you to risk revealing who you are all because I had pregnant moment and really wanted to talk to you. I just missed you, but I understand you have other duties that aren't to me and I accept that."

"The next time you call, I will answer." Oliver promised. "And I'm sorry I'm late. You shouldn't have stayed up though. You need your sleep. If I've learned nothing from Dr. Frances, it's that getting enough rest is very important during the third trimester."

"Well I don't think any of those mothers Dr. Frances observed had a boyfriend who shoots arrows at people who shoot bullets back." Katie replied before dropping her head to the man's chest. Oliver brought his arms around her, letting out a sigh. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, we found the bomb, but these Ghosts aren't going to stop." Oliver replied placing a kiss on top of the woman's head. "It's been a long night, and this is the moment I've been waiting for. C'mon, let's head up to bed."

"But the glass." Katie said lifting her head and looking over to the balcony.

"I will get it in the morning." Oliver replied walking over and closing the balcony door before walking back over to the woman and helping her stand. "We're going to bed now." Katie gave the man a smile before he wrapped an arm around her and they headed up the stairs. "Oh, I wanted to ask, how did the meeting go at RI?"

"It actually went pretty good." the woman replied with a yawn. "Preliminary stuff is out of the way, which only leads to the hard stuff. At the moment we're still in a bad place. To actually get back to our standing, the word downsizing was tossed around, which I don't want to do."

"What did Bruce say?"

"Bruce didn't say much of anything." Katie replied. "He and Lucius are on this kick where they want me to lead without depending on them. I will figure this out. I don't know how, but I will figure this out."

The moment they reached the bed, Katie laid down and Oliver pulled the covers over her and in just moments the woman was asleep. He looked down to her, still guilty that he wasn't there when she needed him. He knows she says she understands, but he still doesn't like the idea of her thinking there are times when she can't contact him. He knew coming back, things would sort of fall back to the way things used to be, but he vowed to himself that there would be changes and that meant the hood would not run his life and it wouldn't interfere with his relationship with Katie. He placed a kiss on top of the woman's head before heading to the bathroom to shower.

_Katie found herself sitting at the familiar cliffs of Nanda Parbat. It was always a place of beauty that seemed to almost make her forget the hell she was in. There were footsteps from behind her, but she didn't turn because she already knew who it was._

" _Despite what you desire Nura, you can't run from this." Katie turned to see her uncle who looked exactly the same as she last saw him so many months ago. "You know the truth."_

" _The only truth I know is that you're dead." Katie replied turning back to look down to the beautiful canyons beneath her. "That's the only truth I need to know. Everything else is just stress, and stress can lead to hallucinations and that's what the train station was." the woman shook her head. "I didn't stop a train, you weren't standing beside me, I didn't somehow end up on that train and watch a fight between Oliver and Damian Darhk. None of it was real."_

" _You think throwing yourself into your company can distract you from what's really happening." Ra's spoke and Katie simply shook her head. "Speak!" Katie turned a glare to the man, his order not phasing her a bit. Without hesitation, the man suddenly grabbed her by the throat and shoved her back on the ground as he brought his face just inches away from hers. "You can not hide behind fear Nura. You will realize that, or I will make your life a living hell!"_

Katie's eyes snapped open, rushing back to reality. The remnants of her dream lingered, but she felt Oliver's arms around her which always made her feel safe. She turned to face the man who was still fast asleep. She placed a gentle hand on his cheek, and smiled before the door of the doorbell suddenly stirred the man awake. He lifted his head, before turning to her.

"Who could that be?" Katie asked and Oliver sighed before tossing the covers off of him.

"Thea." the man replied with a yawn. "We're supposed to be meeting with an old friend of my mother's today in-" he looked over to the clock and groaned. "Like a half hour." he turned back to Katie. "Jessica Davenport and her daughter are coming here. They didn't say why, but she was close to my mom, we just figured-"

"I get it." Katie said sitting up from the bed.

"No, you sleep ." Oliver said grabbing a shirt and pulling it on. "You need to rest. I will bring you up breakfast later. But sleep now."

"You're so bossy sometimes." Katie said with a yawn as she laid back on the bed. She was tired, and the dreams were getting pretty bizarre, but she knows if she wants to get past whatever this is then she's going to have to face it and that means seeing the things and people she doesn't want to see.

"I love you too Twinkie." Oliver replied before heading out the bedroom to go let his sister inside, but the moment he came downstairs the woman was already inside and eating a sandwich. She looked over to her brother with a quirked brow.

"Hey, you said ring the bell and I did. You didn't say wait an eternity when I still have a key." the woman replied as she looked over to the stairs. "Twinkie still sleeping?"

"Yes, and she's going to stay that way." Oliver replied and his sister turned back to him, the concern coming to her face.

"Why, is she alright?"

"She's fine, but she stayed up waiting for me to come home." Oliver sighed. "She's sleeping, so it will just be me and you with Mrs. Davenport and Madison. I'm going to go get dressed, did you want to make some coffee?"

"Sure." Thea said before heading back to the kitchen.

Katie tried going back to sleep, she could feel that she needed the sleep, but no matter how much she tried that twinge of fear stopped her. She didn't know why she was seeing Ra's, why now all of this was happening. Right now she needed to focus on something else, because then she wouldn't have time to go crazy. She was far along in her pregnancy, and the CEO of a fallen company. There was lots to keep her busy. And so while Thea and Oliver were downstairs with their mother's friend, she was sitting in bed looking over the documents Claire sent over. It was a list of people that needed to be fired. The company worked with some lab tech from Palmer Tech who created a program that could figure out who needed to go for the company to succeed. Katie didn't know him or this program, but she was going to figure out a way to not let anyone go.

Katie sat reading over documents she only half understood. The other half was spent either googling, or emailing Lucius to help her understand.

"Who in the world thought I could do this?" she muttered feeling like this job was way over her head. She looked up at the sound of the door opening and in rushed Thea who wore a smile.

"Thea, I told you-" Oliver rushed in behind her, looking over to Katie.

"See, she's not sleep." Thea replied sliding into the bed beside Katie and and laying her head next to her belly.

"I see that, why aren't you sleep?" Oliver asked and Katie just shook her head.

"Bad dreams." she replied looking back to her computer. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Ugh, what's this with all the big confusing words?" Thea asked attempting to read the documents on Katie's laptop.

"Some stuff sent over from the company. I'm trying to find a way I won't have to let go a third of my employees." she said, sliding her fingers through Thea's hair. "So what did Mrs. Davenport and Madison want?"

"Oh, she's running for mayor." Thea replied and Katie looked down to her before looking back over to Oliver.

"Does she know the mortality rate of that job?" Katie asked.

"She does, but thinks this city could use someone who can step up to the plate." Oliver replied walking over and taking a seat beside his sister who was still practically in Katie's lap. "She came here because she wanted our support. There's a press conference later today. We're gonna go."

"Ok, I could take a break from all of this." Katie says before looking down to Thea. "You wanna move so I can take a shower?"

"I didn't think you would go." Oliver said and both women turned to him. "It's just the last time you were in a big crowd, there was bomb and-"

"Is there gonna be a bomb at the press conference?" Katie asked and Oliver sighed. "Then what's the problem?"

"C'mon Oliver, what's the big deal. This will give me a chance to hang with Katie, run some names by her." Thea said sitting up as she made herself comfortable between the couple. "Stop being such a worry wart."

"I'm not—Thea could you give us a minute?" Oliver asked and Thea huffed before sliding out of the bed and leaving the bedroom. Oliver turned to Katie who was already standing from the bed. "Cameras, crowds, there's too many chances for something bad to happen."

"So what? I stay in the house all day?" Katie asked as she walked over to her closet. "While you're out roaming the city all night, I stay here like a little pregnant hermit."

"That's not what I'm saying, I just-"

"Oliver, you're worried about me getting hurt." Katie says turning back to the man. "In whatever form that takes, whether Damian Darhk, or someone bumping into me. The truth is and shall always be that I will hide from no one." she looked back in her closet and sighed. "What should I wear?"

As he feared, the crowd was thick, reporters all around as they sift through the crowd. He kept his grasp around Katie as they walked, his eyes searching around them.

"Am I the only one who has a bad feeling about this?" Thea whispered over to the couple. "I mean, signing up to be mayor of this town is like asking to be part of "the Titanic."

"Well you heard me try to talk her out of it." Oliver replied and Katie shook her head.

"You know what's weird?" Katie asked looking between the two siblings. "You two questioning the dangers of a job." They finally stopped at a good place that gave them a good view of the stage as Jessica came to the stage. Oliver's arms around the woman never moved and she turned to him and he simply looked back to her. "Really?"

"Really, Twinkie." he replied before placing a kiss to her lips before they all turned to the woman on the stage. Katie simply sighed, leaning a bit more in the man's grasp.

"Thank you. Thank you all so much." Jessica said with a smile as she kept her focus on the crowd in front of her. "For the past six months, the mayor's office at city hall has stood vacant, waiting for someone to step forward on behalf of Star City. And today, I am here with all of you to tell you that I am stepping forward." they all applauded, because whether they wanted to believe it or not, they knew this city could use all the hope it could get."Two years ago, I lost my good friend Moira Queen, who was also a candidate for mayor." the woman turned to Oliver and Thea who dropped their heads at their mother's name. That sting of losing her always present. "And I remain inspired by her kind heart, and her selfless devotion to this city." Katie placed her hand on Oliver's chest as she felt the grasp her had slightly tensed.

Before the woman could even continue her speech, gun fire erupted through the air. Oliver pulled Katie down, before pulling her to a far corner away from the gun fire. Thea rushed over right beside them, looking them over to see if either had been hit.

"Are you ok?" she asked, the gun fire still ringing through the room. She turned, her eyes spotting the source. "Shots are coming from up there!" she turned back to her brother. "You need to go after Jessica and make sure she's ok." Oliver's eyes were on Katie and Thea placed a hand on his shoulder, and he suddenly turned back to her. "Oliver, Jessica."

"She's right, the announcement of a new Mayor hasn't made everyone happy. Go, make sure she's ok. I will stay away from the bullets." Katie says placing a hand on his arm. "And we will discuss I told you so's later. Just go, do what you do." Oliver let out a sigh, the last thing he wanted to do was leave her here by herself. "Go, I'll get out of here." he let out a low growl before turning to his sister.

"Go." Thea stood and rushed off to find the shooter. Oliver turned back to Katie. "I will be back, just stick here, ok." he placed a kiss to her forehead before turning and rushing off to make sure Jessica was ok.

" _You could stop this._ " a voice spoke from beside her, and Katie turned letting out sigh at the sight of her dead uncle. " _All you have do is accept what you are._ "

"Well I'm crazy, there's no question about it." she replied turning back, noticing the gun fire had stopped. People still kept low, no one moving in case it started back up again.

" _No you_ -" his voice suddenly stopped speaking and Katie turned in hopes that he was gone, but when she turned she saw him still there gripping his neck as if choking. Soon he just disappeared from beside her.

 _"He's not gone."_ Katie turned and her eyes went wide at the sight of her mother who she hadn't seen in months. _"Death isn't even strong enough to keep him away."_ Grace squat down in front of her daughter, smiling down to her belly before meeting her eyes. _"He wants to rush something that can't be rushed."_

"Hey Twinkie!" Katie turned to see Thea back at her side. "There was no shooter. It was a distraction. Have you seen Oliver?"

"He hasn't come back." Katie replied turning and finding her mother was now gone.

"Are you alright?" Thea asked noticing the faraway look on the woman's face.

"Yeah, you want to help me up?" Thea grabbed Katie's arm and both turned as the police rushed into the building.

"Hey!" they looked over to see Quentin who rushed over, his eyes looking over Katie. "You alright?"

"I'm fine, do you have someone in custody?"

"No, but we're still looking." Lance replied before turning to Thea whose arm was intertwined with Katie's. "Why don't you two get out of here. I'll have someone get a statement from you so you can get out of here."

It seemed the moment they stepped outside, the camera flashes seemed to erupt around them. Reporters shouted questions that neither Katie nor Thea intended to answer at the moment. They hurried to the car, when Katie felt a palm on her back. She whipped around, releasing a sigh of relief at the sight of Oliver.

"Are you alright?" he asked and Katie wanted to roll her eyes at the amount of people asking her that, but instead gave the man a nod, before bringing her arms around him, only for him to elicit a small groan. She quickly let him go, before looking down to him with wide eyes.

"Are you ok? What happened?"

"Fine, I'm fine." he said placing his hand on his back. "I may have gotten hit by a car chasing after a suspect." he looked down to Katie who still stared at him with wide eyes. "I'm fine, and I may have gotten some evidence." he waited for her to say something, but it took her a moment.

"I'm sorry, did you say you got hit by a car?!"

Oliver really had no choice in the matter as he sat without a shirt in the hideout, as Katie kept sliding and pressing against his skin to see if he had broken anything.

"Twinkie, I'm fine." Oliver said looking over his shoulder to the woman who was checking out his back. She pressed a sore spot and the man hissed in pain. "That-"

"Shut up, Liver." the woman said moving around to stand in front of him. "You're lucky. So did you forget that golden rule about looking both ways before crossing the street?"

"No, I just-"

"You weren't paying attention to your surroundings." Katie interrupted in frustration. "You have to be careful." Oliver grabbed her hand, and pulled her to him, but she pulled back. "You're hurt and I don't-"

"I will never be in too much pain that I will ever want you not to touch me." the man brought his arms around her, and pulled her close to him. "I'm sorry, I should've been paying attention. I promise to keep my eyes open next time."

"Well you better." Katie said poking the man's chest. "I kind of need you to stick around. This child will need to be fed at some point, and I don't think she will like my pancakes."

"Well then I will find my way back to you every time." the man replied leaning in to kiss the woman.

"Ok we have a problem!" Felicity voice called and Oliver groaned as they pulled back. "I am not an expert, but I think our new friend may have cut off his fingertips and played a little bit of mix and match."

"I guess that means no smooches." Katie muttered as she pulled away from the man, but he held onto her, pulling her back. "You have to wor-" his lips against hers silenced her protests. Soon the pair pulled back a bit breathless.

"Never too busy for Twinkie smooches." Oliver muttered, before once again hearing his name being called. "I should-"

"Go." the woman said before her phone suddenly rang and she looked down to see who it could be. "That's my cab."

"Cab? I thought you would stick around here?" Oliver asked, once again hearing someone call his name. He glanced over to his friends, holding up a hand for them to give him a minute. "People were shooting at you today-"

"Correction, people were shooting, I just so happened to be in the vicinity. So were you, so was your sister. I don't want to just sit here." she looked over to the others who were now blatantly staring. She grabbed his arm and pulled him off to the side. "Look when I came back to Starling, I knew I was different, knew I'd become this different person and then I found you and this team and I thought this could be a way to I don't know, release that part of myself I thought was meant for bad things. But right now, it's happening again. I'm becoming something else. A mom, and I'm trying to stray away from the craziness that comes with the arrows and hoods." Oliver frowned, because that said much more than she thought. "That came out wrong. You, I love you, more than chocolate cake and you know I'm an addict to chocolate cake and now I'm rambling." she dropped her head to his chest. "My head's a mess since we came back and I'm just trying to find my way out of it and I don't want to complicate it by adding more craziness."

"You want to tell me the craziness you're trying to find your way out of?" Oliver asked and Katie shook her head. "Twinkie-"

"Bad guys are trying to kill the future Mayor." Katie replied lifting her eyes to meet his. "You're busy. You have a job-"

"You know you keep saying that as if it's reason enough to walk away from you right now."

"Oliver?" this time it was Thea who was the one bold enough to interrupt the couple. "We need a next step and you're kind of good at those." Oliver didn't even turn to his sister who stood there for a few moments waiting for him to say something. "So five minutes?" the woman simply turned and went back over to the others.

"Last night-"

"Oliver I told you, last night was just hormones making me crazy. I know what this job entails, I know the types of things you have to do and I'm not upset about it at all. I know what's important, and I know this conversation can wait. Just go and I'll see you whenever you get home."

"Whenever I get home?" Oliver repeated and Katie shook her head.

"Well this isn't a 9 to 5 Liver. I'm starting to remember that." the woman placed a kiss to his cheek before turning and heading for the door. Oliver watched as he walked up the stairs.

"Oliver?" This time it was Laurel who spoke his name. Her voice was filled with an urgency she hoped would bring the man back to the moment. "Everything alright?" Once Katie was out the door, he turned to Laurel. "What do you want to do?"

"This guy is good and I'm thinking Jessica is going to need more than just police protection."

"She's in protective custody, and I'm pretty sure my father wouldn't be in favor of us staking out his precinct." Laurel watched as the man was already backing away to the door.

"Oh, I'll talk to him." the man replied before turning and leaving as well.

Laurel let out a sigh, before going back over to the others and letting them know Oliver's plan.

"Did he say what happened with Twinkie?" Felicity asked.

"Felicity it's none of your business." John reminded the woman before pointing to the computer. "Until we can actually be on site, we're going to need whatever eyes we have on that precinct."

"Fine." the woman grumbled, before her fingers were typing away.

Katie sat in the back of her taxi scrolling through the emails from Claire. She sighed because no one had any way for her not to let people go.

She dropped her phone in her lap and just shook her head as she glanced up to the window. She frowned when she noticed they weren't headed to the loft.

"Hey, sir, I think you missed a turn or something." Katie says turning to the man who doesn't even acknowledge that she said anything. "Sir, did you hear me I said-" before she could finish her sentence, the man pulled the taxi over and Katie turned in confusion to see they were stopped in front of some french restaurant. "What is this?" the door was pulled opened and Katie looked up to a man in a suit she didn't recognize who held out a hand to her. "Who are you?"

"I'm no one, but my boss is inside waiting for you." the man replied. Katie shook her head as she lifted her phone, only for the man to quickly take it from her hand before grabbing her shoulder and pulling her into the restaurant.


	4. In Search of Hope

**Chapter 4**

**In Search of Hope  
**

_"A leader is a dealer in hope."_

_-Napoleon Bonaparte_

* * *

"Let me go, you son of bitch!"

Katie angrily tries to pull from the man's grasp as they walk further into the restaurant. Her eyes search around, noting all the empty tables except for one. There was a man sitting, his back to them before he finally stood and turned to her. He noticed the man's hand on her arm and he frowned.

"I don't believe I told you to touch her, Mr. Dane." the man said and the goon holding Katie's arm suddenly let her go. "She's pregnant, and you pulling her around like that could injure her and her child."

"You said to get her inside, so I got her inside."

"You're right, that is what I requested of you, but I assumed you would have identified the sensitive nature of my request when you actually laid eyes on the woman." the man turned to Katie with a smile. "Please accept my apologies for Mr. Dane here. He hears the orders but doesn't quite understand them sometimes."

"But sir-"

"You can leave us, Mr. Dane." the man said, the request not even needed to be repeated twice as the goon turned and disappeared from the restaurant.

Katie eyed the man standing in front of her, trying not to show the confusion and shock that she felt. She'd seen him before. In that weird hallucination when she was on the train. But he was standing right here in front of her.

"Oh, where are my manners?" he walked over to her, holding out a hand. "My name is Damien Darhk, and Dr. Robins I have to say I've been dying to meet you." Katie kept her hands to her sides and she simply silently stared at the man. "You don't have to be afraid, this is merely me catching up with the daughter of an older friend." he looked her over, studying her as if searching for something. "Are you hungry? I'm hungry. Come sit." the man turned and headed for the table, grabbing a chair and pulling it out for her before turning, only to see Katie had not moved from her spot. Darhk sighed, before turning fully to her. "So who was it? Your mother? Father?" he took a few steps toward her. "Maybe it was your bastard of an uncle. Which one of them regaled you of stories about me, because I'm almost certain they just aren't true." the woman still didn't utter a word, something that was starting to annoy the man. For some reason he wanted to hear her speak, and maybe figure out what this feeling is that was crawling inside of him all of a sudden. "You look famished, and this restaurant has the best Foie gras in Star City. It's divine, you must-" the man's sentence was cut short by the distinct sound of three gun shots from outside the restaurant. Katie didn't turn away from the man, even when she heard the sound of the gun shots, and the sound of door behind her opening. Footsteps neared, and soon a hand took her arm. That's when she finally turned, relieved at the sight of Martin. "Mr. Ellis, I'm sorry but this was a private invitation. Me and the good doctor were just catching up."

"I think you're all caught up now." Martin said before turning to Katie. "We're leaving." Katie gave the man a nod before turning back to Darhk who simply smiled to her. "This building is surrounded with enough bullets to make your name, your reality Mr. Darhk. You will never come near this woman again, if you do, well this is when I would come up with some serious metaphor that makes you cringe, but I'm going to be up front. You even breathe in the good doctor's direction, and you will be killed."

"You know these threats would hold a bit more weight if they weren't coming from the head that's usually in an ass. Jacob not man enough to rescue his own daughter. I hope he's alright. There's this terrible bug going around, and I hear it's making people practically feel like they're dying." a smile curled at his lips before looking back to Katie. "It was very nice meeting with you doctor. I hope to see you once again." with that the man turned and headed for a door in the back of the restaurant.

"Are you ok?" Martin asked looking down to Katie. She didn't say anything, and that worried him as he moved to stand in front of her. He searched her eyes for any sign of distress. "Did he do something to you? Did you eat or drink anything he gave you?" Still no words passed her lips and Martin wasn't sure what he should do. "Uh, lets get out of here." he took her arm and lead her out of the restaurant and to the back of a waiting SUV. He climbed into the back seat as well, nodding for the driver to go before taking out his cell phone and calling his boss. "Sir, I-" Jacob Robin's was extremely weak, but you would never know if from the tone and volume of his voice right now. "I do, she's with me now, but-" he looked over to the woman who just sat staring blankly. "I think something's wrong, I-" more yelling and expletives. "I don't know, I'm not sure if he did anything, but given the circumstances, I'm not risking her or her daughter. I'm taking her to the medical facility at HQ." he heard the man grumble about not wanting her there, but agreed that it was the best option to make sure she was alright. "I'm debating if I should call Mr. Queen."

"No!" Katie says finally speaking as she turns to Martin. "Don't call Oliver. If you call him he will try to fight a war he doesn't even know how fight." Martin simply nodded to the woman who turned to look out the window. "I don't need medical attention, take me back to Bruce's hideout."

"Are you sure, you seemed-"

"Something happened." the woman shook her head trying to understand the emotions that seemed to appear the moment she laid eyes on the man. "I felt weird seeing him. I don't know when I've never seen him before, but there's something about him." she looked back over to Martin. "A very bad energy that I never want near me or my family. Is that something my father can ensure?" Martin looked at her before turning slightly at the sound of Jacob's voice in his ear. He turned back to the woman with a nod.

"Nothing like this will ever happen again, he promises." Katie looked over to the man before shaking her head and turned back to look out the window.

When they pulled up to the ship yard, Katie was about to get out but she stopped and turned to Martin once again.

"I'm going to need a car." she said. She didn't want anything like this happening again. The man gave a firm nod before watching the woman slip out of the car.

Felicity was in her own world until she heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

"I got an ID on our Mr. Creepy!" Felicity announced, assuming it was John and Laurel who were getting in.

"The one with the weird fingerprint?" Katie asked, and Felicity stopped typing and turned to the woman with a quirked brow. "Hi."

"Hi, I thought you were heading home?" Katie just shook her head with a slight smile, attempting to hide her true feelings at the moment.

"Oh, I was, but it was totally boring there and I just thought I would come back here to help." Katie replied dropping her bag to the floor and dropping to a seat.

"You look like you're going to barf." Felicity said walking over to look at the woman closely. "Are you feeling sick?"

"Felicity, really I'm fine. The ID on Mr. Creepy, who is he?"

"His name is Lonnie Machin. Usually works with the mob, this time I'm thinking he's working with Damien Darhk." the mention of the name, made Katie turn away, her hand sliding along her belly in an effort to calm herself. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"I am Felicity. Where's Oliver?"

"I got a lead on Machin. He and Thea are checking it out." they heard footsteps and turned to see John and Laurel who walked over, both surprised to see Katie as well.

"You're back?" Laurel asked and Katie sighed but gave a nod.

"I am, and Felicity got a name on the bad guy." Katie says turning to the blonde, and hoping to pull all attention away from her. "Lonnie Machin. What else did you find on him?" Felicity was hesitant to change the subject, but she figured she would get it out of the woman later.

"Right." the woman said walking over to her computer. Katie tried to listen, tried to pay attention to what the woman was saying in hopes of figuring out a piece of their latest puzzle, but for some reason she kept seeing Damien Darhk's face. She knows next to nothing about the man, other than he's a bad guy and yet for some reason his face was lingering in her brain.

"We're going to talk about this." they turned at the loud voice of Oliver in time to see Thea stalking away from him, as if not wanting to talk to him at all. Katie sat off to the side, so when they walked in, neither noticed her immediately. "We're going to have the conversation about what just happened." Thea finally stopped and turned a dark glare to her brother.

"What just happened was that guy had information and I was trying to get it out of him."

"You broke his arm."

" He was stalling!"

"He was scared." Oliver said before grabbing the woman's arm. "Come here."

" What are you doing?!"

"I need to show you something. At the water plant, you took down a ghost. You could have done it with a very simple disarmament technique, like this-" Oliver threw a punch and Katie sighed because she knew this whole demonstration was not going to end well. Thea threw a punch back, but Oliver grabbed her arm, twisting it causing the woman to grunt in pain. "But Thea, that's not what you did. You went overboard with a series of techniques designed to do one thing—cripple!"

"Liver!" Katie called to him and he turned at the sound of her voice, relinquishing his hold on Thea. Katie's eyes went wide, as she pointed toward Thea. "Watch out!" the man quickly turned just as his sister growled before attacking him. They all watched in horror as Thea kicked and punched and even threw Oliver into a shelf . The woman was on top of him, when John and Laurel quickly came over to pull her off of him.

"That's enough!" John yelled putting some distance between the siblings. "Demonstration is over."

"Fine, sorry." Oliver said standing to his feet and looking over to his sister who was still breathing heavily and looking like she wanted to attack again. "I'm sorry, after Ra's hurt you-" he thought he was lucky that he never had to have this conversation, but he should have known he was wrong. He looked over to Katie who stood, hand on her belly looking over to Thea. "Malcolm and Twinkie warned me not to take you to Nanda Parbat. They said that when people go in the pit, they don't come out the same." Thea glanced over to Katie who dropped her head and sighed. "And I didn't tell you, because I didn't want to worry about you." Thea turned back to her brother. "You seemed normal, Thea, and I swear to God, I thought everything was going to be fine."

"And then you left!" Thea snapped angrily before glancing once again to Katie. "Both of you left! So you know what?" She turned back to Oliver, backing away from him. "It doesn't really qualify you to judge me, or anyone else!" with that the woman turned and stalked away.

"What's going on?" Laurel asked. She was the only one in the room who knew nothing about what happened to Thea in Nanda Parbat. "What happened to Thea in Nanda Parbat?"

"Oliver was scared." Katie spoke and they turned to her. "He thought he was going to lose the only family he had left in the world, so he did-" she looked over to the man, now going back to a time she really didn't want to remember. "He did what he had to do to save his sister."

"That was six months ago. Why is the pit only affecting her now?"

"It's probably been showing up over time, subtly." Oliver replied looking over to Katie who turned away in thought. "Twinkie?"

"No, I think you may be right. This was probably happening and we didn't see it." she shook her head because she felt guilty. She remembers years ago, telling Thea about leaving for Doctor's Without Borders after Oliver and Robert's funeral and the girl practically begged her stay. But she didn't, she left and Thea fell into a dark path of drugs and partying. Now it seems like it was happening all over again.

"What do you want to do about it?" John asked, the question directed to Oliver who honestly didn't have an answer at the moment.

"I don't know yet." he sighed, before looking over to Katie. "I'm going to talk to Jessica in the morning, hopefully figure out how this guy got on her protective detail and maybe figure out where he's hiding." they gave the man a nod, before he walked over to Katie with a quirked brow. "I thought you went home?"

"I did, but then I came back." Katie replied as the man brought his hands to her waist, frowning immediately.

"Twinkie, you're shaking." he looked up meeting her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"Oliver, I'm fine. I guess the whole Queen versus Queen fight night caught me by surprise." Katie replied turning away from his eyes, hoping to hold on to this secret for a little while longer. She turned back to him to find him still staring down to her. "Uh, was there still stuff here that you needed to do. I could help, maybe I could look at this guy's wrap sheet or-"

"It's late." Oliver said and Katie sighed, but gave a nod. "We should go home."

The ride to the loft was silent, with Oliver glancing over to Katie ever so often unable to shake the feeling that something was off with her. When they walked into the loft, Katie headed inside and made her way to the stairs.

"Have you eaten?" Oliver called over to her and she stopped and turned back to him.

"I'm not hungry." she replied quickly, before once again trying to escape the questions she knows he has. "I think I'm just going to turn in." Oliver watched her with narrowed eyes. She was hiding something, and he knew it. He followed behind her up the stairs, walking into the bedroom. She glanced over to him and attempted a bee line to the bathroom, but he was quicker and was able to slip in front of the door before she could get away.

"If you have to go, then that 's all you had to say." Katie replied turning away from the man and walking over to take a seat on the bed, her back to him.

"What aren't you telling me?" Oliver asked and Katie lifted her eyes and sighed.

"Oliver, I'm tired and don't want to do this right now." she replied slipping off her shoes. "What ever you think is happening it's probably not." she glanced over to the man. "Are you going to the bathroom because I would like to pee." he stared at her for a moment, silently trying to discover if she were really hiding something or if he were being paranoid. He took a step away from the door and watched as she stood to her feet and walked back over. She placed a hand on the door knob, but stopped and turned to him. "Everything is fine, Liver. There's nothing for you to worry about." with that the woman turned and went into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. He wanted to believe her, but he just couldn't.

The next morning, Oliver stood in the kitchen just finishing up with breakfast. Once he'd finished, he walked out of the kitchen about to head upstairs, but stopped when he peered over to see Katie standing out on the balcony. He walked over, stepping out as well, bringing an arm around her.

"Breakfast is ready." he said placing a kiss to the nape of her neck.

"I'm not really hungry." she replied.

"You have to eat something. You didn't have dinner last night, so that means you gotta eat breakfast." the man replied sliding a hand along the woman's belly. "Baby Twiver needs sustenance."

"Fine." Katie says pulling from the man's grasp and heading inside.

"Ok I just told you to do something and there wasn't some smart reply." Oliver said following behind her into the kitchen. "Twinkie, if something happened-"

"You should go check on Jessica." Katie says taking a seat at the counter and grabbing a piece of toast. "She has to be going out of her mind having to stay at the police station with no new information on this guy." she smiled over to the man who simply stared at her. "Oliver you're worrying for nothing." No, he wasn't, but she knew him all too well. He'd raise hell the moment he found out about Damien deciding to force a meeting with her. She turned back around to see the food her cooked. "Ooh, are these your famous slow cooker eggs?" she turned to the man with a smile.

She knew avoidance wouldn't get rid of his suspicions, but he didn't push as much. They did end up going to the police station, where Oliver went to check in with Mrs. Davenport while Katie went to see if Lance had better luck finding this guy.

The man was on the phone, his back to her as she stood in the doorway of his office. She simply stood there, not wanting to interrupt the call.

"Nah, just call me if something pans out." the man spun around, hanging up the phone and spotting Katie. "Hey, didn't expect a visit from you, everything alright?" he stood to his feet and walked around his desk to the woman.

"Everything's fine, Oliver came to check in with Jessica, and I tagged along." Katie replied. "Any leads?"

"Nothing definite." Lance sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He looked back up to the woman who turned away slightly. "Was there something else you wanted to talk about?" Katie turned to him before glancing over her shoulder to see Oliver wasn't anywhere around before she stepped inside the office, closing the door behind her. "That serious huh?" he pointed to the seat and Katie walked over to sit as the man walked back around to sit behind his desk. "Not sure I can take any more ground breaking news, but go ahead?"

"Has the name Damien Darhk come up in any of your investigations?" Katie asked and she noticed the man turn away slightly before clearing his throat. "You know him?"

"He's bad news, Doc. Whatever you think he's in, you need to stay far away from it." Lance urged the woman who shook her head. "What's this about?"

"Nothing I would like to bring you further into." Katie says looking over to the man with a small smile before standing to her feet. "This was nothing. Just forget I asked about it."

"Hey, if you're in some kind of trouble with this guy-"

"That's the thing, I'm not." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "Forget I said anything." she turned to leave, opening the door but stopping and turning to the man. "Could you not mention this conversation to Oliver?"

"What conversation?" Lance replied and Katie gave a smile and a nod before finally leaving. She walked in search of Oliver, not really sure where he'd gone. She searched around a bit, her eyes suddenly stopping on a desk that still held so many memories. It was David Parker's desk, and she couldn't look at it without going back to that moment in her father's office and watching him put that gun in his mouth.

" _Aw, Rob, you look so sad."_

Katie whipped her head around the bustling station for the source of a voice she most certainly could not have heard. There were hands suddenly on her back, and she nearly jumped out of her skin, turning to see Oliver who looked at her in confusion.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, just-" she turned, still searching the precinct before shaking her head and turning back to the man. "Thought I heard something. How's Jessica?"

"Not good. Madison's not answering her phone." Oliver replied and Katie's eyes widen. "We need to talk to Lance." Oliver took the woman's hand and pulled her with him to speak with the Captain.

It was as they all feared. The cops that were supposed to be protecting Madison were found dead, and the young woman herself was no where in sight.

It was Jessica who decided she needed to do something, and that was plea for her daughter's life. So she called a press conference right there in the middle of the police station.

"To the man who took my daughter, please, I am begging you, please, let my baby go." the woman could barely speak through the tears. "She's all I have. She's-she's my whole world." the woman was too distraught to continue, and so she rushed off.

Katie dropped her head to Oliver's shoulder as he brought an arm around her. Her hand rested on her belly, and so did one of his, both not even able to imagine what they would do if their daughter was taken.

"I think I should go talk to her." Katie says turning to Oliver. "She needs someone to tell her that everything's gonna be ok." Oliver placed a hand to the woman's cheek, before placing a kiss to her lips. "I shouldn't be too long, we should be heading back so we can figure out where this guy is." Oliver gave the woman a nod before watching her walk off.

Katie went in the direction the woman had gone, not spotting her initially, but she saw the bathroom and figured she'd check there first. She walked inside, and heard the woman's sobs, and it broke her heart.

"Mrs. Davenport?" Katie spoke and she looked up as the woman stepped from one of the stalls, drying her eyes with tissue. "We don't really know each other that well, but I'm Katherine Robins, well Katie, I'm-"

"You're Oliver's girlfriend." Jessica stated with a slightly smile. "He told me about you and your-" she looked down to Katie's belly. "Your daughter." the words only seemed to make the woman start sobbing all over again. "I don't know what I'm going to do if I lose her."

"You're not going to lose her." Katie stated firmly and the woman looked back to her. "This guy, he wants one thing. And that's you not running for Mayor. Madison is a bargaining chip, he won't kill the only leverage he has."

"You don't know that."

"This guy, he's smart, but he's also unoriginal. Trust me, you're going to get your daughter back-" Katie walked over to a stall and grabbed some more tissue, before bringing it back to the woman. "And when you do, you're not gonna want to look like a puffy mess." that made Jessica laugh a bit as she dried her eyes. "I promise, you'll get your daughter back."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I have faith in the people protecting this city. Both during the day and at night." Katie replied with a slight smile. "You need to have faith-" Katie turned away slightly. "This city could use some faith right now." she turned back to Jessica with a slight smile. "I think I have to do something."

Katie walked back to the squad room, the press still hanging around as she hoped. She headed up to the podium, and the moment she did the press turned to her and she could see the cameras coming back on. She cleared her throat, when Lance appeared at her side.

"What are you doing?" he whispered and Katie turned to him.

"This city is watching the woman they thought would lead this city, being harassed, and bullied by the people they're afraid of. They had hope and I don't think they should lose it." Katie replied before turning back to the cameras. "Hi, I'm Katherine Robins, and I am friends with Jessica Davenport and her daughter and I want to say what is happening to them is absolutely horrible, and I couldn't imagine what either of them are going through. I'm here because someone needs to let Star City know we have not given up, that this fight between us and the bad guys of this city is far from over. We will find Madison Davenport, and the man who took her will see the justice he deserves, just like every other criminal who decides to underestimate the power of our city and the people in it. Have faith in justice, because it's working whether you see it or not." Katie glanced over to Lance who gave a nod before she turned back to the press. "Thank you." questions were instantly being yelled to the woman who sifted through to crowd to Oliver who quickly brought an arm around her and ushered out of the station and to the car.

It wasn't until they were actually driving to the hideout, did Oliver turn to her.

"You felt motivational, all of a sudden?" Oliver asked and Katie turned to the man with a slight smile. "That was a good speech. I think it was needed."

"Well I am good at being optimistic."Katie replied turning back to look out the window.

When they arrived to the hideout, they found Felicity typing away at her computer. She didn't turn to them, which meant she was really focused on what she was doing.

"Any news?" Katie asked.

"Only the bad kind." Felicity replied, but Katie could hear something more in her voice.

"Hey, did you see my totally kick ass speech. We're going to find this guy." Katie replied pulling up a chair beside the woman.

"Yeah, and when we do, there will be another and another and another. It's like the most depressing game of Whack-a Mole ever."

"Felicity-"

"You know I thought I could handle this. Taking on the company and finding the bad guy of the week, but John is still mad at Oliver, Thea's gone pit crazy, I've spent the last two days putting people out of work." she shook her head before turning to Katie. "I just wanted a chance to start over and do things differently and it's just not happening."

"Well life sucks." Katie replied placing a hand on the woman's arm. "But you push through it because you're the kick ass Felicity Smoak. Whatever situation you're in you will figure out." Felicity gave the woman a smile.

"A whole heart to heart, without being told to stop being a little bitch." Felicity replied turning back to her computer. "I think motherhood really is making you soft around the edges."

"Well this mood anyway." Oliver muttered and both Katie and Felicity turned to him with wide eyes. "That was a joke."

"It wasn't a very funny joke Oliver. Maybe you should just stick to shooting arrows, and wearing your eye make up."

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's not eye-" the man's phone suddenly rang and he slipped it from his pocket. "It's Lance." he put the phone on speaker so they all could hear. "Captain?"

"Heavy Heavy Club, 4th and Pierce." Lance said and they all looked confused.

"What about it?" Oliver asked.

"it's where Lonnie Machin is holding Jessica Danforth's daughter." the man said and Oliver turned to Felicity who gave a nod before turning to her computer. "You said you're doing things differently now? Here's your chance to prove it."

The line ended and Oliver looked up to Felicity.

"Got it. And I will call Thea, John and Laurel." Felicity said glancing over to the man who gave a nod before heading over to suit up.

Katie once again found herself standing on the outside looking in as everyone arrived and changed into their suits. She felt that need to do more to help find Madison, but she truly was benched on this part of the fight. She didn't feel needed here, but a part of her was afraid to be by herself. Fear was not a state of being she even thought was possible for her to fall into, but standing there in front of Damien Darhk, frightened her in a way she didn't think was possible. All she could think about was how dangerous he was, and the fact that she couldn't really defend herself against him and protect her baby. She's actually starting to see why her father didn't want her in this city.

"Hey." a hand on her back, pulled Katie from her thoughts and she turned to the masked face of her boyfriend. "We're heading out. Were you going to stay here?"

"Yeah." Katie replied with a nod. "I mean I want to be here when you find Madison." she placed her hands on his chest. "I also want to be here to see you really make this guy hurt." Oliver placed a kiss to the woman's lips before following behind the others out of the lair. Katie walked over, grabbing Thea's arm before the woman could leave.

"I don't really want to talk right now." Thea said not turning to the woman. "I just want to go." Katie moved to stand in front of the woman, so she could see her eyes.

"The light inside of you Thea is stronger than the darkness from that pit. Remember that." Thea looked at her for a moment before giving her a nod. She didn't say anything before she moved around the woman to follow after the others.

Once they were gone, Katie looked over to Felicity who sat behind her computer keeping an eye on the thermal imaging of the club the team was headed. "How do you think Lance got the location where Madison is being kept?"

"Random tip, maybe." Felicity replied glancing over to the woman who turned away and walked over to take a seat. "You feeling alright?" Katie looked over to the woman with a quirk brow. "I know you're probably annoyed by that question every five minutes, but there's a little extra concern for pregnant Twinkie. And I don't know what it is, but there's something off about you that you're not saying." Katie turned away from the woman, hating how so many people could read her so easily.

"Why hasn't Bruce been around?" Katie asked turning back to the woman who simply stared at her before turning back to the computer. "Yesterday at the meeting he seemed sad, did something happen-"

"He's doing that thing where he's keeping something from me in an effort to protect me." Felicity replied. "I told him I couldn't be in a relationship with someone who can't be completely honest with me and he told me he cares more about my safety than me liking him." the woman sighed before turning back to Katie. "You think I was too hard on him?"

"Felicity, look, I know what that's like. Oliver gets it in his head that he needs to keep something from me so I won't be unhappy." the woman shook her head. "He never wants to hurt me, but-" she turned back to Felicity. "I'm not telling you what to choose, keeping something because it could put me in danger would be different. I mean at the moment, maybe not but in the long run when I'm staring down the barrel of someone's gun because I just needed to know something." Katie placed a hand on Felicity's shoulder. "You know there's a secret being kept and you also know the reason behind the secret. That's more than I got. But if you need to know, stand your ground and don't bend. I know better than anyone that secrets have a way of twisting up a relationship." Katie turned away, because she was now holding on to a secret she didn't want to hold, but she knew it was for Oliver's safety. But she also had to think of how Oliver's secrets from her caused her to come so close to not even wanting to be with him.

"They just arrived." Felicity said and Katie turned looking over to the monitor.

Katie was never one to be on the sidelines as all the action happened. It's one of the reasons she initially didn't want to wait here while Oliver and the others went out. She felt helpless just watching and not being able to do anything. A smile graced her lips when she heard that they had Madison, and she was safe. That smile fell the moment she heard what happened to Lonnie Manchin. Thea had set the man on fire, and that's the moment Katie knew that whatever that pit did to her, it would take something stronger to get it out.

There wasn't much said about it when the team arrived back to the hideout. Oliver quickly changed, before taking Katie's hand and rushing out to get to the police station to check on Jessica and Madison.

When they arrived, they witnessed Jessica engulfing her daughter in a tight hug. The couple eased over not wanting to ruin their reunion.

"Madison." Oliver spoke softly and the two pulled from the hug and turned to them. "You all right?"

"A few bumps and bruises and probably the worse case of insomnia." the woman said as her mother hugged her. "But I'm good now." Soon Lance walked over to them.

"I'm really sorry, but I got an army of reporters out there and they want to know if you want to make a statement."

"Yes, I'll be out in a few minutes." Jessica replied with a nod.

"You don't have to do that tonight." Oliver said figuring the press on top of this could be too much for one night.

"Yes, I do, Oliver. I have to tell them what I've decided." they all turned to her. "I have to tell them I'm withdrawing my candidacy. I'm not running for mayor." it was a statement that made them drop their heads because they knew this city could've used the hope the woman seemed to create. Jessica saw the looks, but this situation with her daughter only verified there was only so much she would risk, and that would not be the safety of her daughter. "Come on." they watched as the pair walked away.

"I'll be right back." Katie said to Oliver who looked a bit unsure, but he let go of her hand and watched as she followed after Jessica and Madison. "Jessica-" the two woman stopped and turned to Katie.

"Before you try to change my mind, please-"

"I'm not." Katie replied quickly with a shake of her head. "I respect your decision and I completely understand." she looked over to Madison with a smile. "Some things are just worth more to us."

"You know I saw your speech." Jessica said and Katie turned to her with a quirked brow. "You have a way with words and giving people hope." Katie tilted her head as she understood what the woman was asking. "Maybe you-"

"Oh, no." Katie shook her head. "I don't think I could fit another hat on my head right now." Katie placed a hand on her growing belly. "And she will be the biggest hat that I plan on giving all of my attention to." she smiled over to the pair. "Have a good night." Katie turned walking back over to Oliver, who brought his arms around her. "I think it's time we talk about Thea." Oliver sighs and she places a hand to his cheek.

"I was going to head to Laurel's place to talk to her. I'm sure she may not be taking this well."

"I doubt she is." Katie replied when her phone suddenly rang. She pulled back from the man slightly, to slip a hand into her bag and pull put her phone.

"Who is it?"

"Uh, Claire, my assistant." Katie replied before turning and bringing the phone to her ear. "Claire, what's going on, it's kind of late."

 _"I know, but there's been a development. You may want to get down here."_ Katie furrowed a brow in confusion before looking over to the clock.

"Ok, I guess I'm on my way." Katie replies before turning back to Oliver. "I guess I'm needed back at the company."

"Now? It's late."

"I know, but I shouldn't be there long." Katie looks over to the clock once again. "You can drop me off, and then you can go talk to your sister." she turned back to the man placing her hands on his chest. "Then maybe you and I can have some uninterrupted time together."

"I would like that very much." Oliver replied placing a kiss to the woman's lips.

As Katie rode the elevator up to her office, she stood with her eyes closed leaning back against the wall.

_Katie gripped the cold steel of the glock in her hands, her eyes on the bottles that fell every time she pulled the trigger. The last bottle dropped, and she heard a low whistle from beside her and she chuckled as she turned to the man._

_"You shoot better than some of the men I've served with." Flag commented as he turned to the woman with a smile. "I think I'm impressed."_

_"Shut up." Katie muttered sitting the gun down and looking back to Wayne manor. "One month." she looked over to Rick. "We're not one step closer to getting me home."_

_"I promised you I would get you home, and I will." Rick said nudging the woman's arm as he looked back to the mansion as well._

_"It's getting harder and harder to believe that with Bruce gone half the time and you watching me shoot a gun instead of teaching me this magic lying trick that's supposed to make people think I'm not a terrorist." Katie shook her head before stalking to the manor._

_"I told you this wasn't going to happen overnight!" Rick called after her as he followed. "You have to give it time."_

_"Time!" Katie snapped angrily as she turned back to the man. "I have no time. It was all taken from me, and I don't even know why. I want to go home and it's time you make that happen." she shook her head before stalking into the manor, where she found Bruce talking with Alfred. All conversations stopped, and they turned to Katie and Rick._

_"Hey." Bruce greeted._

_"Don't hey me, what the hell is going on?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"I mean I feel like me being here has more to do with me being out of sight and less to do with me actually getting back home." Katie replied looking over to Rick who stood pouring himself a glass of whatever alcohol was on the cart in the room. "Will someone please tell me why I'm really here?"_

_"Robins, I get you're frustrated and I know this whole thing has been an adjustment but-"_

_"I don't need to be comforted, and I don't need words of encouragement." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "I just need to go home, so whatever this is, it's time to get over it and put this plan in motion." with that the woman stalked out of the room._

The doors to the elevator slid open, and Katie opened her eyes surprised to see Martin standing there, not looking very happy.

"Martin, what are you doing here?" she looked around the man before turning back to him. She took a step to get off the elevator, but the man grabbed her arm and pulled her back inside the elevator. "Martin, what-"

"Ms. Robins!" it was Claire's voice, and Katie looked up to see the woman rushing over. She turned a confused look to the man beside Katie before turning back to the woman. "You have to see this, you-"

"That's not happening." Martin replied and both women turned to him. "Ms. Hastings, would you tell the rest of the board of directors that Ms. Robins wasn't feeling well and couldn't make the meeting."

"Ms. Robins, is everything alright?" Claire asked looking to the woman, and the hand the man had on her arm. "Should I call security?"

"No, I'll be there in a second." Katie replied and Claire simply gave a nod before leaving Katie and Martin. "Tell me what's going on?"

"You are about to walk into a meeting to give you good news about an investor who has invested enough money to prevent the need to let anyone go." Martin said.

"That does sound like good news. Why is that a problem?" Katie asked and Martin let out a sigh. "Who is it?" Katie glanced over her shoulder, a sudden chill creeping up her spine. "He's not supposed to be here." she turned back to Martin. "I thought my father said-"

"Damien Darhk is not someone who can be tracked. We lose him and then he pops up in the most inconvenient places. Look I'm here now. There is a car downstairs, it can take you home and-"

"He's with the board right now?" she asked and Martin turned to her and she just shook her head.

"You're not going in there."

"No, he's in there with my board of directors!" Katie turned letting out a heavy breath as she turned down the hall. "Give me your gun."

"Katherine-"

"I asked you for something, I asked my father for something and apparently it's something neither of you can deliver on. I can't hide from this man, and the thing is I shouldn't have to. He does not get to think that I'm afraid of him, now give me your gun." Martin stood there, gritting his teeth, but he slipped a hand behind him, plucking his gun from his waist band and handing it to the woman.

For some reason the gun felt heavy in her hand. She doesn't remember it feeling so heavy. She wrapped her hand around it, familiarizing herself with the one thing in her life that always made sense. She slipped it into her purse before stepping off of the elevator. Martin kept in pace beside her as they made their way to the boardroom. Martin pulled open the door and Katie walked inside where she saw Damien Darhk and a couple of members from the board laughing and drinking champagne.

"And here she is!" Damien said and all their eyes went to Katie. "The woman of the hour. I believe there's something non-alcoholic here for you."

"And just what are we celebrating?" Katie asked and the man smiled even wider at the sound of her voice.

"Mr. Darhk has made a very generous investment." Joshua spoke. "He's given us a very good leg up in the market and-" he turned back to Katie. "Because of it, we have enough money to keep all of our employees, which I'm sure makes you very happy."

"It does." Katie replied pulling a smile out of her ass. She turned back to Damien. "That was very generous of you Mr. Darhk, but I would be a fool to believe this was out of the kindness of your heart."

"You're right." the man chuckled as he sat his glass down and took a few steps toward the woman. It was a move that made Martin stand a little straighter. "I've been a great admirer of this company and now I feel I have the opportunity to really be apart of it. Don't worry, I'm not asking for a corner office but I think I would like to hang around a bit, give some ideas. Nothing too drastic."

"We should discuss details." Katie said seriously, before looking behind the man to the board of directors. "It's late, you all should go home." Katie turned to Martin whose eyes never left the man in front of them. "You're going to step outside and not let anyone in here while we have our conversation."

"I'm not leaving you alone with him." Martin whispered back and Damien chuckled. Darhk turned, shaking a couple of hands as the members filed out of the room. Soon it was just Katie, Martin and Damien left in the room.

"Martin, leave the room." Katie once again ordered, but Martin didn't move a muscle. She turned to him, and he looked down to her. "Fine-" she turned to Damien who stood near the window, that seemed to overlook the entire city.

"You know I looked for her. I mean when I found out she'd left Nanda Parbat, I felt like I searched the ends of the earth to find her and this whole time she was here." the man shook his head before turning to Katie. "With Jacob-" the man threw his head back and chuckled. "Jacob Robins. The man who spun a lie into a billion dollar company." he looked back up to Katie and smiled. "You look like her. Especially the eyes, it's-" he felt it again. That tingling feeling that he's not supposed to have, that strange feeling that's not supposed to be inside of him. He turned away, back out the window. "I hope you don't mind me-"

"You talk a lot." Katie finally spoke and the man turned to her with a quirked brow. "No, like it's to the point that I think it's just you liking to hear your own voice." the woman took a bold step forward. "Two times you have initiated a meeting with me without my permission. Two times you have put me in compromising positions that I really don't appreciate."

"My, my Ms. Robins, I-"

"I'm talking right now, so you shut the hell up." Katie says before reaching into her purse and pulling out the gun. She pointed it at him, and he stared back without a single care in the world.

"Your hand's steady." he noted as he watched the way the woman held the gun. "Means you've held guns before."

"I've pull the trigger a couple of times as well." Katie replied not taking her eyes from the man in front of her. "Are you here because of my mother? She's dead and it's time for you to accept that and just move on."

"Do you feel it?" he asked her and she quirked a brow in confusion, but never loosening her grip on the gun. "It's like a vibration underneath the skin." he took another step toward her and Katie suddenly felt a tickle at the back of her throat. "Happens whenever I see you, and I don't have the faintest clue why."

"Mr. Darhk." Martin spoke, but Damien didn't pull his eyes from Katie. "If you could stop, right-" a smile came to Martin's lips when suddenly small red laser dots appeared all over the man's body. "Perfect." Darhk dropped his eyes, and the sight of the dots made him laugh.

"Oh Martin, I refuse to believe you would order a sniper hit in the presence of your boss' pregnant daughter." Damien looked up to the man who chuckled as well.

"Well I hope you believe that we employ snipers who know to only hit their target." Martin walked to stand beside Katie. "You have one option. Leave Star City, never come back, and never make any contact with the good doctor here."

"You know I think you should let Dr. Robins speak for her-" without warning Katie pulled the trigger and Damien lifted a hand, and the bullet just stopped. "I planned on waiting, but-" he looked up meet her eyes and it was strange. He'd looked into the eyes of many who'd seen his abilities. The initial reaction was often shock, instantly followed by fear. But now, the way Katie stared, it was pure curiosity. "You know that's a trick I learned from your mother." Katie lifted her eyes, meeting his.

"What did you just say?" Katie asked, and without hesitation Martin grabbed Katie's arm and began pulling her toward the door. "Martin, what-" Katie looked back to Damien who never moved from his spot. Katie heard Martin tell someone to fire, and the moment they were on the other side of the door, gun fire pierced the air. The woman pulled from his grasp the moment they stepped inside the elevator. She turned to the man and he already knew a conversation he did not want to have was about to transpire.

"Before you start-"

"What the fuck was that?!" Katie snapped with a slight shake of her head. Her thoughts replayed the scene over and over. The bullet just stopping mid air in front of him. It makes her think of those train tracks and a train that shouldn't have stopped, coming to a halt at one simple utterance. "Is he a metahuman?" she turned back to Martin who let out a sigh. "I still have a gun, it's still loaded, so you need to start talking."

"That's just it, I can't." Martin replied turning back to the woman. "You're not even supposed to be in the same room as that man. And now he's made things so much more difficult."

"What are you talking about?" Katie closed her eyes, suddenly feeling faint. "My mother, he mentioned my mother and-" she took a step back that didn't quite land and the woman slipped a bit. Fortunately Martin was close enough to grab her before she could fall. "I feel strange." she opened her eyes to see Martin staring in worry. "Why do I feel strange?"

"I-" the elevator doors opened and Martin brought and arm around the woman who seemed too out of it to protest. He helped her into the car, when a voice spoke through the comlink in his ear.

"What do you mean he's gone?!" Martin growled. He looked back to Katie who sat with her eyes closed, her breathing seeming a bit faster than normal. "Fine, whatever, send a clean up crew." He quickly climbed into the SUV beside her and yelled for the driver to go. He turned back to Katie and sighed. "He's gonna kill me."

_When the news of coming to Gotham, and to Bruce's house was brought up, Katie really did think this was a step closer to getting home. Time changed all of that. It moved slowly, and Katie could feel it. The walls around her had the familiar feeling of the many cells she'd been trapped in before. One night, it became too much. Being locked away in this giant manor, not being able to interact with anyone besides Bruce, Rick and Alfred. She was going crazy, and she couldn't take it anymore. The fact that she was so close to Starling just made the temptation that much greater. So she decided to finally take control and depend on herself to get her home. It's why she tied a rope of sheets together and hung them outside of her window. Why she didn't hesitate to climb down. It was the dead of night, but the woman held no reservations about this plan. She hurried to the garage, her eyes scanning through the row of cars both classic and new. She needed something to keep her under the radar and so she chose one of the man's motor bikes._

_For the first time in a long time, Katie finally started to feel like she was actually doing something to get herself back home and being so close, she knew it was only a matter of time. She pushed the bike, glancing back to the manor, making sure no one had noticed her absence yet. It wasn't until she reached the gate did the lights around the estate began illuminating so brightly._

" _Shit." she muttered before turning to the gate and entering the key code. The old gate seemed to take it's sweet time to open as Katie slid onto the bike and started the motor. She heard distant voices soon, but it wasn't going to stop her. The moment the gates opened up enough, Katie sped out of there, not even tempted to look back._

Katie's eyes snapped open, and she sat up quickly surprised to find herself lying on the couch in the loft. She placed a hand on her belly, feeling the kicks of the baby, which even though was uncomfortable, was equally relieving. She looked up, her mind going back to that boardroom, seeing an impossibility and then being pulled away by Martin. She remembers feeling odd, something she doesn't feel at all right now. The woman stood to her feet, and headed out to the balcony in hopes some fresh air will clear the fuzziness of this day. There was a cool breeze that blew past her and she inhaled deeply. She heard the sound of the door opening, and she turned.

"Twinkie?!" Oliver called and the sound of his voice seemed to make her smile.

"I'm on the balcony!" she called back and soon the man appeared, bringing his arms around her instantly. "Hi."

"Hi." Oliver replied, his lips already inching toward hers. It was a kiss that for a few brief moments seemed to erase the craziness that had transpired on this night. When they pulled from the kiss, smiles neither one of them thought was possible after a day like this, seemed impossible to not have in this moment. "How did things go at work?" the smile on Katie's face fell and she turned in the man's arms to look back out to the illuminated buildings around them. "That good." he placed a kiss on her shoulder, bringing his arms around her from behind and letting his hand rest on her rounded stomach, smiling at the feeling of his daughter moving underneath his hands.

"Not quite." Katie replied letting herself fall back into the man's grasp. "But I don't want to talk about it tonight. I think tonight has found it's limit of crazy." she turned her head to see the man. "How did it go with Speedy?"

"She's seems ok, I guess. Laurel is taking her out of town for a while on some spa trip, I guess to take her mind off of everything."

"Sounds like a good idea, in theory." Katie said turning back to the city. "I just don't think it'll be enough."

"Neither do I, but we will figure out something when they get back." the man placed another kiss to Katie's shoulder and she let out a soft sigh. Just moments earlier she felt like her life was in disarray, and now it all just went away as she found herself safely in the man's arms.

"What now?" Katie asked. It was a question that never went away because at the end of every battle, seemed to be the beginnings of another.

"I've been thinking about what both Lance and Jessica Danforth said to me about this city needing something that the Green Arrow can't offer them." Oliver said and he looked down meeting the woman's eyes. "And at first I wasn't quite sure what that was, but then you gave a speech. A speech that needed to be said and I realized that's what Star City is missing."

"Legalized marijuana?" Katie asked and Oliver lightly laughed. "You laugh, but I have a feeling we wouldn't have as many issues in this city."

"No, I was going to say hope." Katie turned in the man's arms and she looked up to his eyes. "Inspiration. Someone who can do things in the light, who isn't afraid... Someone who can protect himself." Katie seemed to know what the man was going to say before the actual words even came out of his mouth. A smile pulled at his lips as he look down to Katie's eyes. "Twinkie, I'm-

"Wait." Katie says before pushing the man back and moving around him to go back inside the loft. She wasn't sure where she was going, so she stopped and turned back to the man who followed behind her in confusion. "I'm sorry, that was weird. Just say what you were going to say."

"Twinkie, what-"

"You were going to say that you're going to run for Mayor." Katie replied pulling a smile to her face. "That's—that's-" for some reason she couldn't even find the right words to say in this moment that didn't reveal her true feelings. "That's—uh,-" Oliver walked over, bringing his arms around her. "I'm sorry, just of all the things I thought I was going to hear tonight on that balcony, you saying you're going to run for Mayor was not on the list." she looked up meeting his eyes and sighed.

"Twinkie, I understand now could possibly be the worse timing ever with the baby coming soon, but the city really does need someone now to stand for them and be that hope they need." Oliver said, but shook his head after he spoke. "That made it sound like I was choosing the city over us, which I'm not. I just-" the man was silenced by Katie's lips on his and soon words just didn't matter.

"I get it." Katie said with smile, placing her hands on the man's chest. "It will just be an adjustment, but you're right. It's time this city had a hero who stands in the light."

"You, our daughter will always come first in my life." Oliver assured, assuming that's where her doubts were centered, but they weren't. He pulled her into hug and she let out a sigh.

Up to this point she thought there was still a chance they could still leave. That they would find a way to stop these Ghosts, and Darhk and maybe they could sail away back to their quiet home, in their even quieter neighborhood.

Up to this point she thought there was a chance she could be free of this city. After fighting for years to come back home, she's learning everyday that it's not the same place it used to be.

Now all hope was gone.

Now she would never be able to escape her new, twisted prison.


	5. Family Reunions

**Chapter 5**

**Family Reunions**

_"In every conceivable manner,_

_the family is link to our past,_

_bridge to our future."_

-Alex Haley

* * *

Oliver Queen sometimes think he has a super power. Not one that could save lives, but one he finds use for. It doesn't matter how deep in his sleep he is, or how tired he'd been, he can feel the moment Katie's side of the bed is empty for more than a few minutes.

He opens his eyes suddenly, turning and noticing the woman's empty side of the bed, before he sits up. He glances over to the bathroom, noticing the lights are off. He stands from bed, instantly worried. His mind went back to that night with the rose pedals, a night his heart stopped and didn't beat again until he saw her.

"Son of a bitch!" he hears her yell and Oliver rushes out of the room, stalking through down the hall in search of the voice, but stopping when he hears movement from the guest room. The man takes a step forward, pushing the door open to see Katie sitting in the middle of the room surrounded by boxes.

"Twinkie, what are you doing?" the woman lifted her eyes to the man. He glanced over to the clock against the wall, now able to see how ridiculously early it was. "It's three o'clock in the morning-" he turned back to the woman. "Why are you awake?"

"I couldn't sleep, I thought I would actually unpack this room." the woman replied glancing around the room. "But there's so much stuff, and not a lot of space and it's getting frustrating."

"Twinkie-

"I'm fine, just go back to sleep." Katie turned to the box beside, before turning back to Oliver. "Wait, did you pick up the paint?" Oliver dropped his face to his palm and sighed.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot and-"

"It's fine." Katie replied closing her eyes and letting her head fall back against the wall. Oliver walked over and crouched in front of the woman, placing his hands on her knees.

"Twinkie, I'm sorry I've been looking into the whole public office thing and then there was another run in with the ghosts and-"

"You forgot the paint." Katie said looking back to the man. "The paint for our daughter's room. That's just great-" The woman attempted to stand up, and Oliver quickly grabbed her arm to help her, but she pulled away from him the moment she was standing. The woman stalked out of the room, and Oliver stood there for a moment unsure if he should follow her. He's suffered the wrath of the various moods of pregnant Twinkie, and he feels like this one might be a doozie. He let out a deep sigh, before turning and heading out to the hall. He heard her downstairs and decided to dive in because he loved the woman no matter what mood she was in.

When he found her, she was standing at the sink filling a tea pot with water.

"I will pick up the paint today." Oliver spoke and she looked up to the man and just shook her head. "This isn't about paint-"

"Aren't you the bright deductionist." Katie muttered turning and bringing the tea pot to the stove. "Oliver, it's fine. I will get the paint, and I will choose a crib and finally unpack that room because you know there's gonna be a baby here like really soon." she looked back over to the man. "You just focus on running for Mayor, and catching ghosts. That's what's important." she stalked out of the kitchen, but Oliver caught her arm and brought his arms around her. She turned her eyes away from his, almost defiantly avoiding his gaze.

"You want to tell me what's really going on?" Oliver asked, but Katie didn't say anything. She didn't bring her arms around him or even pretend that she wanted to be in this embrace right now. "Is it the Mayor thing? Do you not want me to run?" she still didn't say anything and Oliver wasn't sure how to fix this or even where to start. "Twinkie, tell me what do you need?" she finally turned back to the man, meeting the seriousness in his eyes and she felt something inside of her break. Something she'd been trying to hold inside, but it was cracking inside of her. "Twinkie-" Katie dropped her head to Oliver's chest. "Twinkie, talk to me-" she wanted to spill her guts, to tell him how angry she was, and how scared she was, but she was afraid he would do what he always did. Try to protect her. But she knows he's never gone against a person who can stop bullets with a simple wave of a hand.

"I'm just-" she lifted her head and let out a heavy breath. "I'm just not feeling like myself." she shook her head before the whistle of the tea pot tore through the room. Oliver turned, rushing over to take the pot from the stove, when he looked back up, Katie was gone. He stepped out of the kitchen to see the woman heading back up the stairs leaving him completely confused, and worried.

It would seem after that moment, Oliver couldn't go back to sleep. And neither could Katie who just laid in bed, her back to him. He stuck by her side, hoping that at some point she would tell him what was going on.

It was later in the morning when Katie's phone beeped, and she reached over to read the text, and she let out a groan.

"I forgot Felicity and I were supposed to go shopping today." Katie muttered sitting up from the bed. "She's on her way here, and that means I have to shower and put on clothes." she stood from the bed and headed for the bathroom. "Might as well solve world hunger while I'm at it." Oliver stood as well, and followed her to the bathroom, stopping at the door. He crossed his arms and leaned against the frame as he looked over to her. When she turned to him, she quirked a brow. "Did you need something?"

"Actually I do. I need for you to tell what's wrong." Katie shook her head before turning and twisting on the shower. "This...us, it only works when we're honest with each other. We've learned the hard way what happens when we're not." Katie turned back to the man. "Twinkie, I know something is upsetting you, and I hate that you won't tell me what it is." It was the buzzing of the doorbell that saved Katie from an answer in that moment.

"That's Felicity and Lyla, you want to tell them I will be down in a minute?" Oliver stood there for a moment, not ready to let this conversation just go.

"We've been in this moment before, Twinkie. You bottling up the things you think I can't handle, but I can."

"Hey, I have a key, and I'm coming in!" Felicity's voice carried up the stairs. "So stop with the hanky panky, because we are going shopping today!"

Oliver groaned turning back to Katie, who just stared back at the man.

"Twinkie-"

"It's different. Being back here." she turned away from his eyes. She knew he saw things in her she wanted to remain hidden and she thinks not looking in his eyes helps keep some things to herself. "And yet is the same." she looked back to the man. "I'm just getting back to who we are and the type of lives we lead."

"Guys, seriously, no one's that in love!" Felicity's voice called.

"Twinkie-"

"A nice day of shopping. That's what normal people do and it's what I need to do today." Katie said with a slight smile. "I need to feel like a normal person who goes shopping for baby clothes. That's what I'm going to do, now I have to shower."

"Fine." Oliver said, before walking over to the woman and placing a hand around her waist. "I am going to figure out what's going on, and when I do, I'm going to fix it." Katie looked up to the man, placing a hand on his cheek. "I like happy on you, and right now something is not letting you be happy."

"Well you know, you make me happy, and this little girl really makes me happy. The other stuff just annoys me." Katie placed a kiss to the man's lips. "Now go, let them know I will be down soon." Oliver placed a final kiss to her lips before turning and leaving the bathroom. When he came downstairs, he found Lyla standing near the door as Felicity peeked in boxes they still had yet to unpack.

"Hi Oliver." Lyla said and Felicity whipped her head up, her eyes going wide as she takes a step away from the box. "Felicity was just snooping."

"I see that." Oliver said turning back to the woman.

"I wasn't-" the woman shook her head, but sighed, there was no point in hiding it. "Fine, why haven't you guys unpacked yet?"

"It's been a very hectic couple of weeks." Oliver replied through a yawn. "Sorry, not a lot of sleep."

"You know I didn't think pregnant women could go at it as much as you two have been." Felicity replied looking up to the stairs. "So where's Twinkie, I've already scoped out a couple of shops I want to check out."

"She's in the shower, she should be down soon." Oliver replied looking over to Lyla. "You two want some coffee?" Oliver was already heading for the kitchen. Felicity and Lyla shared a look before following behind the man, both taking a seat at the counter and watched as he made coffee. Once he was done, he turned to see two pair of eyes studying him in a way that made him nervous. "Ok, what is this?"

"What's going on?" Felicity asked. Oliver looked between the two women, before looking toward the stairs to make sure Katie was still out of sight.

"There's something going on with Twinkie. Something she's not saying, and that worries me." Oliver replied turning back to the women. "Has she said anything to either of you?"

"Nothing. I have noticed she seems, I don't know distant lately." Felicity replied before turning to Lyla who frowned slightly. "Do you know something we don't?" Oliver turned to the woman as well.

"Nothing I feel comfortable saying to either of you. We had a conversation, she confided in me." Lyla turned to Oliver, knowing that's not what he wanted to hear. "The thing is Oliver, for some reason she doesn't want to tell you something. You need to understand why."

"Alright!" they turned at the sound of Katie's voice as she came down the stairs. "Let's go spend money." Lyla and Felicity glanced once more to Oliver before slipping from their seats to meet the woman at the door. She looked over to Oliver and smiled. "We shouldn't be gone long, and-" she pointed to Lyla. "I'm pretty sure this one has a small artillery on her person."

"I'm not saying anything, but maybe we should avoid places with metal detectors." Lyla replied heading out the door. "I'll pull the car up."

Oliver walked over to Katie, sliding an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"There has to be a second in a day you two aren't making out." Felicity said snagging Katie's arm and pulling her out the door. "Don't worry Oliver, I will take good care of her and baby Twiver."

"Have fun!" Oliver called to the women as they left.

Katie didn't really like shopping, but there was something about these stores and their tiny baby clothing that just pulled a smile to her face. She had this image in her head, of this tiny baby girl in all these cute little outfits. Felicity was no better, cooing and awing at every outfit and toy she touched. Lyla was more reserve, the level headed one of the three. She's the reason Katie didn't literally buy an entire baby store. After a few hours of shopping, the women finally took a break and decided to grab some lunch. They were walking, bags in hand when Katie glanced over her shoulder. There was that instinct she thought had just went away.

"Here it is!" Felicity called and they turned to see her opening the door to the restaurant. "This place has the best burger and fries. Maybe even better than big belly, but I will let you judge for yourselves." They walked inside the small restaurant that actually looked a little too fancy to even serve burgers and fries. "I know, but Bruce brought me here and the food is great." They walked over to the hostess who was looking down to something on the small podium in front of her. "Hi, I know we don't have a reservation-"

"You need a reservation for a burger, Felicity?" Lyla asked and Felicity turned a glare toward the woman before she turned back to the hostess who still had yet to even look at them.

"I'm sorry, as I was saying, we don't have a reservation, but your food is awesome and we're really hungry." Felicity tilted her head, annoyed with the hostess' customer service skills since she was still just reading something.

"I'm sorry, we are reservation only. If you would like to make a reservation, I can grab the waiting list for you." the hostess rattled off as if she'd say this same line dozens of times. The women looked over to the restaurant at the numerous empty tables and shook their head.

"These burgers better be good, Smoaks." Katie said before taking a step forward. "Hi, is your manager here?"

"My manager is handling important business in the back, is there something I can help you with." It was getting ridiculous that the woman was still not even looking up to them as she rambled off her sentence.

"Well me and my friends would like to eat here and since we don't have a reservation, I would just like to buy the entire restaurant. Can you help me do that?" it must've shocked the hostess because she finally lifted her eyes and Katie gave her a smile.

"You're-" the hostess seemed at a loss for words as she looked between Katie and Felicity. "You're-" she looked out to the restaurant, before turning back to the three women. "I'm so sorry, I believe we have a table for you. Please follow me."

The three women shook their heads at Felicity as they sat at the nice, private table toward the back of the restaurant.

"Well when you walk in with Bruce Wayne, everyone looks at him and act like you're royalty." The woman replied as she looked down to the menu. "I didn't really know they were assholes."

"I'm just glad I have rich friends who can offer to buy places so we can get inside." Lyla says glancing over to Katie who took a sip of her water.

"No one stands between me and my food." Katie replied when she spotted a man in tuxedo talking to the hostess. "And now prepare for part two of the apologies." the man rushed over and as expected, the word, "sorry" was in every other sentence. He offered them anything they wanted on the house and promised the perfect experience. Once he was gone with their order, Felicity looked down to her phone.

"Bruce still hasn't called?" Lyla asked and Felicity let out a sigh.

"I don't know why I'm expecting him to. I gave him a choice and I guess he decided." the woman shook her head at the thought. "Why is honesty so hard? Is it really that bad?"

"What if it is?" Lyla asked and the blonde turned to her. "What if he's found out some very dangerous information, information that could put your life in danger."

"Or he has a secret wife and kids on an island somewhere that he doesn't want me to know about." Felicity muttered turning away.

"You don't believe that, do you?"

"No, I just-" Felicity shrugged. "Knowing there is a secret is actually worse than not knowing. There something so important he feels the need to keep it from me and that scares me, because I know that means it's big."

"John has this thing about boats." Lyla states. "Like he hates boats and it's not a fear or anything because he will get on them. It's just there is something about boats that trigger something that has happened to him and he refuses to tell me what it is." Lyla glanced down to her wedding ring with a slight smile. "You have no idea how many times I've asked him to just tell me what it was, but he won't." she looked back to the woman. "When I was a recruit with ARGUS, one of our trainers once said, with this job you will catch bad guys, kill them maybe, but their presence will forever be with you. John is holding onto something, and it's hard for him to let it go, but me pushing him to tell me won't help him realize that it's fine to tell me. Look I'm not telling you to forgive Bruce, that has to be your choice, but I see not being with him is making you miserable. So maybe you have a choice in front of you as well." Felicity simply nodded glancing down to her phone before they both turned to the woman who was quiet this whole time. They watched as Katie stared down to her water as she slid a finger along the rim of the glass.

"Hey." Felicity placed a hand to Katie's shoulder, pulling the woman from her thoughts. "You ok?"

"Fine." Katie replied with a slight smile. Neither woman believed the answer. "So where are we going next? I need to look at some cribs, because Oliver is-" the woman just shook her head. "Busy I guess." Felicity and Lyla shared a looked before turning back to the woman.

"So how are things between you and Oliver?" Lyla asked and Katie sighed. "Did you talk to him about all those things you told me about?"

"What things?" Felicity asked with a quirked brow. "I want to know about the things." Katie chuckled but turned away slightly. "Hey, Twinkie, this is the sanctum. Anything spoken here, stays here."

"I didn't want to stay." Katie finally said turning back to Felicity. "I wanted to go back to our house in Coast City, and paint our daughter's room and wait for Oliver to finally work up the courage to propose." She noticed the slightly sad look on Felicity face and she quickly took her hand. "Smoaks, I love you, I love all of you, but this place its-" she shook her head. "Here our realities are too real. Here I have to see that I was taken from my home because my father was a crazy person and my mother's last name was Al Ghul." she shook her head. "Here I have to realize that the father of my child feels some sort of obligation to put himself on the front lines of criminals wanting to hurt this city." Katie dropped her head slightly before turning away. "I didn't feel the darkness anymore when I was gone, but I'm back and it's-" she shook her head.

"Twinkie, tell us, what's going on?"

"Damien Darhk." Katie finally said after a few moments of silence.

"I know you're worried, but from what we've seen so far, Darhk's attacks seems to be focused on the city." Felicity replied in an attempt to be optimistic. "Maybe he doesn't even know you're Grace's daughter, or maybe he does and just doesn't care."

"He knows." Katie says looking over to the woman. "And he seems to care very much."

"You went to see him?" Lyla asked and Katie looked over to her and shook her head.

"More like he orchestrated a meeting between the two of us. One that included men pulling me out of cars and pushing me into empty restaurants where the only guest was our pal Damien Darhk."

"Does Oliver know about this?" Felicity asked and Katie turned to her with a quirked brow. "I mean of course he doesn't know or he'd be on a war path. That's why you haven't told him."

"We don't know what Damien Darhk is capable of and it's a fact that everyone has agreed upon, and until we know more, we attack him through stopping his attacks on this city. If Oliver knew this man has even looked in my direction, not once but twice then-"

"Wait, twice. You've seen him again?" Lyla asked.

"Yeah, he-" Katie shook her had. "He made an investment in RI, a substantial investment that pulled the company out of it's hole and now he wants a chance to hang around and give his input."

"We have to tell Oliver. This is seriously dangerous for both you and the baby and he deserves to know so we could do something." Felicity shook her head. "Like not take you shopping without a whole army to protect us."

"Well there you go, we do have an army." Katie replied and Felicity turned to her waiting for her to continue. "The ever present army of my father. I figure he and ARGUS are attempting to track Darhk as we speak."

"I don't think so." Lyla said and Katie and Felicity looked over to her. "When you and Oliver left, your father attempted to find you using ARGUS resources. Waller wouldn't allow it."

"What do you mean she wouldn't allow it? I thought she was the boss only by title." Katie replied and Lyla sighed.

"So did a lot of people, including Jacob. She put her foot down and then he left."

"What do you mean left? Where is he?"

"No idea, but chances are if you're here, then he's here as well." Lyla replied. "Look, your father does still have resources, and I'm sure there is probably eyes on us, just probably not enough I'm comfortable with, when someone as bad as Darhk is concerned." she looked over to Felicity. "Maybe we should get these burgers to go."

"Agreed." Felicity said standing to her feet, when suddenly they heard the sound of people screaming.

"Everyone on your feet!" a voice yelled and the women turned to now see two people waving around semi automatic weapons. Their faces were covered, but their guns were not and so people were listening. "If I have to ask again, you won't be happy!"

"I would really like to see that small army now." Felicity muttered as the three women stood to their feet. "At what point does the whole rescue Twinkie and her friends usually happen?"

"You!" one of the gunman pointed a gun at the hostess. "Lock the doors and place the close sign." The gunman turned to two men. "I want you two to move these tables out of the way and I want everyone on the floor, right here!"

Once the tables were moved, people nervously moved to sit on the floor. Katie, Felicity and Lyla hesitated for a moment as they began walking. The moment they neared the crowd, the shorter of the two gunman, met them before they could sit.

"You three actually get the VIP section." the female voice spoke, and all three women took note of the fact. "Where is the boss?!" the man from before in the tuxedo rose his hand and the woman walked over and jerked him to his feet. "Is there a basement?"

"Uh, yes, our cellar is accessed in the kitchen." the man replied nervously. The woman simply shoved him back to the floor before turning back to the three women.

"Let's go!" she pointed the gun at them and gestured for them to move toward the kitchen.

"Uh, I have allergies, so basements are usually a no-no for me." Felicity said slightly raising her hand. The woman with the gun stalked over, and it was Lyla who took a step forward to stand between the two.

"We will go down the basement." Lyla said before glancing back to Felicity who gave a nod.

"Good, now, I need cell phones." Lyla reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone before handing it to the woman. They turned back to Katie and Felicity.

"Mine is in my bag, back on the table." Felicity replied nudging her head back to the table. The woman than turned her gun to Katie who sighed.

"Phone, now princess!" Katie reached behind her, snagging her phone from her back pocket before handing it to the woman as well. "Thank you all for being so agreeable, now basement. Move." Lyla turned, giving the woman a nudge of her head before they all turned and began walking.

Once in the basement, the gun-woman forced them to sit against the wall. They all watched as she moved to stand a couple of feet away from them, her gun still pointed in their direction.

"Is this about money?" Felicity asked and the woman looked over to her. "Because if it is, I can assure you no one from my company is going to give you a dime." the woman laughed as she looked over to the woman.

"It used to be about money. Hell, everything use to be about money, but then one day it just wasn't." the woman then reached inside of her bag and pulled out a small device that all three women in front of her recognized the moment they saw it.

"Guns, bombs and hostages." Katie spoke looking over to the woman. "If this isn't about money, then what is it about?" the woman lifted her head and once again laughed before walking over. Lyla and Felicity sat up a bit straighter as the woman squat down in front of them and removed the bandanna covering her face. Katie gasped the moment she saw the woman. "Heather?"

"You took everything away from me, and now I'm going to do the same." the woman gave a wink before standing up and walking back over to the bomb. Katie felt Lyla move her hand and knew she was going for a weapon. She quickly grabbed Lyla's hand and just shook her head. Lyla looked at her like she was crazy, but complied, moving her hand from the gun strapped to her ankle.

"You want to tell us how you know the crazy woman holding us hostage?" Felicity whispered over to Katie.

"She's-" Katie turned back to the woman who now pulled out a laptop and a tri pod. "Heather Locke." Felicity looked over to Katie with a quirked brow before it finally hit her.

"Locke as in-"

"She's Jeremy's wife."

"Alright!" Heather said and they all looked up to see the woman had set up her tablet to the tripod and had it pointed on them. "You ladies ready for your close up?"

Oliver found himself in the nursery, actually recognizing Katie's frustrations. Her due date was right around the corner and this room wasn't even close to being ready for the baby. There was a knock on the door and he let out a sigh before heading downstairs. The moment he opened the door, a smile came to his face.

"You know I never figured I was your go to friend in a time of crisis." Ethan said walking into the loft. The man pulled off his jacket and turned to Oliver.

"Yeah, well your girlfriend and my sister are off on a spa weekend I guess, Felicity, Katie and Lyla are out shopping and John-"

"Still secretly trying to kill you for kidnapping his wife?"

"No, wait-" Oliver looked over to the man. "He's not really trying to kill me, is he?" Ethan simply laughed with a shake of his head. "Well in a time of crisis, you're all I have which is sad, but whatever. I need help getting back on Twinkie's good side and I think that starts with having a room for our daughter. You pick up the paint?"

"It is in the car." Ethan said looking around the loft. "So this is like the permanent place, now?" Ethan turned back to Oliver who quirked a brow. "Like this is where you're going to raise the baby?"

"For now, yeah. Why?" Oliver asked and Ethan just shook his head.

"No, I just-" the doctor just shook his head with a slight look before pointing to the stairs. "Nursery up there? I want to see if I got enough paint. No offense, but it was hard for me to believe you're good with estimating how much paint a room needs." the man didn't wait for a response from Oliver before skipping up the stairs. Oliver followed behind the man, wanting to know what that look was about. Ethan was already snooping inside boxes when Oliver walked inside the nursery.

"You know when you said the nursery wasn't quite ready, I assumed maybe a couple of boxes, but not the whole damn room." Ethan looked over to Oliver with a shake of his head. "Your baby could literally be born today and where would you put her?" he looked around the room before pointing to one of the boxes. "Well maybe that box. It looks quite comfortable."

"We've been a bit busy with the city being over-run with these ghosts and people slipping things under our door." Oliver sighed looking around the room. "For some reason we thought we had more time to get to this part, but apparently-"

"Why don't you just hire people to do this?" Ethan asked and Oliver looked over to him. "What? I thought that's what rich people did when they didn't want to get their hands dirty." Oliver just shook his head at the man. "Well if you would like to know, you did underestimate the amount of paint you needed."

"Seriously?" Oliver asked and Ethan couldn't hold in his laughter. "You're an asshole."

"I know." Ethan says rolling up his sleeves. "I am going go grab the paint and the brushes, and you can start moving these boxes." he looked over to Oliver who gave a nod before going to work. Ethan was about to walk out of the room before his phone beeped.

"Please don't tell me you got to head to the hospital?" Oliver said looking over to the man who chuckled. He really did need help getting this room straightened out before Katie came back home.

"Well I'm on vacation, so if they're calling then-" Ethan frowned down to his phone. "What the hell?"

"What is it?" Oliver asked and Ethan turned to the man. "Ethan, what is it?"

"It's one of the nurses at GMH. We need to get downstairs."

Soon Oliver and Ethan were seated in front of the television watching something neither expected to see.

 _"If you're just now tuning in, we along with multiple news stations in the city have been informed by an unknown party about an impending video that they would like to be broadcast live. This is something we do not usually do, but the party has threatened the lives of numerous people if their demands are not met."_ the reporter turned slightly, listening to someone through her ear piece. _"Oh my God."_ she turned back to the came. _"The video is now streaming, and we will show it soon, but we have no idea what this is and advise you to please take your children out of the room."_ after a few moments the reporter gave a nod and the moment the screen changed, Oliver felt his heart stop beating.

 _"My name is Dr. Katherine Robins and I am a murderer."_ Oliver watched as Katie looked up from the papers in her hands. She let out a sigh before looking back down to the paper _. "It is time I finally let the world know who I really am. I am not a savior, or a hero, I am a monster and until that truth is finally proven every half hour a-"_ she stopped and looked up, with a frown. _"No! You're not doing this!"_

" _Read the paper or people start dying now, starting with your friends here!"_ Oliver's jaw clinched, seeing the anger in Katie's eyes as she shook her head slightly before turning back to the camera. 

" _Every half hour one of the many hostages here will be killed until evidence is found that will lock me away. Please find something, I don't care, whatever will lock me away and lock me away for good. The clock starts now._ " the video ended, and the screen switched back to the reporter who stood in shock for a few moments before actually speaking.

Ethan grabbed the remote and turned off the television before turning to Oliver whose eyes were on the black screen.

"Oliver?" Oliver's phone rang and he quickly pulled it from his pocket. He looked down to the number before standing to his feet as he answered it.

"Bruce, tell me you got something." Oliver rushed for the door, grabbing his jacket and not even saying a word to Ethan as he stalked out.

Once the man was gone, Ethan pulled out his own phone and dialed a familiar number. He nervously waited for someone to answer and soon the wait was over.

 _"Dr. Mills, I wasn't expecting a call from you today."_ Martin Ellis answered.

"I wasn't expecting to make this call." Ethan replied looking back up to the television. "You may want to turn on the news."

It was the sound of glass breaking that made the man suddenly halt before knocking. He was about to deliver news he doesn't think will please his boss and he'd been tempted every second to turn and just run. The temptation isn't that strong because he knows who his boss is and what he's capable of. He wouldn't be able to run far, so he took a deep breath, swallow his nerves before finally knocking.

"Get in here!" the order caused the man to quickly step inside, and the moment he did his boss turned to him. "The next words out of your mouth is, we've found her, Mr. Darhk sir and a team is already in route to save her." the man dropped his head because those were not going to be the next words out of his mouth. Actually he feared the next words out of his mouth would be his last. "Speak!"

"We have not been able to get a location of where the video came from. No one we've questioned is taking responsibility. We believe this may be the work of a new comer. Someone trying to make a name for themselves."

"Well you really can't make a name for yourself if no one knows it." Damien says turning back to his television to watch what felt like the one hundredth replay of the hostage video and every time he sees it, something inside of him burns. There's no reason to feel as angry as he does in this moment, and yet seeing her face, the face so similar to his Minnah, it just stirs something inside of him that surprises even him. "Someone knows something-" he turns back to his henchman. "Someone knows something, so I don't care what you have to do to find that someone, but you will or your insides will become your outsides. Now go!" the man didn't hesitate to rush out of there. Damien's eyes turned back to the television, his teeth gritting at the sight once again and before he could stop himself, the television just exploded. He let out a growl before walking over to his telephone, and dialing a number. "I'm going to need another television, sooner rather than later."

Katie, Felicity and Lyla sat watched as Heather held her rifle firmly with one hand while doing something on her laptop.

"We need to take her out." Lyla whispered over to Katie. "I know she's family-"

"There's also another gun upstairs and until he's eliminated, then we can't touch her." Katie replied looking over to Lyla. Katie turned slightly to Felicity. "Smoaks, tell me if given the chance you can disarm that bomb?" Felicity tilted her head trying to look at the device as best she could from her place. She let out a sigh and just shook her head.

"I don't know. I can't actually see it from the other side of the basement." Felicity replied. "We need a plan."

"Fine." Katie replied before looking back over to Heather. "I'm sorry." the red head glanced up from her computer and looked over to her. "I can't imagine what losing Jeremy did to you-"

"But I didn't lose him. You stole him from me! Now you have the whole city falling at your feet like you're some sort of angel on earth, but you shot my husband through the head. Clean shot. That wasn't the first time you've killed, and all we have to do is wait until they find it."

"And then what? I go to jail and you go to jail and we can be prison sisters?"

"Sometimes you have to make sacrifices for justice." Heather replied looking back down to the clock ticking away.

"Even your daughter?" Katie asked and the woman glared over to her. "Is she worth losing? Because that's what's going to happen if you kill anybody today. You would've lost your husband and your daughter."

"Oh you sound so concerned." Heather hissed as she stood to her feet and took a step toward the woman. That's when she noticed Felicity take Katie hand and she laughed. "They don't see it, but I do. This act you're putting on about me, about my daughter. Where were your thoughts of us when you had that gun pointed at my husband?" Heather shook her head. "No, the lives lost tonight will be on you cousin in law." the woman simply winked before walking back over to her computer.

Oliver rushed into the hideout where he found Bruce and John already waiting. The two men looked up, the looks on their faces matching his own.

"What have you found?"

"I tried pinging the signal used by the video footage, but it's being bounced around making it impossible to trace it." Bruce said looking down to the computer. "I'm going to try the girls cell phones, hopefully find them that way." Oliver simply nodded before walking over to John who seemed to be watching the video footage.

"Have you gotten anything from this?" Oliver asked and John looked over to the man and just shook his head.

"None of them are signalling anything, and if Katie is trying to say something other than what she's reading, I can't hear it." John replied, his eyes glancing over to Lyla who he notices has her hand resting on her hip. "What I can tell is that these guys aren't professionals." Oliver looked over to John with a quirked brow. "They didn't pat them down. You see that slight bulge there underneath Lyla's jacket. That's her glock." the man looked up to Oliver. "I don't think these are the Ghosts. It's too amateur." Oliver looked back to the screen, when his phone suddenly rang. He looked down to the screen and sighed before answering.

"Captain."

" _Tell me you know what the hell is going on here?"_ Lance demanded. " _Do you know who's behind this?"_

"Not yet, but I will find out." Oliver replied his eyes focused on the screen that was paused on Katie.

 _"Well we need to find out something because I have less than fifteen minutes to find something to lock away a woman this city loves. Someone who wants to hurt her this bad, has to be an enemy_."

"That's a long list." Oliver replied sliding a hand across his face trying to think of something. "Look, no one is going to die, she wouldn't let that happen."

 _"I'm more afraid of what she would do to make sure it doesn't happen."_ Lance sighed. _"Let me know if you find something."_

"I will, you do the same." Oliver replied before ending the call. He once again looked to Katie and just shook his head. "I can't sit and do nothing." the man pulled off his jacket and headed for the case that held his suit.

"And what are you going to do?!" Bruce snapped angrily following after the man. "Go driving up and down the street yelling her name?"

"I don't know, but I can't just sit here and do nothing. That maybe alright with you but-"

"Alright with me?!" Bruce took a very dangerous step close to the man. "Do you have any idea how much restraint it is taking me not to go out on these streets and knock around every low life criminal until they tell me who is behind this. Oliver, you're not the only one here who has someone to lose in there, so stop acting like a prick and start thinking smart. All three of those women are intelligent and resourceful and I have no doubt they're not sitting around waiting for us to save them. But because we love them, we're gonna try anyways."

"I think I got something!" John called and Oliver and Bruce lifted there heads before rushing over to the man. "I kept replaying Katie's message, and something seemed weird, here. Listen."

" _Every half hour one of the many hostages here will be killed until evidence is found that will lock me away. Please find something, I don't care, whatever will lock me away and lock me away for good. The clock starts now."_

"I don't get it." Bruce said looking over to the man.

"She says the words "lock me away" three times in that sentence." John says looking between the two men. "Maybe it's nothing, but I think she's emphasizing that phrase for some reason."

"Lock me away." Oliver mutters closing his eyes and repeating it over and over again in his head. "Lock me away, lock me away, lock...lock, wait." Oliver opens his eyes and looking over to the men. "That's it! Lock! Lock me away."

"Oliver, we're gonna need more than that." Bruce says clearly annoyed at the man not getting to the point.

"Lock." Oliver repeated. "Jeremy Locke." John looked up to the man in confusion.

"Jeremy's dead, I witnessed that with my own eyes." John says, the flash of the moment seeing that bullet in the man's head, still clear as day. "He's not behind this."

"Does he have family?" Oliver asked turning to Bruce.

"Yeah, a wife and kid." Bruce replied. "Wife was a socialite I think, but then she married Jeremy and had their daughter and became a housewife."

"What happened to them when he died?"

"With the investigation, all of Jeremy's assets were seized. They had enough to survive I guess, but they pretty much lost everything." Bruce replied with a shake of his head before going over to the computer and typing a few keys before an image from a newspaper article appeared showing a woman and her daughter, both dressed in black their heads down.

"Heather Locke." John reads standing to his feet to read more of the article. Soon the screen changed to the woman's personal file, detailing her life that John was sure wasn't made public. "Worst thing on here was a parking ticket eight years ago." John looked back to Oliver and Bruce. "I can't see this woman orchestrating a hostage situation."

"No, but I can see him doing it." Bruce said and suddenly an image of a man with a shaved head and tattoos appeared on the screen. "Austin Riley. Heather's brother. His rap sheet is quite longer than hers. Probably would've been longer if his brother in-law didn't hire the best lawyers money could buy. He just got out prison a couple of weeks ago."

"Long enough to see Katie being praised by the media for her help in getting people out of the train station." Oliver replied looking at the screen. There was a beeping sound from the computer and Bruce turned and both men appeared at his side.

"I got a location on Felicity's phone before it was shut off." Bruce says before typing a few keys. A satellite image appears and all the men's eyes go wide at the sight of a building with numerous heat signatures crowded in one area, while a person holding a gun paces back and forth. Oliver tilted his head, looking at the location and once he had it, the man turned and stalked off toward his suit.

"It's still daylight Oliver!" John called after him. "If you go out there now, you might as well not even wear the suit." Oliver stopped walking and turned back to the man.

"You're right." Oliver says before grabbing his jacket. "Call Lance, tell him the location."

"John, stick here." Bruce said turning to the man and the look John gave him let him know that was not an order he wanted to follow. "I need to keep an eye on Oliver and make sure this ends without anyone getting hurt, and I need someone here to keep an eye on this footage. I promise I will bring Lyla back to you."

"I am holding you to that Bruce." Bruce heard the man loud and clear, knowing anything else was ending up on John Diggle's bad side and that's just not a place he wants to be. John watched the man rush out to follow behind Oliver.

Three women nervously watch as the woman holding the gun glares at her computer screen and soon a buzzing sound plays.

"Welp, first half hour down." the woman says before pulling a walkie talkie from her bag. She bringing it to her lips about to speak, but is suddenly interrupted.

"Son of a bitch!" she looks over to see Katie clenching her eyes closed as she grips her belly and groans loudly. "Oh my Gahh-" she opens her eyes and looks over to Felicity who looks just as freaked out as Katie. "Felicity, it's happening."

"It, as in, it it, as in a baby coming right now?" Felicity asked her eyes growing wide with fear.

"I think so." Katie says dropping her head and letting out another pained moan.

"We need to get to hospital!" Lyla yelled looking over to Heather who just shook her head.

"That is not happening." Heather replied.

"Listen lady, you're upset I get it, but this baby is not being born in a basement!" Felicity snapped looking up to the woman. "This whole negotiation can happen from a hospital."

"I don't think so." Heather stalked over and the moment she was close enough, it was Lyla who quickly slid a leg underneath the woman's feet and quickly pulled the gun from her hand before straddling the woman's waist.

"Felicity!" Katie called and the blonde turned back to her. "The bomb."

"But-" Felicity looked at the woman for a moment before realizing what had happened. "You're not in labor?"

"No, but that's still a bomb?" Katie countered and Felicity only groaned before rushing over to the device.

"Hey, what's going on?" everyone stopped at the voice that came from the walkie talkie. "Have they found something?"

"No!" Heather screamed squirming underneath Lyla before looking back up to the woman. "If I don't reply he's not just going to kill one of them. He's going to kill them all."

"Fine." Katie says reaching for the walkie talkie before holding a hand out toward Lyla who reached behind her and pulled out her gun, handing it to the woman. Katie pointed the gun at the woman before holding up the walkie talkie. "Tell him the plan fell through and he needs to let the hostages go."

"This gotta be deja vu for you, right?" Heather asked looking up to the woman. "Your gun pointed at a innocent person. What gives you the right to pull that trigger? What gave you the right to take him away from me?!"

"Katie." Lyla looked up to the woman who silently stared down to the woman.

" _Yeah_." a voice that only Katie could seem to hear spoke. She lifted her head and looked over to a far corner of the basement to see him. Jeremy standing right there. A hole oozing blood, still in the center of his forehead. _"What gave you the right?"_

"Katie?" Lyla once again said, noticing the way the woman seemed to grow pale suddenly.

It was no surprise at all that during a crisis when the lives of the women they loved were at risk, it was Bruce who took on the role as the most level headed. It was he who had to stop Oliver from just bursting through the front doors of the restaurant. He doesn't know how he did it, but he convinced the man to survey the restaurant from the building just across the street.

"Bruce, I don't have time to wait and see with this!" Oliver snapped once again as they reached the roof. "You have no idea how many doctors have advised against stress during this pregnancy and I can't imagine the amount of stress happening in that building right now."

"Yeah, well I figure it will get a whole lot stressful if you burst through the doors and bullets start flying, don't you think?" Bruce asked as they headed over to the edge to try to see any clues as to what was going inside of the building. Neither expected there to be someone already there, a pair of binoculars pressed against his eyes.

"And here I was thinking you two had gotten lost." Martin Ellis says, not even turning to the two men.

"Martin, you don't even want to know the amount of patience I have right now." Bruce growled walking over to the man. "You're here, why the hell haven't you gotten them out?"

"Probably the same reason you're out here and not storming the castle." Martin replied finally turning to the men. "The surveillance video from inside the building was turned off moments after the hostage situation occurred. We have no eyes inside, and because of that all moves have to be smart moves. I've been told if anything happens to Katherine, there will be hell to pay." Martin turned back to the building.

"Well if anything happens to anyone in that building, there will be a lot worse than hell to pay." Bruce says snatching the binoculars from the man's hand and looking over to the building. "There-" Bruce turns to Oliver, handing him the binoculars and pointing toward the roof of the restaurant. "There's a vent there, will lead into the building."

"Ok, and how exactly are we getting over there?" Oliver asked turning back to the man. "Did you bring any of your gear, because I didn't." Bruce shook his head before the men turned to Martin who simply stood there. "Let me guess, you already made the roof as a point of entry?"

"There's a bag behind you." Martin says and the men turned to see the black duffle bag on the ground. "It's should have everything you need." Bruce bent down to unzip the bag, seeing the zipline shooter along with some gas mask and a couple of smoke bombs. Both men turned, only to find Martin was gone.

"I can't stand that son of bitch, but I'm glad he's on our side." Bruce says grabbing one of the mask and handing it to Oliver. They both stood up straight, heading over to the edge of the roof. The sound of distant sirens let them know that their time clock was running out and so Bruce pointed the zipline shooter, and without hesitation pulled the trigger. Once the line was secure, both men grabbed the handles before zipping across the line. Neither stopped moving the moment their feet touched the roof. Their feet rushed to the vent, pulling it open before they slipped on the gas masks and jumped inside.

How could a man she witnessed die be standing in front of her? It's a question Katie wanted to answer even though time was not on her side at the moment.

"Heather, answer me!" the man snapped once again from the walkie talkie. They could hear the fear in his voice and they knew that fear would only lead to bad things.

"Ok, the bomb is off line." Felicity said before looking over to the two women. Her eyes went to Katie who sat her eyes looking over to something in the corner. "What's happening right now?"

"I don't know, but we don't have time for it because soon people are going to start dying." Lyla says still straining to hold the woman down. "Felicity, help, please."

"Hey, Twinkie." Felicity spoke hurrying to Katie's side. She placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, hoping to snap her out of what ever was happening. "Twinkie, what's going on?"

" _You know I didn't even know about this trick until your bastard of an uncle lead me through a door that landed me here and I have to tell you cuz, best damn fall I've ever taken." the man chuckled. "I mean look at yourself. Holding a gun to my wife's head. Was that the plan, wipe out your entire family. She's right you know? One day they're gonna see it. They're all gonna see the monster parading around like a hero."_

"Katie!" Felicity snapped grabbing the woman's shoulders and giving her a good shake. Katie finally turned to her and remembered their situation. She looked back down to Heather, and opened her mouth only for the sound of gun fire above them to suddenly erupt. They all lifted their heads and the gun in Katie's hand just dropped to the ground.

"No." she said with a shake of her head as she backed against the wall and slid to the floor. "No, no, no-" she dropped her head to her hands imagining the innocent people above her being killed and it was her fault. She got distracted by things that weren't real and because of it people were dead. She really was a monster. There seemed to be commotion happening around her, screaming and yelling and she's certain someone is calling her name but she falls from the moment. She doesn't expect it to happen in some basement in some restaurant. But it did. Their faces, every life she's taken flashes behind her eyes, and it ends with Jeremy. He looked right at her the moment it happened. Square in the eyes and it's an image that will never be erased.

There were suddenly hands on her, touching her, attempting to comfort her, but she couldn't be pulled out of this rabbit hole she felt she'd dug herself.

"Twinkie-" Oliver's soothing voice seemed to break through to her and she lifted her tear filled eyes to the man and just shook her head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't-" she could barely talk before she dropped her head once again.

"What happened?!" Oliver demanded turning back to where Bruce stood now holding Felicity in his arms. He looked over to Lyla who at some point knocked Heather out and was now standing to her feet. "Somebody speak!"

"We don't know!" Felicity replied honestly with a shake of her head. "Lyla had Heather down, and Katie was going to make her tell the guy upstairs to let the hostages go. Then...then I don't know. She just zoned out and then the gunfire happened and we thought-" Felicity shook her head turning back to lay her head on Bruce's chest. Oliver turned back to Katie, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Hey Twinkie, look at me." she didn't move and Oliver brought his face closer to hers. "Twinkie, everyone is alright. All the hostages are out and they're safe." she lifted her eyes to the man once again. Suddenly the sound of multiple footsteps above them let them know the police were finally inside.

"Oliver, we can't be here." Bruce said, and Oliver sat there as if no one else was even in the room. "Oliver-"

"You came later." Felicity said lifting her head. "You were meeting us for lunch and you heard the commotion and came through the back. You hid in the bathroom until you heard the gunfire. That's when you found us." Lyla and Bruce both looked over to the woman who turned to Bruce. "I think you're making me a better liar."

Oliver didn't expect the numerous visits to the hospital would be because of people trying to hurt his girlfriend. He sat in a chair beside her bed, her back to him waiting for her to talk to him. They'd long gotten the news that she was fine, that the baby was fine, but the woman was still too quiet for Oliver not to be worried.

"Twinkie-" he spoke softly, sliding a hand along her back.

"She asked me what gave me the right to take him away from her." Katie spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "I didn't have an answer." she turned over and the moment she did, Oliver could see the sadness in her eyes. "I'm supposed to have an answer. I took someone's husband, someone's-" she placed a hand over her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. "I took someone's father. I should have an answer to that question."

"Twinkie, look at me." the woman dropped her hand and looked up to the man. "What you did, you did to save the life of your friend. That's the answer to that question. There are lots of things I wish I could take back, moments I wish I could change, but we can't. They happened and they are apart of us. They make us who were are, and I need you to believe me when I say you are a kind, loving, caring and beautiful human being." Oliver slid a hand across her stomach and smiled. "This little girl is going to be proud to call you her mother." the man leaned in, placing a soft kiss to her lips and to the top of her head.

"What's happening with Heather?" Katie asked.

"Her and her brother have been arrested. They will be going away for a long time."

"No." Katie replied and the man looked down to her. "We will get them lawyers. Get them help."

"You sure you want to do that after everything they did?" Oliver asked and Katie looked over to the man and sighed. "Of course you do. I will talk to Bruce, he can make some calls." Oliver took the woman's hand and smiled. "I was thinking, maybe now's not the time for this whole Mayor thing." the man shook his head. "If this whole thing has taught me one thing is that, I need to really focus on my responsibility to you and our baby and keeping you both safe." he glanced around the hospital room. "The next time I come here, I want it to be a happy occasion."

"Well-" Katie says sitting up. "If I have learned anything from this experience is that this city needs help. Heather was here, the anger inside of her festering and for some reason she thought guns and bombs were the answer." Katie looked down to her and Oliver intertwined fingers and she smiled. "You're meant to do more than just protect us." she looked over to the man. "I've known that since the day I met you. This city needs that good heart you have. So I think I can probably do a better job of not getting into dangerous situations, but sometimes I feel they just find me."

"Well they keep finding you, then I'm out." Oliver replied seriously. "We're out. You and that little girl in there mean more to me than this city. So when I feel it's too dangerous, we're gone." Katie gave a nod, a small part of her wanting to tell Oliver about Damien Darhk in hopes he would whisk her away. But the other part can't seem to do it. The one things she's noticed since she's been pregnant is fear was starting to consume her. It was a lesson she thought she'd learned from the demon, a lesson she thought was ingrained in her. It's why she didn't say anything. She wasn't going to run. And she wasn't going to let Oliver run either. "The others are still out in the waiting room, I should go tell them they can head home." Oliver tried to stand to his feet, but Katie held on to his hand.

"We need to talk." Oliver lowered himself back to his seat as he turned to Katie. "Jeremy and I were the only family we had and he's dead. And Heather only had a brother and now they're about to be put through the court systems." Oliver wasn't sure what this was about, but he continued to listen. "Arianna Locke. Jeremy and Heather's daughter. Apparently I'm the only family she has." Oliver quirked a brow finally understanding where the woman was going. "I've seen this dozens of times working in this hospital. With both parents gone and no relatives to take the child, they end up in foster care and that system is so screwed up and I can't live with myself knowing I took that's girl's family and then just left her high and dry."

"You're saying you want to take this girl in?" Oliver asked and Katie looked at him before giving a nod. "That's-" Oliver turned away with a slight shake of his head. He'd been prepping for life with one child and now the thought of two only made him nervous. "That would be an adjustment." he looked back over to Katie. "But if it's what you want then we will do it."

"Thank you." Katie says placing a kiss to the back of the man's hand.

"I mean I'm sure a little girl will be fine." Oliver said and Katie turned away from him. "What? She's like five or six?"

"More like fifteen." Katie replied and the look on the man's face told her everything going through his head. "We can do this. She's just a teenager. We were teenagers once. It will be fine." Oliver couldn't even pretend to agree, so he just silently nodded.

The next morning when Katie was finally released from the hospital, the couple returned back to loft. Katie walked over, and plopped down on the comfortable couch, letting out a content sigh as she kicks off her shoes and stretches out a bit.

"You're eating something." Oliver says and Katie just waves the man away about to grab the remote when they suddenly hear movement from upstairs. The pair share a look, before Oliver holds a hand out to her, signaling for her to stay here and for the first time ever Katie was actually going to listen. The man carefully eased up the stairs, and silently stalked down the hallway until he heard sounds coming from nursery. He stood a bit straighter, before placing a hand on the door prepared to hurt anyone on the other side who was bold enough to break into their place. Oliver pushed opened the door quickly about to attack, but he quickly stopped himself at the sight of someone he didn't expect to see.

"Dude, you nearly gave me a heart attack." Ethan said with a hand on his chest. "I told the hospital to keep you two a little longer so I could beat you back here."

"Why?" Oliver asked and Ethan smile as he gestured to the room, and Oliver looked around finally noticed the fully painted yellow room. "You did all this?" he looked back to the doctor who gave a nod. "Ethan, you didn't have to-"

"I know, I know. But I figure with the day you two have had, I could give you this. One less thing to worry about. It just has to dry and then you can start decorating and moving stuff in." Ethan says looking around the room, before turning back to Oliver who didn't look too happy. "Did I do something wrong? I know you wanted to do this, but I couldn't get the image of you trying to paint the room with one of those little artsy paint brushes in your hand." Oliver turned to him with a glare. "Because you grew up sheltered without having to do actual work."

"No, that's not it." Oliver replied with a sigh as he looked around the room and noticed how nice the color actually looked on the walls. "We didn't actually need to paint the room." he looked back to Ethan. "Turns out we're moving."

"Seriously? Where?"

No one was quite as surprised as Katie and Oliver a couple of days later as they stood in the walk way looking up to the familiar brick house.

"So it never sold?" Oliver asked looking over to Katie who let out a sigh.

"No, and I have a feeling my father had a lot to do with that." she replied looking over the house unable to get over the fact that it looked exactly the same. "It feels like we're going back in time."

"No, I think we're moving forward. We're definitely venturing into some uncharted territory." the man replied and Katie couldn't help but chuckle.

"You know I think that particularly true for you. The man about to truly venture into the land of women." the woman playfully slapped his chest before heading inside the house.

Oliver stood there for a moment, now realizing his life would be living as the sole male in a house surrounded by women. Once upon a time he thought such a life would be heaven, be he gets the feeling it won't be a life he's ever imagined.

The man let out a deep sigh before walking over and plucking the for sale sign from out of the ground and carrying it with him inside the house. He stopped before actually going inside, glancing up once more with a slight smile.

"Home sweet home." he muttered before finally walking inside.


	6. Good Cop, Bad Cop

**Chapter 6**

**Good Cop, Bad Cop**

_"Action expresses priorities."_

_-Mahatma Gandhi_

* * *

Leadership was not a position Katherine Robins sought. She was fine falling into line when she believed in the job. She particularly hated being the center of attention. For so long she was able to successfully avoid anyone's eyes, and now...now they all would be looking at her.

Katie looked out the massive window of her office, looking out to the city when a hand touched her back. She turned to see Oliver beside her and she smiled up to him.

"You're nervous." he said looking down to the woman and just seeing it. "You're usually good in front of crowds."

"No, I'm usually Dr. Robins in front of crowds, not CEO Katherine Robins." Katie sighed dropping her head to the man's shoulder. "Someone is going to ask me a question and I'm going to vomit." Oliver laughed placing a kiss to her head.

"You're going to do great."

"No, I can't do this. I'm not a leader." she said with a shake of her head. "I take orders well." Oliver let out a snort and she looked up to meet the man's eyes. "What?"

"You're serious?" he asked and the woman looked up to him waiting for him to continue. "Twinkie you're horrible at following orders. If it's not how you would do it, or if it's not something you think you should do, you don't do it. And it's the fact that your way usually works in the end that makes you a great leader." he pulled the woman closer to him. "You're going to be fine, just don't tell any jokes, because they're seriously not funny." Katie swat the man's chest when there's a knock at the door. They turn as Felicity walks in, smiling at the pair.

"You're here to tell me it's time."

"I am." Felicity replied and Katie groaned burying her head in Oliver chest. "Hey, you're gonna mess up your make up." Katie glared over to the woman before finally standing up straight and taking a deep breath.

"Ok, I can do this." she said pulling on a smile. "Ok be honest, how pregnant do I look right now?" she smoothed out the blazer she was wearing before looking between Felicity and Oliver who didn't reply right away.

"Like not at all." Felicity assured the woman. "Like if I didn't know you were pregnant, I wouldn't be able to tell at all." Katie smiled a bit more before giving a nod. "You ready?"

"Yes I am." Katie says standing tall and heading out of her office. Oliver and Felicity followed close behind her.

"That was nice of you." Oliver whispered over to the blonde who smiled over to him. "She actually looks ridiculously pregnant."

"I know." Felicity sighed. "So?" she looked over to the man. "It's crunch time, it's time for you to put a ring on it."

"Felicity, I know, I just, I need to find the right moment." Oliver says looking up to Katie who is speaking with her assistant.

"Well you're not the only one waiting for that moment." Felicity said before walking to catch up to Katie. Oliver seemed confused for a moment before glancing over to Katie and suddenly it hit him.

"Wait, Felicity-" they were all outside the elevator when he finally caught up and so he would have to hold his questions. Once the doors slid open, Oliver held out an arm to hold the doors open while the women filed inside before easing in himself. The doors were closing when Katie jerked forward.

"Shit, my phone!" she was about to rush off, but stopped.

"Oh, I have it!" Claire says holding the phone up. "You told me to hold on to it for you, remember?" Katie looked over to the woman with a nod.

"I do remember, I guess I'm just a little nervous."

"Maybe a smidgen more than a little." Felicity commented.

"I'd say a hair more than a little." Oliver added and Katie glared over to them. "Twinkie you're gonna be great." Suddenly the doors opened, and Katie didn't really expect to see so many reporters with so many cameras. She smiled brightly when they noticed her presence, and the flashing lights erupted. Oliver's arm slipped protectively around her back as they walked toward the podium. He smiled slightly, but kept his eyes open and searching the crowd for anyone who got too close. He helped Katie up the small flight of stairs onto the stage where she walked up to the podium. Oliver took a few steps back behind the woman, next to Felicity. "What did you mean before when you said I wasn't the only one waiting?"

"Not the time Oliver." Felicity muttered through a smile. "Now sit back and watch your woman work."

"Welcome to Robins' Incorporated." Katie announced with a bright smile as she looked over the eyes of the sea of reporters in front of her. The flashing of camera's didn't stop so she would drop her head ever so often before looking back up to them. "You're probably all wondering what this surprise press conference is all about? Or you're all just really nosy and don't much care why you're here." they laughed and Katie smiled a bit more, reminding herself to let Oliver know later that she was actually funny. "Well you're here because I need to do something. Something I probably should've done a long time ago, but better late than never." she took a deep breath. "My name is Dr. Katherine Robins and I am the CEO of Robins' Incorporated. For the longest time, I ran from the title, too afraid of the pressure it held, but I don't know. Something happened. I finally saw what was in front of me this entire time. I went to school, became a doctor because I wanted to help people. I never saw that happening in these big buildings, in these fancy business suits no matter how much my father pushed me toward it. But then I saw it. I get letters everyday from people who can now send their kids to college, or people buying their first home, or just now able to support their family because of jobs this company created." she glanced down for a moment looking down to the note cards she knew she wasn't going to follow. She looked back up to the reporters with a smile. "When my father created this company, he had one idea in mind. What would help make this city a little bit better. That's what sets Robins' Incorporated apart from the others." she glanced over to Felicity. "What sets Palmer Tech apart from the others." she turned back to reporters. "You're here today because, I'm here to promise that I am going to keep the purpose of this company alive and well for as long as I can. I'm here because it's time this company knows how dedicated I am to it's success, and I hope this city knows as well. So I'm standing here to let you know to expect innovation, expect creativity, expect compassion, and most importantly, expect hope."

An eruption of applause followed the speech and Katie smiled glancing back to Oliver and Felicity who clapped proudly. Oliver gave the woman a wink and she smiled before turning back to the crowd.

"Now I'm going to do what all my advisers told me not to do." Katie replied with a sly smile. "I'm going to take a couple of questions. All I ask is to show me mercy please." there were a few chuckles when hands started shooting up. Katie wasn't sure who to choose, so she just threw out a finger pointing to the first person she saw. "You there, with the awesome glasses." there were some laughs before the man stood to his feet.

"Dr. Robins-"

"Ugh, I feel like we're all best friends now, right? Call me Katie." the woman said and the man gave a nod smile and a nod before continuing.

"Alright Katie, I think I can speak for everyone here when I say we appreciate your openness with us and the city. It's a breath of fresh air to actually know what's happening to the companies that are the foundation to our city. So thank you for that. And now we're all here to acknowledge you taking your place at the helm of your company, and dedicating yourself to it and this city, but I think we all are curious about the elephant in the room."

"Which elephant is that?" Katie asked with a quirked brow and the reporter simply pointed to her.

"Well you-" that got the man a couple of looks and he figures he could've probably worded this question better. "I mean, uh-"

"What I think our newbie is trying to ask is, you're pregnant." a woman closer to the front of the crowd asked. "I know this press conference isn't about your personal life, but I think if transparency is what you're going for, then it has to extend to all parts of your life, right?"

"You know that is a very great worded question." Katie says. "Better than being called an elephant." they crowd laughed, but quickly silenced as they awaited her answer. "Here's the answer I'm going to give you. My name is on the side of this building, but the truth is that it's yours. It belongs to Star City and that means there has to be transparency. Me on the other hand, I think I do deserve to keep certain parts of my life to myself. So what I will say is, yes I'm pregnant. I thought this outfit hid it well, but apparently it didn't." she glared back to Felicity who held her hands up in surrender. Katie glanced over to Oliver, and motioned with a finger for him to come over to her. The man was confused for a moment, before headed over to her side. They both turned to the reporters. "As I'm sure most of you know, this is Oliver Queen. He was in the news a little while back, you may have missed it-" they once again laughed and Katie smiled up to the man. "But he is the father of our baby." she turned back to the crowd.

"And is it true that you're not married?" the question came from somewhere that neither Katie or Oliver could pin point.

"No, we're not married." Katie sighed. "But I think the dynamics of our relationship would cross that line between transparency of me and the transparency of this company. Now does anyone else have a question?" more hands shot up. "Not pertaining to my personal life with Oliver or our baby." most of the hands went down, but there were a few still up and Katie smiled before picking the next one.

Once the press conference was over, and they all were once again hidden inside the elevator away from the questions and flashing lights, Katie let out a groan before once again burying her face in Oliver's chest.

"Twinkie-" Oliver brought his arms around the woman. "You have no idea how proud I am of you. You did great."

"You did better than great." Felicity said and Katie turned to her slightly. "The speech was great and you handled those questions like a pro. You made them laugh, but you also got your message across."

"I told Oliver I was funny, but he didn't believe me." Katie replied looking up to the man who placed a kiss to her forehead. She looked over to Claire who was looking down to her tablet. "What now?" Claire looked over to her with a quirked brow.

"Oh, the conference was all that was scheduled for you today." the woman replied. "And your next meeting isn't until next week, so enjoy your time off." the doors opened and they all walked off. Claire was about to head to her desk, but stopped. "Oh, here is your phone. And there were no calls." Katie gave the woman a nod before watching her walk away.

"We still waiting on the newest member of the Queen family?" Felicity asked as they walked toward Katie's office.

"I expected a call from CPS or my lawyers days ago, but still nothing." Katie said with a shake of her head. "I figured this was a dream, to actually have a family member who wants to take care of the child."

"I'm sure they're just working some stuff out, we'll hear back soon." Oliver says bringing an arm around the woman. He looks back over to Felicity who is looking down to her phone. "Is everything all set?"

"You mean for our big reveal?" Felicity asked and Katie rolled her eyes. "Why yes it is. Now that you and John have reignited your bromance over a game of cards-"

"Only you could call a brutal fight with a metahuman who can pull deadly playing cards from his skin a game." Oliver said with a shake of his head. Katie slid a hand along the man chest softly, still unable to get over the cut one of those cards gave the man.

"All I'm saying is the love is back in the air and with Thea and Laurel back in town, I believe we are really going to kick some ass." Felicity replied with a smile. "And to answer your question, yes everything is all set up. Everyone should be heading over in an hour or so to hear the most ridiculous news I've ever heard."

"Felicity Smoak, it's not ridiculous, it's just unexpected coming from the guy who has a thing for eye make up." Katie says and Oliver pulls her closer to him, causing her to laugh. "I'm joking-" she looks up to the man's eyes.

"And I'm leaving before this room gets more uncomfortable than it already is." the woman said about to leave. "You know you two should talk." they both look over to the woman. "Like really talk about the stuff you're not talking about." she looked over to Katie who gave the woman a glare. "I'll see you later." the woman soon left, leaving the couple alone.

"What was that about?" Oliver asked and Katie sighed before looking up to the man. It was about Felicity once again pushing her to tell Oliver about how close Damien Darhk was to them.

"Felicity just being Felicity I guess." Katie says pulling away from the man and walking over to the window.

"Wow, so that's what that feels like." Oliver says and Katie looks over to him. "That wasn't entirely the truth, was it?" Katie sighed turning away from the man. "You're holding on to something Twinkie-" he walked over, bringing his arms around her. "Something you don't want to tell me, which only makes me think it's something serious."

"Oliver, just-" she pulled from his grasp, unable to not feel guilty in this moment. She was angry for so long because he was doing the same thing she was doing right now. She took a couple of steps away from the man and finally turned to him. "Ok. Before I start I need you to know that I am fine." that sentence did not have it's intended reaction because Oliver's face shifted to fear in an instant.

"Is it the baby? Is something wrong with the baby?" Katie shook her head, unable to find a way to start this conversation without it ending badly.

"No, the baby is fine. Still perfect, still healthy." Katie replied before grasping her nervous fingers that just wouldn't stay still at her side. "A couple of weeks ago, during the whole Jessica, Madison thing something happened. You were working, trying to find the bastard who tried to kill her and I decided to head home. I took a cab, but he didn't-" Katie dropped her head, and Oliver closed the distance between them, something that was not going to make this easier.

"Twinkie, tell me."

"He didn't take me home." Katie replied looking back up to man. "He wasn't a real cab driver turns out. He was hired to bring me to some restaurant."

"Why?"

"Because—because that's where his boss wanted him to bring me. His boss being Damien Darhk." the moment the words came out of her mouth, she saw the man's eyes go dark, his jaw clenching. "Oliver-"

"What happened?" the question was tense, direct and Katie knew she could only continue with truth right now.

"Nothing. He talked. A lot. He likes to talk. He said he wanted to see me, to catch up with the daughter of an old friend." Katie says with a shake of her head. "I couldn't speak-" she turned back to Oliver. "That's never happened to me before. I don't get intimidated. I don't show fear, but in that moment I was scared. Like really scared for me, for our daughter and I just stood there frozen. Then Martin showed up, he had a gun that now that I think about it probably wouldn't have done much good, but Darhk let us go. It was strange, there was no purpose to the meeting." she looked up to Oliver waiting for him to say something, to react in the way she's imagined he would when she finally told him the truth. He simply stood there, silent, but the anger was radiating off of him and she knows he's probably not blowing a fuse right now as a courtesy to her and not wanting to upset her. "I should've told you sooner-"

"You should've." Oliver replied firmly which only ensured her suspicions that he was indeed partly angry with her now. "You should've told me the moment some driver diverted from your route home." the man stalked away from her, sliding a hand across his face. "Twinkie-" he shook his head as he turned back to her. "You don't get it. This—us, it means you don't get to be scared of anything and me not know about it. No one forces a meeting with you and I don't know about it. You're my-" for the first time ever Oliver recognized that the title girlfriend didn't really encompass her place in his life. "You're my Guardian and this does not happen to you." He looked over to the woman who didn't say a word as she turned her head away from him. "Twinkie-"

"You can't go after him." Katie stated turning back to the man. "You're upset, and I completely understand, but it doesn't change the fact that this guy is a different level of dangerous. A level none of us are on and until we are, you can't do what I know you want to do right now."

"Twinkie-" Katie closed the distance between them, placing her hands on his chest.

"I need you to promise me that until we know how to actually put this guy down, that actually keeps him down, you won't go searching for him." she looked into his eyes knowing it was a promise he didn't want to make. "I've never seen a danger like this before and I think that's what scares me the most." she dropped her head to the man's chest and he brought his arms around her. "I don't want you to go after this guy and you-"

"That's not going to happen." Oliver places a kiss on top of her head. "No one is taking me away from either of you. That I will promise."

"I'm sorry." the woman muttered against his chest before lifting her head to meet his eyes. "Are you mad at me?" he probably should be seeing as this was kind of a big deal. This entire time he assumed that Darhk's presence in this city was strictly to screw with this city, but now he knows Katie is in his sights for some reason, and that does not make him feel any better. The man looked down to the woman with a quirk brow, before he shook his head with a slight smile.

"You have no idea how much I love you." he dropped his forehead to hers. "I'm not mad at you. Just, tell me the things that scare you." he let out a sigh. "It was just one meeting so maybe-"

"Two." Katie said quickly, and the man lifted his head to look down to the woman.

"What?"

Hearing about the second meeting only made Oliver that much more upset. More with himself than anything, because this bastard was able to get within arm's length of Katie and he didn't even know about it. He wasn't going say anything to Katie, but he was going to make a point of turning up the notch on finding this guy.

After leaving RI, he chose to drop the subject. He could see that talking about Darhk really was upsetting her and so he would let it go. They were able to go home and change before arriving to the old office building where John, Thea and Laurel were already inside waiting.

"Where's Felicity?" Oliver asked to the others who shrugged.

"I'm here!" Felicity's voice called as her high heeled feet rushed inside. "Sorry I'm late, there was this thing and I sort of lost track of time." Katie eased over to the woman and slyly reached over to the back of the woman's dress to see her zipper partly down. Katie eased is closed before leaning over to the woman.

"That thing must be a weirdo who likes to dress like a bat, Ms. Walk of Shame." Katie muttered and Felicity sent a glare to the woman. Katie turned to the others who stood in confusion.

"Oh!" Thea said smiling over to Katie. "Where is it? Why aren't you wearing it?" Katie looked over to the woman in confusion.

"Wearing what?" Katie asked, and Oliver seemed to walk past his sister, giving her a look.

"Um-" Thea seemed to realize she'd put her foot in her mouth as she looked over to her brother. Katie glanced over to Oliver, before following after the man into the private office. "What did you want to tell us and why are you telling us here?"

"Remember this office?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, it was Sebastian's campaign office." Laurel replied, still unsure what this was all about.

"And now it's mine." Oliver replied and they all just looked at him blankly, unsure what he was really saying. "Anyone who's qualified is afraid to run, for a good reason. But I can protect myself. So..." he took a deep breath and decided to finally just say it. "I'm running for mayor." They just looked at him, his sister actually laughed a bit assuming this was a joke. "Uh, don't everyone congratulate me at once."

"Oh, you're serious?!" John asked looking from Oliver to Katie who simply stood at Oliver's side silently.

"Yeah! The other week, Lance was saying that this city needs someone to stand up, who isn't hiding behind a mask. It needs a leader."

"But why does that person have to be you?" John asked voicing the question everyone was thinking right now. "I mean, don't get me wrong, but you're not a politician."

"Well, maybe that's the best reason for me to be elected." Oliver answered honestly and Katie turned away and sighed.

"What are you going to do for a staff, or campaign manager—money?" Laurel asked and Katie simply rose her hand meekly.

"Yeah, he knocked up a rich lady so I'm bankrolling this operation." Katie joked and they turned to her expecting a very different reaction.

"Wait, you're really ok with this?" Thea asked Katie and the woman watched as all of their eyes went to her. "I just thought-" she turned back to her brother. "How does this work? Being the mayor, being the Green Arrow, and being a father. I just feel like one of them will get the short stick and I will be damned if it's my niece."

"Look Twinkie and I have discussed this. This wasn't something that was just decided. We thought about the mechanics of it, the time restraints, but we also thought about the good this could actually be for this city and so we decided that we would be able to handle it."

"You're still keeping tight lipped about how do you feel about all of this?" Laurel asked looking over to Katie. Katie shook her head and shrugged.

"The truth? The truth is that when Oliver first told me about this, I had all of the concerns, all of the questions and probably more than you all have right now. Then I was held hostage, and people were being threatened and I realized this city really needs some sort of guidance, it needs help and Oliver could be that."

"Guys, it's surprising." Felicity interjected. "But the truth is, who was going to run that would be able to handle the risk that goes along with it? These Ghosts will intimidate anyone who runs, threaten anyone that runs. I think Oliver could be their match."

"What platform are you going to run on?" John questioned.

"I'll figure it out." Oliver says

Thea laughs as she folds her arms over her chest. "What qualifies you to be mayor?"

"I care about the city."

"But you can't say that you're going to run because being the Green Arrow isn't enough." Laurel asked.

"I'm working on that." Oliver says, and Katie looks over to see he is a bit disappointed at the lack of support from his friends and so she takes his hand.

"Ok, I think I should say something here." Katie says and they turn to her. "I've known Oliver a long time, long enough to know that he's not in some box that says he should only be this kind of person and do these kind of things. If he was, I doubt he'd be wearing a hood and saving this city at night. Oliver is very capable of tackling any challenge, and the truth is he does love this city and I've seen what he will do for love. So yes he'll figure out a platform, he'll figure out how to get staff and what color tie he should wear on camera. If he can't, then that's why I'm here. I'm his Guardian-" she looked over to the man who gave her a small smile. "And he's right." she turned back to their friends. "This city needs someone who can lead in the light. A person the people can actually see. We assumed that's something you all would be able to get behind."

"Oh, it's not that we're not supportive, it's just that-" John glanced over to Oliver. "We just want to make sure that you're not in over your head. I mean in your head you think you can do this. You can be Mayor, and you can be the Green Arrow and also be someone's dad. That's a lot of hats to wear at once."

"Ok, I think the next announcement will be a lighter topic." Felicity said stepping forward. "If everyone would follow me." the woman turned off, and the others followed while Katie and Oliver lagged behind.

"You really have that much faith in me?" Oliver asked over to the woman and she smiled as she looked back up to him.

"Didn't you ask me that already?" she asked back to him. "Sitting in your mother's garden, me attempting to get you to study." the woman stopped and stepped in front of him, as she looked up to his eyes. "I have more faith in you." Oliver smiled as he leaned into kiss the woman.

"Will you two stop making out and come on already!" It was Thea's impatient voice that cut the through the nice moment. The couple sighed before Oliver took the woman's hand and headed over to the secret elevator.

"You know Thea, at some point I just assumed you'd stop being a pain." Oliver said looking over to the young woman who simply stuck out her tongue which made the man laugh because it reminded him so much of when she was a little girl.

Soon the doors finally opened, and Felicity flicked a switch turning on the lights and Katie and Oliver watched as John, Thea and Laurel just looked around in amazement at the new lab.

"Oliver, how did you-" John was still too shocked to even form a question.

"There's a reason we had Katie buy Blood's campaign office." Oliver says walking over to the others. "Blood also needed his own lair."

"Don't worry , I burned a lot of incense." Felicity said with a slight shutter. Katie glanced over to the display cases that held all of their suits, and she slipped her hand from Oliver's as she walked over. There it was. The Guardian's suit, proudly on display and she can feel it. The feeling that seemed to overcome her the moment she slipped on that mask. She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling a bit light headed.

"I'm going to go to bathroom!" she said glancing over to Oliver who watched as the woman seemed to rush away. The moment Katie walked into the bathroom, she lowered herself to the toilet seat, taking a few deep breaths in hope that it would calm the sudden surge of anxiety that seemed to come out of nowhere. "You're fine." two words had become a mantra. She had to be fine, because the moment she showed signs of not being fine, that's when the ridiculous amounts of worry would start and she didn't want that. She wanted them focused on protecting this city, and finding these Ghosts and maybe finding some super gun to shoot Damien Darhk with. She'd only been sitting for a few moments before she decided to stand and splash some water on her face. When her eyes lifted to the mirror, she let out a sigh at the confused woman staring back at her. She thought she figured it out. Thought her purpose was to be a simple woman, with a daughter and loving boyfriend who liked to cook. Now she was realizing that her life would be more complicated.

There was a knock at the door and Katie should've known it was coming. She'd been out of sight for a while now and that could only mean one person would be on the other side of the door. She walked over and pulled it open, looking up to see Oliver.

"Are you alright?" Katie was getting annoyed with with question, but there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it.

"I'm fine, I just got a bit light headed." Oliver brought his arms around her, the concern written all over his face. "I'm fine. It's been a busy day and I probably just need to stop moving for a while." she moved around the man to see that John and Thea were gone. "What happened?"

"Felicity just got a report of officers being found shot to death. John and Thea went to check out the area and I was going to talk to Lance, but I should get you home." Katie shook her head as she turned back to him.

"I'll be fine here. That house is big and quiet when it's just me." The woman replied looking over to Felicity and Laurel. "I will hang here and help in some way." she turned back to Oliver.

"Or-" Oliver says taking the woman's hand and pulling her somewhere. They ended up outside of a door, that Katie never noticed the few times she'd come here. Oliver pushed opened the door and inside was actually a pretty good size bedroom. It was beautifully decorated, with bright colors, Felicity seemed to think would take away from the lack of windows. Katie's eyes went over to the book shelf filled with books, and the computer in the corner and the small bassinet off to the side. She walked over to it, placing her hand on the side as she looks down to see it filled with a few stuffed animals. "You could take a nap."

"What is this?" Katie asked walking into the room. "What is this for?"

"This is for this woman I hate having to leave. So maybe when I have to come here, you could come too. And you can help with a mission, or you could come here, watch tv, take a nap." the woman turned back to him. "I am going to be spending a lot of time here, and I just thought-"he shrugged.

"I'd like to hang out in the basement for when you wanted to see me?" Katie asked and Oliver shook his head.

"No, I'm just trying to-" he let out another sigh. "John was right. I'm going to be wearing a lot of hats and I'm just trying to figure out a way to make sure this—" he pointed to her. "I want to make sure I don't mess this one up. The other two, I would be upset, but I would live. This, this I can't mess up because I wouldn't...couldn't live with myself if I did." Katie glanced around the room, and Oliver wanted her to say something. "Twinkie-"

"I don't know." she said turning back to the man. "We will have to talk about this later, but now you have to work." Oliver didn't move, so Katie walked over to him, sliding her hands along his arms as she looks up to his eyes. "This is a room, not a debate on what we should name our daughter. This conversation can wait. Go, talk to Lance, maybe not mention the whole Mayor thing. I'm not sure you'll have his vote."

"Well that will have to change. Can't run for mayor without the support of the SCPD." Oliver replied placing a kiss to the woman's lips. "We should start that, though, shouldn't we?" he pulled back and Katie looked up to him in confusion. "Talking about names?"

"We should, but I think before we talk about names, we should at least have crib." The man let out a sigh.

"I should go." he began backing away, hoping to avoid this conversation once again.

"Oliver Queen, you have a week!" she called after the retreating man.

"Love you too, Twinkie!" he called back before leaving.

Katie looked around the room once again. There was something about this she didn't like. He was attempting to overcome the biggest challenge. And that was the time and distance that all of these jobs would place between them. She just wasn't sure a room would solve that. Looking down to the bed, the woman actually felt a nap would be nice right now. And so she walked over and laid down.

Laurel stood over Felicity's shoulder as they read over the details of the shooting. A sudden thought struck her as she stood there.

"What did Thea think Katie was wearing?" she asked and Felicity let out a snort.

"The thing that shall not be named." Felicity muttered as she typed away on her computer. She looked over to the woman who still looked confused. "Oh, you don't know?" Felicity glanced around the woman to make sure Katie wasn't around. "Oliver is gonna propose." Laurel, gave a slight look before looking back to the computer. "What?" Laurel turned back to Felicity and just shook her head.

"Nothing, I just thought he would've done that already."

"Well you know Oliver. He wants it to be special." Felicity replied. "Plus I think he's a little nervous. I mean he's proposed twice and we aren't even sure if the first time really counted." she looked back over to Laurel. "But it's the fact that she's handed the ring back to him both times that's making him nervous. He says he wants to get married before the baby's born."

"Seriously?" Laurel asked and Felicity nodded. "And he thinks waiting is the best plan? It's seriously end of the quarter on this. Baby Twiver is coming any day now."

"Oliver has always been a bit of a procrastinator when it came to Katie." Felicity sighs, looking back down to the report.

The moment Captain Lance looked up and saw Oliver's face, he sighed in annoyance. Oliver hurried over to the man who was already headed to his office.

"You spend more time here now than when you were getting collared for hitting paparazzi." Lance said pointing to the man.

"You got a moment for me?" Oliver asked and Quentin shook his head slightly.

"Yeah." he turned continuing to his office, Oliver right behind him.

"So these visits, are they going to be a, uh, weekly thing?" as the pair walked into his office.

"Well, I was trying to help with, um..." Oliver pointed out to the squad room, unsure how to begin this conversation, and so he decides to wait. He glances to the baggy in Lance's hand. "What's that?"

"I wouldn't know." Lance said in frustration as he looks down to the bag. "City hall has cut my budget so tight, I can't get evidence turned around before I'm 80."

"I'm hoping that's something I might be able to help with eventually." Lance looks back up to the man, unsure what he means by that.

" Yeah?"

" I've decided to run for mayor." Oliver got another laugh in response to the news and he let out a sigh.

"Really?" the Captain asked, still laughing.

"And I know it's a long-shot, but it would mean a lot if you would endorse my candidacy." Oliver said a bit hopeful.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. After what happened to the last few mayors, I'm hoping you win in a landslide." the man said, but sighed, as he looked back over to the man. "Don't tell her I said that." Oliver simply gave a nod and Lance whose phone suddenly vibrated. He pulled it out to see a message from his daughter to meet. "Look until your mayoral race, I'm trying to catch a cop killer and I don't have time to wait for my understaffed crime lab." he slid the bag over to Oliver who covertly grabbed it and quickly slipped it into his pocket. The captain headed for the door, but stopped and looked back over to Oliver. "I've been meaning to ask, how's she doing after the whole hostage thing?" Oliver looked over to the man and gave a slight nod.

"She says she's fine, but I know it got to her." Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "She's going to help Heather, and she's even trying to take in her younger cousin." Lance looked back to the man with slightly wide eyes.

"Of course she is." the man said with a shake of his head.

"I will get something on this, and get it to you as soon as possible." Oliver replied walking out the door.

Katie's eyes snapped open from an oddly dreamless sleep. For a few moments, she forgot where she was, but then she soon remembered the room Oliver surprised her with. The woman sat up from the bed, just as her phone rang. She looked over the side of the beg, snagging her purse and quickly pulling her phone from inside.

"Hello?"

_"Hi, yes, is this Dr. Robins?"_

"It is." Katie replied unsure who she was speaking to.

" _Great, my name is Vanessa Sandburg, I am Arianna's case worker. I'm sorry, I've been meaning to reach out to you sooner, but there's a lot going on here."_

"I completely understand. How is Ari doing?"

" _It's been rough. It was her and her mother for a while and now with the possibility of her mother spending time in jail, it's taking a toll on her, but she's tough. The reason I'm calling is because I would like to set up a meeting with you."_

"Of course. When would you like to meet?" Katie asked and she heard the woman nervously laugh.

" _That's the thing. I know it's completely short notice, but I was wondering if you were free today to meet with me and a couple of my colleagues to discuss what happens next for Arianna."_

"Um, sure. The rest of my day is pretty much free, is an hour ok?"

" _Perfect, I will see you then."_

When Katie ended the call, she stood from the bed and navigated her way to the door. She lifted a hand to shield her eyes at the bright lights of their new HQ. After a moment, she glanced around to see no one was there.

"Hello?" she called, her voice seeming louder than it actually was. She took a few steps, her eyes still scanning around hoping to see someone. When she stopped and turned, she found herself back in front of the display case that held the Guardian's suit.

_"Hard pill to swallow."_

Katie closed her eyes, because she wasn't supposed to still hear the voice. The voice of a dead man. She was running a company, preparing for a baby, maybe even a teenager and she couldn't afford hallucinations.

" _You were never a hero."_ the voice of Ra's Al Ghul spoke. " _You are a monster and there was nothing ever wrong with that."_ Katie turned, hoping to just walk away. _"I know you feel it, Nura! We all tried for so long to hide the truth from you, but it's impossible to hide. And there's only one person at the center. Damien Darhk._ " the woman stopped and turned, finally looking at the illusion that wouldn't just go away. " _He is the key to everything you seek. Everything you are and everything you will be."_

Katie heard the sound of the elevators opening behind her and she turned surprised to see Bruce walking off. She quickly turned back, to see her hallucination was gone, and she couldn't help but feel so was a little piece of her sanity.

"You're here alone?" Bruce asked walking over to the woman. The moment he got close, he could see the mixture of emotions playing on her face. "Hey-" he placed a hand on her arm, and she finally met his eyes. "You ok?"

"Fine." she replied looking down to her watch. "I have to go." she turned and headed for the elevator, and Bruce looked around to see there was really no one here, and so he hurried to slip onto the elevator with her.

"Where's Oliver?"

"He's meeting with Lance." Katie replied staring at the doors of the elevator, her mind drifting to the dozens of questions she just wants answered. Once the doors finally opened, Katie stalked off, but Bruce followed, grabbing her arm to stop her. "What—will you let me go!"

"Ok." Bruce said letting the woman go. "First, where are you going and why isn't someone with you?"

"I have a meeting downtown, and no one is with me because I am an adult." she replied about to walk away, but Bruce slipped in front of her to stop her. "Bruce, I-"

"Just last week someone put you on camera and told you to tell the world that you were a monster. Whether you like it or not, you're a target to many people and that means you should probably have someone backing you up."

"Fine!" Katie says before pointing to the door. " Are you coming or what?" Bruce looked at her with a quirked brow, but gave a nod before following her out the door. "We're taking your car."

"Taking my car where, exactly?"

The drive was silent. Bruce glanced over to Katie who seemed adamant about not interacting at all during this entire drive.

"You want to tell me about what's going on inside of your head?" Bruce asked, glancing over to the woman once more. She kept her eyes out the window as she let out a sigh.

"I think I'm going to have to speak with my father." she admitted, more to herself than man driving.

"Ok, what about?"

"Damien Darhk." she replied glancing over to the man. "There is more to him than some old friend to the demon and my mother." she shook her head as she looked back toward the window, and Bruce was glad she didn't see the wave of nervousness that washed over him in that moment.

"I thought the general consensus was you avoid all things Darhk. What happened to you focusing on your daughter and the company?"

"I tried that, I really did, but truth is, I can feel something is not right. And there's no amount of distraction that can shake that. I'm going crazy because it feels like I'm in the center of some big mystery and everyone's making it a point to not let me in." Once again, Bruce was glad the woman wasn't looking at him right now. She felt her phone vibrate and looked down to see that it was Oliver responding to the text she'd sent about going to the meeting. She let out a heavy sigh.

"What is it?"

"Oliver, making a big deal out of the fact that I left without telling him. Now he says he wants to be at this meeting." Katie spoke, already responding by telling him that he should be figuring out what killed those cops right now. Once she was done, she dropped her phone back to her lap.

"So?"

"I told him not to come. He's the Green Arrow, and he has a case. That's more important."

"You're the love of his life and you're carrying his child. I don't think there is anything more important on this earth to him, than you." Bruce looked over to the woman. "Felicity told me about the whole Oliver running for Mayor thing."

"Before you start, if mock him or say anything negative about it, I will punch you."

"Nothing negative, just wondering how you feel about all of this?" Bruce asked and Katie shook her head. "C'mon Robins, I know you. I know you had this idea in your head years ago about getting home, and then you actually got here and it wasn't what you thought is was going to be."

"That no longer matters because I am having a baby, with a man who loves this city." she glanced over to Bruce "And since I love him, I deal with everything that comes with it."

"What kind of life is that?"

"The kind of life I accept, the kind of life you don't have a say in." Katie replied glancing up to the building as Bruce pulled over. She was about to step out of the car, when her phone once again vibrated. She looked down to a text from Oliver. "Of course, he's still coming."

Bruce sat beside Katie in the waiting room of some sort of office. He flipped through a magazine, stopping at the sight of a paparazzi shot of Katie and Oliver, with some tagline about when they think the baby is due. He let out a snort at one of theories and Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. He turned the article to her so she could read it.

"One of them says they think you're not really pregnant, but that this is all just a media stunt to help the company." the man said still laughing. Katie rolled her eyes before snatching the magazine from his hand and tossing it aside.

"Dr. Robins!" they turned to see the short, plump woman walking over to them. Bruce helped Katie to stand, but she pushed him away, as she walked over to the woman. "I'm sorry for the wait, I'm Ms. Sandburg, it's nice to meet you."

"You too." Katie replies shaking the woman's hand. Vanessa turned to Bruce, who held out a hand as well.

"Mr. Wayne, I wasn't expecting to see you here today." the woman said in confusion as she turned back to Katie.

"Oh, he was just giving me ride." Katie replies with a nervous smile. "He actually wasn't even staying-" she turned to Bruce. "You have that meeting, right?"

"It got cancelled." Bruce replied with a smile turning back to Vanessa. "Plus I thought my good friend Robins here could use all the support she could get."

"You know I thought you were with Mr. Queen?"

"Right, he's-" there was a ring of the elevator and Katie lifted her eyes to see Oliver rushing off the elevator. "Right here actually." Oliver came over bringing an arm around Katie. "Ms. Sandburg, this is Oliver Queen, my boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you." Oliver says shaking the woman's hand. "Sorry I'm late, but there was traffic."

"No problem at all. I'm actually glad the two of you are here. You both could have a part in Arianna's life and I think you both should be here. We're going to be going to the conference room down the hall, if you would follow me."

"Of course." Katie says glancing back to Bruce who gave her a thumbs up. As they followed behind Vanessa, Katie lifted her head to Oliver and whispered. "You seriously didn't have to come."

"Twinkie, there was no way I was going to let you do this alone. The others can handle things without me for a while anyway." They walked into a fairly large conference room, instantly looking over to see two people sitting on one side of the long table. The greetings were short, to the point before they all sat, Katie and Oliver on one side of the long table, the reviewers on the other.

"First I think I would like to commend you for what you're doing. You have no idea how many cases I've had, where there were viable family members who could take the child and yet refused. What you're choosing to do is very admirable." Katie simply smiled at the compliment and waited for the woman to continue. "But when choosing a home for a child, I make sure I'm diligent in making sure it's the right choice for them and the family they go to."

"I understand." Katie replied. "And I also understand how unconventional this situation is seeing how I'm the reason she's no longer with her parents." Oliver slipped a hand to Katie's lap, taking her hand in his. "I'm not here out of guilt even though I do feel guilty. The truth is, no one knows the value of family as much as I do. Ari is my family and I want to give her a chance at overcoming the issues of her parents."

"That's something I think everyone here would agree on." Vanessa said with a nod, before dropping her head slightly and letting out a sigh. "But we wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't at least see this in it's entirety."

"What does that mean?" Oliver asks.

The man sitting to Vanessa's left pulls out a folder and slides it over to the couple. Katie grabs it and flips it open and they both look down to read something they didn't expect. There were newspaper clippings. Articles of the numerous times Katie or Oliver has been at the center of some news worthy crime in this city.

"Both of your parents are dead." the man spoke and both Katie and Oliver look over to him. "Each death both mysterious and confusing. You've been kidnapped, your home broken into numerous times, there have been dozens of attempts on your life, one we all got to witness just last week."

"Look I get how this looks, but I promise you, Arianna would be safe with us." Oliver stated firmly.

"Right now we have to take a lot of things into consideration. This-" Vanessa pointed to the folder. "Paired with leaving Arianna in the custody of an unwed couple with a baby on the way." Katie dropped her head before standing to her feet.

"You're right." she said with a slight shake of her head.

"Twinkie-"

"No, everything they said is right. People try to hurt us often it seems, I'm pregnant before being married, we still don't have a crib-" she looked over to the case workers who stared in shock at the woman's outburst. "What you're saying is right. But what Ari would get with us is love, because we have so much of that. And right now I get the feeling that's something she needs. Now if you would excuse us. It's been fun, you telling us how horrible we would be as parents, but we're going to go." she turned to Oliver who stood to his feet, casting one final glance to the reviewers before following after Katie.

The moment they stepped onto the empty elevator and the doors closed, Oliver turned to Katie who stood with her arms folded over her chest.

"Twinkie, they were wrong."

"No they weren't." she replied with a shake of her head before turning to Oliver. "Oliver this is us. We're either chasing something or being chased. We're either shooting bullets or they're coming toward us. How do we raise a child in that kind of life?" she turned away from the man who brought an arm around her, but she pushed him away. She didn't want to be comforted right now. Once the doors open, she stalked away, forcing the man to follow after her. "I'm going to go home and you're going to go back to work." she took out her cell phone about to call a cab, but Oliver grabbed the phone from her. "Oliver, please just let me-"

"You're coming back with me. You're going to help us find out what happened to those cops."

"Oliver-"

"You keep calling me Oliver." the man interrupted and Katie turned away and sighed. "What is it?"

"I'm not a hero." she says turning back to the man. "I don't save the day. I take little's girl's parents away." she reached for her phone, but he pulled it out of reach. "You're being an ass."

"No I am going to be the person to show you who you really are." Oliver says taking the woman's hand and pulling her with him to the car.

When they returned to the new hide out, it was evident to everyone the tension as Katie stood silently while Oliver gave Felicity the SIM card from Lance.

"Ok so the Sim card isn't from any kind of cell phone." Felicity said getting back to the job at hand. She turned back to her computer, inserting the sim card. "Looks like some kind of walkie talkie with GPS."

"GPS as we can track it?" John asked as they walked over to Felicity. Oliver glanced over to Katie who didn't move from her spot and so he walked over to her, bringing and arm around her pulling her closer. She turned a glare to him that he simply smiled back in return.

"As in, I can figure out all the places it's been and triangulate from there to determine..." the woman trailed off as her fingers typed furiously, soon a map appeared and they had a location. "Where it came from."

"Alright, suit up." Oliver says before turning to Katie. "I'll be back and you can-"

"Do what exactly?" Katie asked with a shrug of her shoulders. "I can sit in one of the rolling chairs and spin in circles until you get back." The woman simply shook her head before turning to walk away, but Oliver caught her hand. "No-" she poked a finger to his chest. "You suit up. I don't anymore, I-" she glanced over to the case, the Guardian's suit right there. "I can't anymore." she turned back to Oliver with a nod before placing a hand on his cheek for just a moment before turning and walking off. Oliver watched as she walked across the lair, disappearing into the room he made for her.

"Hey-" Thea placed a hand on her brother's arm and she turned to him. "Is everything alright?" she glanced back to where Katie had walked off before turning back to Oliver. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I will." Oliver replied before looking down to his sister. "C'mon we have work to do."

Once Oliver, Thea and John were suited and on their way to the warehouse, it was Felicity who decided to see what was going on with her friend. So in the few moments before the team actually arrived, she stood to her feet and walked over to knock on the door.

"Twinkie, it's me. Everyone is gone." the blonde stood there for a few moments, waiting for some sort of response. She lifted her fist to knock once again, but the door suddenly pulled open. "Hey there grouchy pants." Katie gave the woman an unamused look before walking around. "You want to tell me what's going on?"

"I had a meeting with CPS about Arianna. It was me and Oliver sitting across from these people who know absolutely nothing about us, telling us why we would be terrible guardian's for this girl." She turned back around to Felicity and shook her head. "And I listened to them. I really listened, and I couldn't-" she dropped her head with a sigh. She looked back up to the woman with unshed tears. "I was waiting for the lies. I didn't hear any."

"Hey, you are going to be a great mother." Felicity walked over to Katie placing her hands on her shoulder. "Katie, you're scared and I absolutely understand, but I need you to listen to me right now. This little girl inside of you, she's gonna have the best mom ever. Do you want to know why?"

"Smoaks-"

"No, I heard you. Now I get to explain to you why it's bullshit." Felicity said with a smile. "Do you know why you're gonna be a great mom? Because you find a way out of any situation, because you've been ridiculously rich your entire life and yet have no problem doing your own laundry, or having an actual job-"

"Smoaks, I just-"

"You're gonna be a great mom Katie. You're gonna tell ridiculous jokes that make her roll her eyes, you're gonna try to make her pancakes and she'll eat them to please you, but she'll secretly hate them. She's gonna have bad days at school, and you're gonna tell her about your bad days and how you survived them. You're gonna be a great mom because you're gonna show her the love that created her. So I don't know who these people were you spoke to today but I already know they're full of shit and I promise you, you're going to prove them all wrong."

"We're here." it was Oliver's voice speaking from the computer that suddenly washed through the room. Katie and Felicity glanced over to the computer. "Felicity?"

"You should-" Felicity turned back to Katie who nudged her head toward the computer. "You're needed."

"You're needed too." Felicity said taking Katie's hand and pulling her with her. She grabbed a chair from the other side of the computer terminals and rolled it over beside hers. Katie gave the woman a slight smirk before the pair finally sat.

"Felicity-"

"I'm here." the woman replied turning on the mic. "So is the Guardian." she glanced over to Katie who sighed before sliding a bit closer to the computer. "What have you found?"

"Nothing so far, fifth floor is clear." Oliver replied.

"Yeah, this place is completely empty." Thea added.

"I think I found something," John replied. "Third floor."

That's when the scenario no one expected suddenly appeared. That's when they realized the people they were looking for, the people who murdered those cops were other cops. It's this unbelievable scenario that seemed to spur Katie in to one of her usual pacing jags. It's how Oliver, and the others found her when they arrived.

"You're pacing." Oliver said, and the woman didn't even stop.

"You know I didn't realize that some of her best ideas happen while she's pacing!" Felicity commented as she stood from her computer. Oliver moved to stand in front of the woman who suddenly stopped, finally meeting his eyes.

"You're here." she looked over to John and Thea. "You're all here, good."

"I'm not sure how good anything can be right now." John said with a shake of his head as he took a seat. "We just found out the police force is corrupt."

"It's not the entire force, but..." Oliver trailed off, unsure how to justify any of this. "Yeah, we don't know who is compromised."

"Except for Captain Lance." Thea chimed in.

"Yeah, well, Captain Lance is MIA right now." John stated with a slight shake of his head, still not able to believe this. "I think it's safe to assume that whatever help we're going to get, it's right here in this room."

"Right!" Katie said and they all turned to her. "We have bad cops, bad cops do more than just kill other cops. There has to be something else they're doing. They need motivation to be corrupt, and that's money."

"How are they getting their money?" Oliver asked folding his arms over his chest, staring at the woman who gave a nod before turning to Felicity.

"Well Smoaks has done some research and found that there has been spikes in gangs stealing drug shipments from other gangs."

"But these aren't gangs." John says standing to his feet. "It's bad cops."

"Who steal the drugs to sell them back to the gangbangers they stole them from." Felicity added.

"So these corrupt cops are taking down big drug scores?" Oliver asked, Katie and Felicity simply nodded in response. "Then lets give them one."

"How?" Thea asked the question on everyone's mind in that moment.

"That depends on how close you are to your former drug dealer." Oliver told her, and the young women smirked.

"That depends on which one." the woman said, with a slight chuckle.

"I like how proud you are." Katie says gaining a stink eye from Thea. She turned back to Oliver. "So we're setting up drug deals now?"

"It's not-"

"I know what it is." Katie interrupted. "And I get it, I understand how it helps us get to the ultimate goal of catching bad guys."

"Well that's good, because we're going to need money." Oliver said sheepishly and Katie chuckled.

"You mean more money?" she asked and the man gave a nod. "I'm really starting to feel like your rich sugar mama." she slipped her phone from her pocket.

"Well you're more than his sugar mama." Felicity commented and Katie turned to her. "You're his sugar mama, baby mama. And that's totally different."

"Oh how I live for awkward conversations with my accountant who can't verbally judge me, but I know he does." Katie replied bringing the phone to her ear. "How much do we need to buy our dru—Hi, Graham!" she shook her head as she turned away from them. "It's Katherine and...yeah, I do know what time it is." she sent a glare to Oliver, who gave an apologetic look. "I need to make another withdrawal." she let out a sigh. "It can't wait until morning actually."

And so a plan was in motion. Thea would play the party girl once again, and John would take on a role he hasn't had for a while. He would be the bodyguard, and Thea's backup if things went south. Graham, was a miracle worker because Katie was able to receive the money in a little over a hour. He didn't ask questions and she figures working for her father for as long as he has, he just knows not to. The moment Katie got the briefcase, she handed it over to John and soon he and Thea were off.

Katie and Felicity stood over Felicity's computer reading more about these drug score when Oliver placed a hand on Katie's back. She turned to him with a quirked brow.

"I'm taking you home."

"I thought we were waiting for Thea and John to come back?" Katie asked turning to the man.

"Yeah, well it's going to actually take time for all of this to happen, and you need dinner and maybe some sleep." Oliver says and Katie rolls her eyes. "Dr. Frances says-"

"Oh, you haven't quoted that evil bastard in a long time, that mean's you're really serious." Katie says.

"Who is Dr. Frances?" Felicity asked looking between the couple.

"The bane of my existence and the reason Oliver refuses to stop at Big Belly Burger when we pass by it every single time we go home."

"I told you-"

"I know what you told me Oliver, but I just want my burger and with the day I've had, you're going to get me my burger. I have to pee and then you can take me home." with that the woman walked away, disappearing into the bathroom.

"She told me about the meeting." Felicity said and Oliver turned back to her. "Do you have the names of these people who totally broke her, because I can ruin their lives in a couple of key strokes."

"I have no doubt you can, but today was more than just that meeting." Oliver clenched his jaw at the sudden thought. "It's Darhk. He's gotten in her head."

"She told you?" Oliver simply gave a nod. "About both times." he let out another heavy sigh, giving another nod. "So what do you think it means?"

"I don't know, but I plan on making sure that man never comes near her again."

"How do you plan on doing that?" Felicity asked and man shook his head because it was a question he'd asked himself and only had one answer.

"Do the one thing I really don't want to do." Oliver sighed.

"You know Darhk wasn't the only thing I wanted you guys to talk about when I left." the man looked over to her in confusion. "That box weighing your pocket down. Oliver it's like seriously time."

"I know, I just-"

"You're waiting for there to be this blatant sign that tells you it's the right time, but that's not how it's going to happen. If you want the perfect moment, you're going to have to create it. And soon, you know because I don't know if you know how pregnancy works but after a couple of months a baby magically appears, and I know you wanted to be man and wife before that actually happened."

"It's not as easy as that." Oliver replied shaking his head. He wanted to propose so many times, and every time something stopped him.

"It is when she's waiting for you to just ask her." Felicity replied and Oliver turned to her with wide eyes just as the sound of footsteps neared.

"You know I don't actually think I want Big Belly Burger. Do you think Marlos' is open?" Katie walked over to see Oliver looking over to Felicity as if she'd grown a second head or something . "Liver?"

"Yeah." he turned back to the woman suddenly.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, fine. You want pizza?" he asked and Katie slowly nodded. "Then we get you pizza." he took the woman's hand and Felicity watched the pair head over to the elevator. Once they stepped inside, Oliver glanced over to he woman once more still surprised at her words. The door slid closed, as Oliver realized he was the one who had the ball in his court.

He just wasn't sure why he was hesitating to take the shot.

That night, Katie stood in the bathroom, staring at herself in the mirror as she smoothed lotion over her shoulder.

 _"You're questioning."_ came the sudden voice from beside her. This time she didn't jump or even seem startled. She simply turned and there sitting was him. The figment who even in death seems to have a hold on her life. " _That's good._ "

"It won't work." she said simply turning back to her reflection. "Whatever you're doing, whatever you're trying to do, it won't work." she glanced over to him with a slight smile. "You're dead. Oliver killed you." she turned and headed for the door, only for him to appear in front of the door.

" _That's right. Oliver killed me...not you."_ he tilted his head as he stared at the woman. _"Why wasn't it you. It should've been you because if it were you, there would be no question if I were dead or not."_

"You are-"

" _How do you know? Were you there?"_ he suddenly chuckled. " _That's right, your mother was too busy shielding you from your destiny. You're too busy trying to be normal, that you are stopping yourself from seeing how extraordinary you truly are."_

Katie let out a sigh, before reaching for the door and opening it, only taking a few steps before stopping as she always did. She glanced around the room with a slight frown.

"Are you going to do that every time you step out of the bathroom?" Oliver asked staring over to her. "This room is completely redecorated."

"I know but, it's still weird being in this room." Katie said with a shake of her head. With moving into the house once again, they decided that they would sleep in the master bedroom, and Katie still couldn't get over sleeping in her parents old room. "I don't see why we just can't-"

"We're not having this conversation again Twinkie. This is the master bedroom, we are the masters of this house, so we sleep here now. Now come to bed." the woman sighed, before walking over and taking a seat on the bed, letting out a slight groan as she did. "You ok?"

"I'm fine, just can't wait until I no longer have to carry a watermelon around my abdomen." the woman lied back on the bed, looking down to her stomach that no longer fit underneath the shirt she was wearing. "Can't wait until my clothes fit again." Oliver chuckled before sliding a hand along her stomach.

"Well I don't think you're gonna have to wait much longer." he looked up meeting her eyes. "She's going to be here soon."

"I know." Katie replied placing her hands on his before turning to him. "You nervous yet?" Oliver sighed as he looked back to her stomach.

"You know I think I am. Everyday I spend in this city, I think about the world she's being born into and that makes me nervous." Oliver shook his head. "We just found out that the people who are supposed to protect and serve, aren't as noble as they need to be."

"You know I thought that's why you were running for mayor." Oliver looked to the woman with a smile. He held her gaze for a moment, and Felicity's words came back to him and he realized she was right. Every moment with this woman was perfect and so he decided to stop hesitating. "What are you staring at Mr. Queen?"

"I'm staring at you doctor." Oliver says slipping her hand in his as he scoots a bit closer to her. "For a very long time I've being trying to say something, and-" and in the worse possible moment, Oliver's phone rang. He let out a groan glancing over to Katie before reaching over to grab his phone from the bedside table. "It's Felicity. Thea and John have the drugs." the man looked up, realizing the words that just came out of his mouth. "You were right, that is weird to say." he looked over to the woman.

"I guess that means you have to go." It was the last thing Oliver wanted to do in this moment, and yet he knew he had to. "You're not going to lecture me about keeping the doors locked, and not opening the doors for strangers."

"Well less lecture, and more just remind." Oliver replied bringing his lips to hers. "Reminders are helpful sometimes."

"Reminders are annoying all the time." she replied against his lips as she brought her arms around his neck. "You have to go and this will not help either of us."

"I know." the man sighed, dropping his head to her shoulder for a moment before standing from the bed. "Don't wait up for me. Sleep. Call me if you need anything."

"Liver-"

"Call me if you need absolutely anything." he placed a final kiss to her lips. "Felicity will be keeping an eye on the surveillance outside the house."

"Home sweet intensely surveyed home." the woman sighed as she pulled the blankets up and laid her head on her pillow. Oliver flicked off the light, before closing the door behind him.

" _Ma'am?!"_

_Katie's eyes snap open suddenly, but they instantly shut at the sight of the bright lights above her. She turned her head, when a hand touched her neck causing her to jerk away._

" _Hey, you're ok." Katie turned with squinted eyes toward a woman, wearing pink scrubs. "Can you tell me your name?" Katie turned slightly, for some reason not instantly struck with an answer to that question. "How about the name of a family member, someone we can call for you?" Katie still didn't say anything and the nurse suddenly brought a flashlight to Katie's eyes. "Do you remember what happened?"_

" _No." Katie's rough voice replied turning away from the flashlight. "My head hurts."_

" _Yeah, that's what happens when you're hit by a car." Katie turned back to the woman with wide eyes. "What's the last thing you remember?" Katie turned away, trying to recount something, but it was strange. There seemed to be nothing before this moment that she could remember._

" _I don't-" she turned back to the nurse. "I don't remember." there was a knock at the door, and both women turned to see a police officer standing there. He nudged his head to the nurse._

" _I will be right back." the woman said before walking out of the door. Katie turned, sliding a hand across her sore head. She glanced out to the hall, watching what looked like a very serious conversation between the officer and the nurse. Suddenly both turned to her, and that seemed to make her nervous. Soon the nurse walked back into the room, with a small smile. "I have good news."_

" _You know who I am?"_

" _I do and I also know where you belong." the woman said and Katie quirked a brow in confusion. There was a knock at the door, and both turned to see a blonde haired woman, in a white lab coat rush inside._

" _There you are." the woman said breathlessly, coming to Katie's side and looking her over. "You gave us a scare. You can't run off like that. These nice field trips only work if everyone follows the rules." Katie looked up to the woman in confusion. The woman seemed to know her, but the longer Katie stared, the more unfamiliar she seemed. The woman turned to the nurse before handing her some papers. "I am going to need her release papers so we can get her home."_

" _Wait, home?" Katie asked and the blonde turned a soft smile to her. "Who are you?"_

" _I'm Dr. Quinzel, Katherine. You must've hit your head pretty bad in that car accident. Don't worry, we're going to get you back home-"_

" _Where is home?" Katie asked and the doctor stared for a moment before glancing over to the nurse who looked slightly sad. Dr. Quinzel pulled a smile back to her face, before glancing back down to Katie.  
_

" _Arkham Asylum, silly." the woman said simply._

Bruce stares down to his phone as he silently rides the elevator down to the team's new lair. He glances up at the sudden flicker of lights. Soon the doors slide open and he walks off, a smile coming to his lips at the blonde typing away at her computer.

"So that's the glitch you were telling me about." Bruce said and the woman spun her chair to face him. "Hello Ms. Smoak." the woman still didn't say a word as she crossed her arms over her chest. "That's your angry face, what did I do this time?"

"What are you doing here Bruce?" Felicity asked, spinning back around to her computer. "I thought I made myself pretty clear where we stand right now."

"Well I thought all of that changed after this morning." the man walked over to her, sliding a hand along her back only for her to push him away.

"I was weak for one moment-"

"Kind of longer than a moment." Bruce replied taking the seat beside her. "We've been through this. Why can't you understand that I can't tell you this. It's really dangerous and I don't want to bring you into the middle of this."

"We have been through this, and I still don't understand, and quite frankly don't feel like arguing, now if you wouldn't mind going away, I'm working." the woman brought up a satellite image. "I have movement." Bruce glanced over to the screen. "Everyone, eyes open."

"What are you guys working on?" Bruce askied, but the woman refused to answer his question and simply silently typed. The man let out a deep sigh before standing to his feet and heading back to the elevator, but he stopped. "It has to be something right? Something big. I mean here I am taking on the risk of losing the one person in this world I love more than anything. So it just has to be something." with that the man turned, leaving, not seeing the tears that pooled in the woman's eyes at the sound of the elevator lifting away.

The mission didn't go as planned. These cops were good, and they were able to get away with the drugs. It did verify their suspicions that this really was some SCPD cops behind this, and that made Captain Lance even angrier. He too joined this mission, needing to see it with his own eyes and what he saw just made his blood boil. When they all returned back to the lair, Felicity turned surprised to see the Captain stalking inside with the others.

"Oh, no, um, not to complain, but you do know that you just brought a police captain into our secret lair?" Felicity glanced over to Oliver who didn't seem as worried as she thought he should be.

"Don't worry; I got enough to put you away for 25 years." Lance replied and the woman turned to him. "Kidding."

"Captain Lance isn't the police we should be worried about." Oliver says glancing over to the man who scans the lair with a slight amazement.

"Wow. No wonder there's corruption on the force. Everyone else has got better resources." the man said with a shake of his head, when suddenly there is a sound of a baby crying. "That's definitely not a sound I expected to hear." They all glance around for the source, but it's Felicity who spins around to her computer.

"Don't worry, that's just my Twinkie alarm." the woman says and Oliver rushes over to her side. "Someone is at the house." Oliver didn't even wait for details before heading back to the elevator. "Oliver wait, it's just Ethan." the man stops and turns back to her.

"Really?" Laurel says walking over to see her boyfriend in perfect view of the security camera. The woman shakes her head before turning and pulling out her cell phone.

"What is Ethan doing there so late?" Oliver asking glancing over to Laurel who had her phone pressed to her ear. "Wait, did she call him?" he turned back to Felicity. "I should get home, she could-" suddenly his phone rang and he quickly pulled it from his pocket. "Twinkie, I'm on my way, just-"

"Liver, calm down." Katie spoke with a slight yawn. "I'm fine. Ethan's here and I know some kind of weird alarm is going off and I just wanted to let you know that I'm fine."

"It's kind of late, why is he there?"

"He's Ethan, sometimes he shows up late." Katie replied which wasn't an answer Oliver really liked. "He probably just had a rough day at work and since both of our significant others fight crime at night, he just needed someone to talk to. Look I will see you whenever you're finished saving the world."

"Soon, Twinkie. I'll be home soon."

"Sure." the woman replied. "I'm going to go, he's in the kitchen and probably eating all of our food. I will see you later."

When Katie walked into the kitchen, she was surprised to find Ethan nervously sitting at the kitchen table his leg bouncing.

"You didn't kill somebody, did you?" Katie asked and the man looked over to her about to respond, when his phone began vibrating. He pulled it from his pocket and groaned at the sight of Laurel's name. "Who is it?"

"Laurel."

"Why aren't you answering it?"

"Because I already know what she's going to say." the man said, simply hanging up the call. "The one thing she keeps saying over and over again in an attempt to reassure me that she knows what she's doing." Katie walks over and takes the seat across from the man. "She's in over her head, and she's not listening to reason."

"Are you here to tell me what's going on?" Katie asked and Ethan let out another deep sigh.

"I want to, but I think if I do, I may lose her and if I don't then some messed up stuff might happen." Ethan looked over to the woman who simply stared at him. "Look Kit-"

"Is someone going to die?"

"No, I don't think so." the man shook his head. "I just-" he looked down to his hands, when his phone once again began vibrating.

"Look, Ethan-" Katie was interrupted by the doorbell once again ringing. She glanced over her shoulder and let out a deep sigh. "I'm not this popular that people would show up this late to my house." she carefully stands to her feet.

"Wait-" Ethan says following behind her. "I should probably get the door, you being a criminal magnet and all."

"Ethan, I'm two seconds away from giving birth, and I could still take you." the woman reached the door and pulled it open, surprised to find Captain Lance. "Am I under arrest?"

"Not tonight." Lance said glancing over to Ethan who muttered something before turning and stalking back to the kitchen. "I'm actually here for him."

"How did you know he was here?"

"I went out with Oliver and the rest of the team and witnessed cops dishonoring the badge. I was at your little hideout when you called." she glanced over her shoulder to see Ethan had disappeared back into the kitchen. "I need to talk to him." Katie simply gave a nod before stepping aside to let him in. The man stepped toward the kitchen, but stopped when he turned to see Katie following behind him. "Uh, alone."

"Oh, you need to talk to Ethan alone, in my house. That makes sense." the woman said with a roll of her eyes. "I should call Oliver anyway, because he freaks out when people show up here when he's not around."

"We shouldn't be here long." Lance replied before turning and heading inside the kitchen. He found Ethan standing on the other side of the kitchen island. "Are you crazy?"

"You know I asked myself that while I was examining my girlfriend's dead sister." Ethan replied with a shake of his head. "C'mon, I know you love your daughters but you have to admit this—resurrections via ancient waters is a bit out of element for a police captain, a doctor and a lawyer." he pointed toward the door. "Kit lived there, she knows what this thing is, and what it can do. She may be able to help us figure out why Sara is back and why she doesn't seem all there."

"Look I get you're confused, and nervous, and trust me, so am I. I want nothing more than to believe that by some miracle I have my baby back, but like you I know something isn't right."

"Then let's just tell her. I know she can help us."

"As a doctor, how do you think she'd take it? As her friend whose seen the shit thrown at her lately, how do you think she'd take this? I want answers as much as you do, but I think keeping the doc calm and stress free is what's best for her right now." Ethan turned away because he knew the man was right. "Look I know someone, someone who may have some insight into this pit or whatever. I'm meeting him as soon as I leave here."

"Who is it?" Ethan asked turning back to him.

"Look, he's just an informant whose been a lot of places. That's all I can say, but I will get answers and I'll keep you in the loop." Ethan simply nodded "Alright, it's late, I told Katie we wouldn't be here long." Ethan let out a sigh before walking around and heading out of the kitchen just as the front door opened, and in walked Oliver who looked up in confusion to the two men. Katie walked from the living room, looking between the three men before looking to Ethan.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just been a rough day." Ethan said with a small smile. "Sorry for waking you up." he glanced over to Oliver who stared at the pair in annoyance. "We're going to go." Oliver took a step to the side, holding open the door as the two men walked out. Once they were gone, he turned to Katie who was staring over to him.

"You know people won't come over if you have that uninviting look on your face." Katie said and a tired smile came to the man's lips.

"That's kind of the point, Twinkie." He walked over to her, bringing his arms around her and placing a kiss to her lips.

"You catch our bad guys?"

"Not yet." he replied bringing an arm around her and guiding her toward the stairs. "But I will, and you're going to help."

"You're persistent, aren't you?"

The next day, Katie laid in bed reading emails on her tablet that Claire sent over while Oliver was showering and getting ready for the day.

"I thought you said Felicity was going to Palmer Tech this morning?" Katie called out and Oliver walked out, heading to one of the drawers and pulling out a t-shirt.

"She is, but she said she found some things last night and I want to look them over." the man replied pulling on his t-shirt.

"So your day is gonna be pretty much jammed packed, huh?" Oliver turned to her with a quirked brow and Katie lifted her eyes from her tablet, with a shake of her head. "I was just-"

"Was there something you needed me for today?" Oliver asked walking over and taking a seat in front of her. Katie looked at him for a moment, really thinking about how to answer that question. She could answer with the truth, tell the man he forgot a pretty important thing today, or she could lie and not make him feel bad. She decides to go with her second choice, because in all honesty she wants to make this new life work, so on some things she'll bend and let him be the hero or the mayor if it happens. She shakes her head and looks back down to her tablet.

"No, just curious. I actually can't head out this morning with you. I have a date." she looks up to the hard stare of her boyfriend who doesn't move until she tells him that was a joke. "It's just breakfast, nothing serious." he still doesn't move, attempting to keep calm because he knows she's joking.

"Punchline, please." Oliver says and Katie laughs.

"I'm having brunch with your sister. She's really taking this middle name seriously, and wants to run some of them by me. Plus I want to talk to her, see how she's doing. We'll meet you later at the new hideout once we're done."

"Thea never mentioned brunch with you." Oliver said and Katie simply nodded.

"Maybe she did and you just forgot. With so many balls in the air Mr. Queen, no one is expecting you to remember every little thing." Katie says before sitting up from the bed. "I actually need to call her, but I think I left my phone downstairs, could you check for me?"

"Sure." Oliver replied jumping to his feet to check downstairs. Once he was gone, Katie stood to her feet and walked over to her purse, pulling out her cell phone and quickly dialing Thea's number.

"Hey, Speedy it's me. I kind of need a favor."

That's how Thea Queen found herself sitting on the steps outside of some building, sipping on her coffee. Soon a black car pulled up, and Thea stood to her feet because she recognized the driver.

"When did you get a new car?" Thea asked walking over and looking inside the car Katie was driving.

"Long story, thanks for coming." Katie says stepping out of the car, letting Thea get a good look at the woman who was wearing an oversize t shirt and yoga pants.

"You want to tell me what we're doing. I assumed you being you, it would entail food." Thea said following the woman who plucked a bag from the backseat.

"You'll see." Katie says as the climb up the stairs. The women ride the elevator in silence for a few minutes before Thea turns to continue her line of questioning. She'd only opened her mouth before the doors part and her eyes widen at the sight of multiple pregnant women. The two women step off the elevator, and follow the women, and their partners down the hall. Thea stops outside the door and reads the sign outside before turning to Katie.

"Lamaze class?"

Soon Katie and Thea are inside sitting on their mat. Katie propped up with a pillow behind her as Thea sits behind her as well. Thea's eyes scan the room, watching all the other couples pretty much in the same position as they wait for their teacher.

"Ok, so I guess now I can ask why isn't Oliver here?" Thea asked turning back to Katie who let out a deep sigh. "Please don't tell me he ditched you, because if he did, I will find him and beat his ass right now."

"He didn't ditch me." Katie says turning back to the woman. "Not really. I told him about this class last week, but he forgot. He's dealing with this mayor stuff, and stopping crooked cops, I get it."

"Yeah, well I don't. He doesn't get to forget this stuff. Not when it concerns you and the baby. You should've bust his balls. This is where he needs to be."

"This is just a class. Look I want to make this work too. Part of that means bending on some things when I know he's doing something more important. Like trying to save the world."

"Star City isn't the world and he has me, Laurel and John that can take the slack when he needs to be doing more important things like coming to Lamaze class and learning about what he should expect when it's time for the baby to come."

"It doesn't matter now. You're here, I'm here and I have to pee again." Thea, stood, and helped Katie to her feet. "Thea, really it's alright. I'm ok with this." she gave the woman a final nod before going in search of the bathroom. Thea watched until she was gone before turning and sitting back down.

"Yeah, but I'm not." Thea muttered, pulling her cell from her pocket and dialing her brother's number.

Oliver sat behind one of the computers, reviewing the footage from the attack from the previous night, hoping to find a clue to the true identities of the cops behind this.

"Of all the sights I thought I would never see-" Oliver lifted his head and turned to see John. "Where's Felicity?"

"She said she had to stop by Palmer Tech, but she should be on here soon." Oliver replied turning back to the video.

"You get anything from that video?" John walked over, glancing over the man's shoulder to see as well.

"Not yet, but Felicity said she had something when she called. I guess we just have to wait." Suddenly Oliver's phone rang and he slipped it from his pocket to see his sister's number. He quickly answered, hoping nothing was wrong with Katie. "Hey, Speedy, everything alright?"

_"No, it's not. I'm starting to see all of these moments that places you in the light of an asshole."_

"What are you talking about?"

" _Ollie, when I say the word Lamaze, what comes to mind for you?"_

"Lamaze, what-" and then it clicked. He remembers Katie signing them up for a class. She said it would be a bit of a reality check for them, knowing exactly what's going to happen. He also remembers the date of the class was today. "Shit, I am an asshole."

" _No, it's just sometimes you step in the shadow of one. I think you will truly be an asshole if you don't drop whatever you're doing and get to this class now."_

"I'm on my way." Oliver ended the call, before rushing over to grab his jacket.

"Everything alright?" John asked and Oliver stopped for a moment and just shook his head.

"Nothing, just me realizing everyday that I'm going to screw this up. Everything. Being a husband, a dad, I'm going to screw it up. I can't even remember to be there when it counts."

"Oliver-"

"I have to go." Oliver said, already rushing for the elevator.

Most of the moms and dads, converse around the snack table, mostly complaining about how late the instructor was. Thea plucks a few cookies from the table, and a bottle of water before heading back over to Katie whose sitting with her eyes closed.

"Are we sure this lady is showing up today?" Thea asks lowering herself in front of Katie and handing the woman the bottle of water.

"No idea, we'll give her a few more moments."

"You know I kind of assumed you being a doctor and all would know the ins and outs of how the whole baby coming into the world thing plays out."

"I do. I've seen a couple births, and I know what happens, I know what's supposed to happen, what could go wrong. When you're a doctor, you don't have the same fears as that mother. But now-" Katie placed a hand on her belly. "I just want to make sure everything is done right. This lady is the best and I thought Oliver and I could use the crash course. I didn't want him to freak out when my water breaks." the woman just shrugs. "But it's fine. We'll just hope you'll be around since you're gonna be the expert."

"Sorry, sorry, everyone!" they both turned to the petite blonde that rushed into the room practically out of breath. "It's been one of those kind of mornings. One son doesn't want to get out of bed, the other wants to run around the house naked, my husband becomes both death and blind to all of it and traffic didn't help at all." the woman took a deep breath before pulling a smile to her face. "But enough of that. My name is Margaret Staple, and I will be your lamaze instructor. First, I think we should introduce ourselves."

"I think I'm going to go get another cookie." Thea whispered over to Katie who gave her look, before simply nodded before turning back to the others as the introductions began. She didn't spare a glance when the woman returned back to her seat. Soon it was their turn, so Katie pulled on a smile.

"Hi, my name is Katie and this-" she turned to Thea, only to realize it wasn't Thea sitting next to her. "This-" words suddenly left her, still too shocked to see the man right there.

"I'm Oliver." the man continued, turning back to the group. "Katie's boyfriend. This is our first child together."

"Well welcome, Katie and Oliver." the instructor replied before everyone turned to the next couple.

Oliver turned back to Katie, who was still staring at him. He brought an arm around her and leaned in a bit closer.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I should not have forgotten this." he whispered before looking up to meet her eyes. "Why didn't you remind me?" Katie doesn't get a chance to respond, before Margaret is once again speaking.

The class was two hours. Oliver assumed he knew everything he could know about how the birth would be, but he was sadly mistaken. He now knew things, seen things he doesn't think he will ever forget. When the class is over, and everyone is gathering their things to leave, Katie looks over to the bewildered look on Oliver's face and can't help but lightly laugh. He turns at the sound.

"Not as miraculous as you imagined, huh?" the woman asked with a shake of her head as she looked over to the display that showed the pelvis and the little fake baby inside.

"Actually it is."Oliver replied turning and placing a hand on her stomach. "Kind of the most miraculous thing I think I will ever witness." he glanced around the room, finding the mostly everyone had cleared out. "I'm sorry I forgot about this." he shook his head before turning back to the woman.

"You said that already, and it's fine." Katie replied attempting to stand to her feet. Oliver quickly stood, bringing an arm around her to help her. "So how is it going with finding our bad cops?" she turned to him with a smile. "I was thinking maybe we should look into-"

"Why didn't you remind me about the class?"

"Because it's not a big deal. Now bad cops selling drugs, killing other cops, that's a big deal. I was thinking we should-"

"I don't buy it." Oliver once again interrupted and Katie sighed before turning and grabbing her bag. "Twinkie-"

"This is going to be hard." she replied turning back to him. "I wholeheartedly believe we can do this, but it's going to be really hard. One class, I can get over one class. There are more-" suddenly Oliver's phone rang and Katie just shook her head. "Never mind, go. I think I'm going to just head home and crash."

"I think we should have this conversation. A real conversation about all of this." Oliver's phone once again rang and he quickly answered. "I will be unavailable for a while, I'll call later." he ended the call without waiting for a response and Katie turned back to him with a shake of her head. "Let's go to the park." Katie looked at the man like he was crazy.

It wasn't until they were actually at the park, did Katie realize the man was serious. The pair were walking hand in hand along the trail when Oliver asked the question he thinks needed to be asked.

"What aren't you telling me?" Katie didn't look over to him. That was a loaded question. One with too many answers and that was one reason she hated that he asked.

"There has to be some kind of link between these cops and their crimes." Katie finally answers turning back to him. "We need to look deeper into their personal lives for something out of the ordinary."

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Yeah I know what you meant. I just don't like the answer to that question, so let's just focus on stopping crime and mayoral campaigns."

"Well I don't want to talk about that stuff. I want to talk about the answer you don't like." Oliver stopped walking, but still holding on to her hand. "Since we've come back, something has changed. I can see it. Just tell me what it is." Katie turned away from his eyes and Oliver let out a sigh. "It was coming back, wasn't it?" she turned back to the man. "You said-"

"I know what I said and I stand behind what I said. We needed to come back. This city was in crisis, my company was falling apart. Coming back was the logical decision."

"You just didn't want to."

"What I wanted didn't matter. It still doesn't. The greater good comes before what I want. So I get use to it. I accept this life. I accept that you will forget things, or you won't be around all the time. You know I even accept that I will probably never make a perfect pancake."

"Acceptance and happiness are two different things and I don't want you to feel-"

"Oliver you make me happy. Whatever life I live, I will always be happy because I have you and I have her. Everything else is just stuff." the woman inched closer, her hand sliding up Oliver's chest. "Liver you are about to take on a life where it's all going to be about decisions. Making the right choice and I know how hard that can be. I also know that when a choice like trying to save the city or going to Lamaze class comes up, your decision is obvious. I don't want us to be a choice you have to pick over something else-"

"Twinkie-"

"And I know how unrealistic that sounds. Life will never be that simple and so whenever I can, I will try to make it easier for you."

"And I love you all the more for it, but I think I would like to make those decisions. So don't make it easy on me. I will deal with the outcome."

"Not sure I can do that, but I will try. I kind of love you."

"I kind of love you too." Oliver replied. "Like really, really love you." he dropped his head to hers. "And I've been trying to say something for so long, and I guess now that we're finally alone, I can finally ask-" Oliver's phone chose that exact moment to ring. He lifted his head, letting out a groan as he pulled the phone from his pocket to see Felicity's number. "It's Felicity."

"Has to be pretty important." Katie says and he looks up meeting her eyes. "Whatever you gotta tell me, just tell me later." she pressed a kiss to the man's lips. "C'mon, you can drop me back off to my car and then you-"

"We can head to meet up with the team." the man said taking the woman's hand. "There's still something you need to see." they began walking toward the car, when Oliver decided to ask another question that had been bugging. "When exactly did you get a new car?"

"It was kind of a gift." Katie replied looking over to the man. "Something else for us to talk about later."

When they returned to the hideout, Oliver listened as Felicity told him about the lead on one Liza Warner. Apparently she was one of the original recruits to the anti-vigilante task force over 3 years ago.

"Handpicked by then Detective Lance." Felicity recounted as Oliver looked over the file.

"Do we think she's a suspect?" Oliver asked looking over to the blonde.

"I think that Sergeant Warner has deposited over a quarter of a million dollars into offshore bank accounts in the last three months." that seemed to be enough for Oliver.

"Where can we find her?"

"I am working on that." Felicity said walking over to her computer. Oliver followed her, looking down to the screen that seemed to be doing something he probably couldn't explain. "I used the network access that Captain Lance gave us and I turned on every uniform and squad car camera on the force in the last 12 hours. I'm running facial recognition looking for Warner." she looked over to Oliver who seemed to be looking down to the monitor with narrowed eyes. "Do you see something?"

"No, someone. Pause." Oliver said pointing to one of the videos. " Zoom in. Mm-hmm." the moment she did, Oliver couldn't believe what he was looking at. "The man that Lance is talking to... That's Damien Darhk."

"I'm sorry?" Felicity asked turning back to the screen. The conversation looked quite friendly, not something anyone would expect with someone as evil as Damien Darhk. "Why?"

"I don't know, but I think me and the captain should have a conversation." Oliver handed the file back to Felicity before turning, only to stop at the sight of Katie standing in front of the display case that held the Guardian's suit. "He was at the house last night."

"You don't think he was there because of Darhk, do you?" Felicity whispered over to the man. "He wouldn't. He-"

"All topics I'll make sure to bring up in that conversation." Oliver replied with a nod before walking over to stand beside the woman. He looked over to her face, seeing how deep in thought she really was as she looked at the suit. Soon, she came back to the moment and glanced over to see Oliver.

"Oh, hey, what did you find out?" she looked over to Felicity who was back behind her computer. "Did she have a lead?"

"She did. She found a name. Liza Warner. She's gonna try to find a location, I'm going to go see Lance. He recruited her and I figure he may have some insight."

"Right." Katie said before turning to the suit.

"What do you see when you look at that?" Oliver asked. He'd noticed her eyes going to the suit every time they came here, and he always wondered what went through her head when she saw it. Katie glanced over to him for a moment before turning back to the suit.

"I think that's what I'm trying to figure out." Katie answered honestly and Oliver simply placed a kiss to her cheek.

Dr. Ethan Mills decided to throw himself into his work, in hopes of forgetting the craziness that he seemed to fall into recently. For a while he thought he could distract himself, but he should've known that would be impossible. He'd just finished up with a patient when he walked down the hall, only to see the woman he'd been avoiding waiting for him in his office.

"You haven't been answering my calls." Laurel said and Ethan just shrugged as he pulled off his lab coat.

"I thought we pretty much said everything we needed to say the last time we spoke. Remember that part about me not having any say when it comes to you and your family."

"Look, Ethan. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to blow up at you, I just-" Laurel walked over to him. "I got my sister back. You have no idea the emptiness of her being gone caused, and I saw an opportunity to get her back and I took it."

"Laurel you have no idea what you've done. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this place that has this water that can make the dead live again."

"I couldn't believe it either, but it's real and Sara is back."

"That's just it, baby." Ethan says placing his hands on her shoulders. "That woman chained up in your basement isn't your sister. She—" Laurel pulled herself from his grasp. "You don't want to hear this, but you need to. We need to figure out what's happening. That means we talk to Oliver or Kit—"

"Why so they can judge me? Tell me how crazy this is? How I shouldn't have done this? Sara just needs more time to remember, to realize who she is, and once she does, I will tell them." she placed her hands on the man's chest. "I just need you to trust me. Everything will work out." she placed a kiss to the man's lips. "I will let you get back to work." Ethan watched as she headed out the door, wanting so badly to trust her, but for the life of him he couldn't. Not when he could imagine how bad this could really get.

Captain Lance practically jumped out of his skin the moment he walked into his apartment and found Oliver just sitting there in the dark.

"You know I have a heart condition, right?"

"For years, you've looked at me with such contempt. Utter disdain. So I'm wondering..." Oliver lifts his eyes to the man who is still trying to figure out what's going on. "Do I have that same look on my face now?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

" I'm talking about you... and Damien Darhk." the moment the words came out of his mouth, Oliver could see the guilt wash over his face. He dropped to the seat in front of Oliver, attempting an explanation for his actions. That look on Oliver's face never changed, and the Captain didn't really expect it to.

"He held himself out as just another guy who wanted to help this city. And we needed the help." Quentin justified with a shake of his head. "You weren't here. By the time I figured out who he was, what he was..." the man let out a deep sigh, because he was ashamed. "That's when he threatened Laurel."

"Laurel can take care of herself. You see what she does out there."

" That's what I thought about Sara, too-"

"Stop, stop it!" Oliver snapped jumping to his feet, tired of the excuses. "Stop hiding behind your daughters! They would be ashamed of what you're doing right now."

" You don't know what I'm going through." Quentin sighed. "Your kid isn't here yet, so you don't know the extent you'll go to protect them."

"You're right, my daughter isn't here yet, but I will always find a way to protect her. And I'm positive, I would never compromise my morality to do it." Oliver felt so disappointed in the man in this moment. "You were the main reason behind me running for mayor! A part of me has always wanted you to see what kind of man I really am. I didn't expect to wind up finding out what kind of man you really are." Oliver couldn't even look at the man anymore. So he stalked off toward the door.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't—" Oliver stopped at the door and looked back to the man. "Right now I only have one question for you. Whatever Darhk has told you to do, or say, or go, has it ever concerned Katie?" Quentin looked confused, but shook his head.

"No, her name only came up after the hostage situation."

"How? Was he the one behind it?"

"No, no." Quentin stated. " Actually he seemed pretty concerned about her. He wanted inclusion in the search for her, wanting to know when she was found and who was behind it. I remember finding it strange, but I didn't think anymore of it." Quentin looked up to Oliver who turned away in thought, and now he had questions. "Why else would her name come up?" Oliver turned a glare to the man.

"From this moment forward, you will stay away from her." Oliver didn't wait for a response, because there was none needed.

Katie and Felicity had been waiting a while for someone to show up. Katie had been walking about the hideout, just trying to keep her mind distracted.

"How do you think it happens?" Felicity asked suddenly and Katie looked over to her. "One moment, you want to be the hero. Wear the badge, save the city, and then the next you lose it." she looked over to Katie who stopped walking. "How does that happened?"

"Easier than you imagine." Katie replies glancing over to the Guardian's suit once again. "Being a hero means you have hope that you can succeed in actually saving people. And all the good deeds feed that hope. But then something like the Undertaking happens, and a little piece of hope gets chipped away, then some guy in a mask unleashes dozens of drugged up soldiers to run rampant in the city, and another piece of hope is chipped away, and then-" she turns to Felicity who just stares with a slight frown as she listens. "Some guy brings this virus, and unleashes it, and a little more hope is chipped away. You see Felicity that switch from good to bad, is all dependent on how much hope you have and what in this world can steal it away."

"Do you still have hope that the world is still worth saving?" Katie let out a sigh, but gave a nod.

"As long as there are people in this world that I care about, it will always be worth saving." the woman replied with a smile. "Now, what are the chances you think Oliver will bring food when he comes back."

Felicity's phone rang, and she quickly answered. Katie could tell from the frown on her face that whatever she was hearing was not good.

Captain Lance had been kidnapped. By the cops they were all hoping to catch. Laurel had witnessed the entire thing, before she was attacked herself, and tazered. She awakened soon after they were gone. The team now gathered around Felicity who was attempting to find out where Lance was taken, which seemed to be difficult with the random power surges that kept happening.

"You know as much money as we have shelled out for this place, there should be no electrical problems." Katie snaps angrily. The moment she heard about Lance, she was instantly worried. Being kidnapped, and probably beaten was definitely not something that would be good for his heart.

"I think I got something before the latest glitch." Felicity informed as she looked over her shoulder to the team. "Captain Lance's ID was just to access the SCPD contraband disposal facility 3 minutes ago." without another word, everyone is spurred into action. Soon they're suited, and out of there once again leaving Felicity and Katie to wait.

Soon Katie began pacing, as they waited for the team to finally arrive at the facility. Felicity sat behind her computer still trying to get a better read on the facility before she looked over to the woman.

"You're not supposed to be doing that." Felicity stated and Katie looked over to her with a shake of her head. "Look, they are going to find Lance, and he's going to be alright. Just come sit down, please." Katie let out a sigh, before walking over to take the seat beside her friend.

"So how are things going with you and Bruce? I haven't seen him around as much." Katie noticed how tensed the woman seemed to get. "He still hasn't told you his secret?"

"No, he's being a jerk." Felicity replied as she stopped typing and turned to Katie. "And I just don't know what to do at this point."

"Is this big enough to warrant a break up?" Katie asked and Felicity turned away. She was angry, like really angry that Bruce couldn't seem to trust her enough, but she hasn't gotten to the point where she wants the relationship to end. She loved him.

"I don't want it to." Felicity replied looking back to Katie.

"Ok, how about this. Bruce has this secret, he can't tell you. Then he needs to tell you why. No vague, it's dangerous answers. He needs to actually prove to you that him keeping this secret is actually necessary. See if he can do that." Felicity gave a nod, before turning at the sound of confirmation of the team arriving.

Felicity was right. Lance was saved, most of the cops including Liza Warner were arrested. It was a successful mission.

It was late when the team arrived back to the hideout. Laurel quickly changed so she could go back to her father, while Thea and John had headed home. Oliver had changed, and walked out to find Felicity who was gathering her things to head out as well. He scanned the area, searching out one person.

"She's upstairs waiting for you." Felicity said and Oliver gave a nod before the pair headed onto the elevator. "Have you told her about Lance and Darhk?"

"Not yet." Oliver replies not looking forward to that conversation. "Not sure how to even begin that conversation, but I will. If we can get through one conversation without interruption. I've been this close to finally asking her to marry me, but my phone seems to miraculously ring every time."

"Why don't you turn your phone off?" Felicity asked looking over to the man. "Or ignoring the call. I know, putting your phone on silent. I use to do that when my mom would call me non stop when me and Bruce went on vacation."

"I just want the moment to be right, without interruptions."

"Or you're still hesitant to finally ask again." Felicity replied giving the man a nudge. "Oliver you have to see this time, it's different than before. Both of you are different people." Soon the doors opened and Oliver and Felicity stepped out to find Katie standing near the window. She glanced back when she heard them and gave Oliver a smile.

"Shall we go home now Mr. Queen?" she asked and Oliver smiled as he walked over to her, bringing his arms around her. Felicity stared at the couple for a moment, smiling at how happy they seemed and only assured her that she wanted that happiness too. So she would give Bruce the benefit of the doubt. She pulled out her phone, and dialed his number as she headed out the door.

Oliver and Katie stood in the empty offices, staring at one another before Oliver turned and let out a sigh.

"What if I didn't run for Mayor?" he turned back to her, awaiting a reaction.

"This isn't about Lamaze class is it, because I told you-"

"This isn't about that. It's just this city, the people. They're just not who I thought they were and, I don't think I can-"

"Did you just say you don't think you can?" Katie asked and Oliver shrugged. "How do you fail this city, Liver?" she placed a hand on his cheek with a smile. "You're letting the fear of failure keep you from trying. This fear of the unknown and I'm telling you that you shouldn't be afraid. Because this thing beating in your chest-" she slid a hand to hover above his head. "This city could use it. Now stop being a little bit-" his lips crashed into hers before she could finished the sentence. When they pulled apart, they stood still wrapped in each other, trying to even out their breaths. "You interrupted the most important part."

"I think I got the gist." Oliver replied with a smile before pulling the woman out the door.

Oliver Queen should be nervous. The amount of people and cameras filing into the office should be making his heart race and his palms sweaty, but oddly it didn't. Early that morning, he'd paid another visit to Captain Lance, and he decided that his alliance with Darhk could be the one thing they needed to taken him down. It was a step, a big step to finally finding a way to end Damien Darhk. He arrived back to the office not expecting to find numerous unfamiliar faces. Apparently his sister had taken it upon herself to hire interns to help with the campaign. She'd even written him a speech to announce his candidacy. He stood there and read her words, and looked out the people who were there to help him and he couldn't help but think back to Katie's words. That's when he decided to stop being afraid of what might happen, and finally take the leap. With this campaign and with finally proposing to Katie.

At the moment he stood in the bathroom reading over the note cards his sister had handed him, trying to save them to memory. There was a knock at the door, but before he could say a word it was opening and in walked Katie who'd some how gotten a baked pretzel in the few minutes since he last saw her.

"I think they're ready for you, Mr. Mayor." she said walking over to the man who gave the woman as smile. "Here hold my pretzel." Oliver slipped his note cards in his breast pocket before taking the pretzel from the woman. She dusted off her hands, before reaching forward to straighten his tie. He looked down to her, seeing how focused she was and the words were right there, and though he didn't want to ask the question in a bathroom, he just couldn't wait any longer. "Perfect." she looked up to the man with a smile. "You ready?"

"Almost." he said turning and sitting the pretzel down before turning and taking her hand in his. "This is not how or where I wanted to be when I said this, but I can't wait any-" the door burst open and in rushed Thea, who immediately regretted it the moment she saw her brother and Katie.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry." she said before turning to her brother. "The bathroom, really?"

"Speedy, was there something you needed?" Oliver asked in annoyance.

"It's time." She said pointing behind her. "The press is all set up and everyone's just waiting for you." Oliver let out a sigh before turning back to Katie who placed a hand on his cheek.

"Can whatever you want to say, wait?" He wanted to say no, but he didn't want to rush this. He knew this would be something they would remember for a long time, so he would just wait.

"Yeah, it can." he brought an arm around her and they walked toward the door.

"Wait, my pretzel." she attempted to go back for it, but Oliver never loosened his grasp as he kept walking.

"We're going to have a conversation about food cart pretzels later, Twinkie. Dr. Frances has a whole chapter about junk food."

"You know I'm going to find that bastard, and I might shoot him." she pulled a smile as the flashing lights from cameras erupted around them.

Katie stood, a bright smile on her face as she listened to Oliver as he gave his speech. She hoped everyone could see it. The love he had for this city, the hope, it was in his words and his movements. Her phone began to vibrate, and she pulled it from her purse to see a familiar number. She opened a text and frowned as she looked over her shoulder. Her eyes went back to Oliver who was still so immersed in his speech, that she's sure he won't notice her slip away for a few moments. She turns and sifts through the crowd to step outside. Her eyes scan the area, before a car pulls up in front of her and the window rolls down to reveal Martin Ellis.

"Now's not really a good time. What do you want?"

"I need you to come with me."

"That's not happening." the woman shook her head about to walk back into the office.

"Your father's dying." Martin said, and Katie turned back to him instantly. "He doesn't know I'm here, doesn't know I'm asking you this because he's too stubborn to realize that in times like these you need family. And right now he needs you." Katie didn't know what to say. She glanced back into the office, able to see Oliver still speaking. She had a choice to make. She knew if she went back in there, told him everything, he'd drop everything else to come with her. With a deep sigh, she turned back to Martin and gave him a nod. The man quickly stepped out of the car before pulling open the back door and letting her step inside.

As they pulled off, Katie took out her cell phone and sent a text to Oliver, she knew he wouldn't read right away. She knew he would be upset, knew there'd probably be yelling, but at the moment she only heard one thing.

Her daddy was dying.

For some reason, everything else just didn't matter.


	7. Sins of the Past

**Chapter 7**

**Sins of the Past**

_"It's your own fear of failure that stops you from doing things"_

_Anupam Kher_

**_Arabic Translations:_ **

"'urid musaeadatak." = I want to help you.

"aldamu ln yunqidh ruhk." = Blood will not save your soul.

* * *

Sometimes it's the unknown that hold our greatest fears. Right now Oliver Queen had no idea where his girlfriend, mother of his unborn child was. The moment he was done with his speech, his eyes went to the crowd, looking only for her face and his heart raced because he couldn't find it. So as he left the podium, he pulled a smile to his face as cameras still were pointed at him. His heart rammed in his chest, as he shook hands, and gave a small smile to the flash of cameras. He glanced over to his sister who seemed to see the slight distress in his eyes, and decided to take a step forward and announce that the press conference was over and that Oliver and his campaign workers needed to get to work. Not too long after Thea made up another excuse to clear out the interns. Once they were gone, Oliver, along with John, Thea and Felicity headed downstairs where they waited for Felicity to give him a location on Katie's phone.

"How did she just disappear?" John asked with a shake of his head. "We were all there?"

"Yeah, but everyone's attention was on Ollie." Thea replied nervously hovering behind Felicity looking to the computer. "This is taking longer than normal, what's going on?" Felicity didn't say anything right away, which only made them all worry.

"Felicity?" Oliver spoke taking a step forward. He looked down to the screen that seemed to still be processing whatever Felicity had entered. "Where is she?"

"I-" Felicity pulled back her hands, and turned to Oliver, the nervousness now written all over her face. "I don't know. I can't get a lock on her phone." Oliver didn't say anything, because those words were not words he needed to hear in this moment. He didn't say a word before he turned, pulling off is suit jacket, and pulling at his tie.

"Oliver, wait, we need to just think this through." John suggested to Oliver who moved as if he didn't even hear the man. He stalked toward the display case, about to put on his hood when Thea took a step forward.

"Wait, Oliver, where's your phone?" she asked and Oliver stopped and turned to her. "Before we hop on the worst case scenario, let's just cross off the mostly likely. Maybe she called you, left a text. Where's your phone?"

"My-" Oliver headed back to the table, to grab his jacket. "I turned it off before the press conference." Oliver pulled the phone from the pocket and powered it back on. Letting out a heavy sigh at the sight of a message from Katie's phone. When he opened the message, he frowned before grabbing his jacket and stalking toward the elevator.

"Oliver, what's-" Thea rushed after the man, but stopped as the elevator doors closed. She growled as she turned back to the confused looks of John and Felicity.

Oliver stepped outside the office, and rushed toward his car only for something hard to suddenly strike the back of his head, bringing darkness to his world.

_There was a soft hum of a lullaby moving through the air, and it brought a smile to Oliver's face. He walked through the familiar hall of their house, before finding the nursery. He pushed open the door, and the smile quickly fell because the room was completely empty._

_"They're not here." Oliver looked up at the sound of the voice, and saw someone he most definitely did not expect to see. "He's getting closer and she doesn't even know it."_

_"Mrs-" Oliver took a step toward her. "Mrs. Robins?"_

_"I'm sorry, I don't have much time and you being knocked out allowed this meeting." she took a step toward the man. "I didn't think the pedals worked, but I was wrong. It's happening Oliver, and you need to keep it away."_

_"Keep what away?"_

_"The darkness that surrounds her."_

There was a gentle hand that slid along his cheek that seemed to stir him awake. The moment his eyes flit open, he let out a deep sigh at the sight of someone he desperately needed to see.

"See-" Oliver turned his head to see Martin, who seemed to be hunched over in pain. "He's fine."

"Oliver, look at me." Katie ordered and Oliver brought his eyes back to her. "Follow my finger." she lifted her finger and moved it back and forth. Oliver shook his head before grabbing her hand and nudging it out of the way before bringing his hands to the side of her face.

"Where did you go? I was-"

"I know. I'm so sorry I left the way I did. I just didn't know how to just walk over to you and snatch your moment." Katie dropped her head head slightly. "I'm sorry, I couldn't—" she looked back up to meet Oliver's eyes.

"Twinkie, you don't-" he let out a heavy breath, because he didn't want to let his emotions just totally take over this moment. "You were gone. You were gone because you left and you didn't tell me. I need to know why."

"Because something is wrong." Katie replied before looking back over to Martin.

Oliver wasn't sure what to expect as Katie took his hand, and lead him through the house. His eyes scanned the halls, noticing the very expensive paintings on the wall. Soon they climbed up a flight of stairs, stepping down another long hall until they reached a door. On the other side, Oliver was struck with the sight that made him pause.

For as long as he can remember, Jacob Robins was the epitome of strength, and intelligence. He was a man who always seemed impenetrable. So the sight of that man, connected to so many machines, looking utterly weak was so strange. He felt Katie's hand grasp his tighter, and he looked over to her, only to see the expression on her face not showing an ounce of emotion he knew she was feeling as she looked at her father.

"What's wrong with him?" Oliver asked looking over to Martin who hung back by the door. Martin's eyes looked over to the sleeping form of Jacob with a shake of his head.

"Nothing." Katie answered and Oliver turned back to her. "Every test, every blood sample, every scan-" she stared at her father, racking her brain trying to figure out what this could be. "They're all normal. He's dying and every test ran says he's perfectly healthy."

"How is that even possible?" Oliver asked turning back to Jacob, whose chest slowly rose and fell as he slept.

"It's not." Katie replied before turning to Martin who looked from his boss to the man's daughter. "You're going to tell me what's happening?"

"I'm not going to tell you what's happening." Martin says and Katie takes a step toward him,only for Oliver to bring an arm around her to hold her back. "The truth is, there's only one person who can stop this, and asking for his help is worthless. I didn't bring you here to fix this because-" the man turned back to Jacob. "You can't fix this. You need to spend whatever time he has and-"

"Stop talking, Martin." Katie says before turning back to her father and walking over to his side. "Jacob-"

"What are you doing?" Martin asked, and Katie held up a hand for him to stop talking.

"Jacob, wake up." she slid her hand into his and leaned in slightly. "Jac-" she swallowed the lump in her throat before taking a deep breath. "Daddy, I need you to wake up." an audible breath escaped the man's nose, and his head turned toward Katie. His eyes cracked open, but barely.

"Grace." his rough voice muttered. Katie turned away from him, taking in another deep breath before looking back down to her father.

"What is happening to you?" Katie asked, but the man didn't answer as he softly smiles up to her. "Who is doing this to you?" She opened her mouth to continue when she noticed something on his neck. She reached down, pulling at the collar of his shirt to reveal what looked like black veins that seemed to stem down his chest. She reached forward to touch it, only for Jacob to quickly grab her hand.

"You shouldn't be here." the man said and Katie looked up to meet his eyes. The man let out a heavy breath before looking over to Martin. "You had no right."

"You're knocking at death's door, I had every right."

"I don't care." Katie replied looking down to her father. "What is happening to you?"

"It's not your concern." the man glanced back to Oliver who stood silently, unsure if he should speak in this moment. "Oliver-" Oliver turned to Jacob. "You take my daughter and you make sure she never comes back here. You make sure she's always happy, because she deserves it." Jacob looked back to Katie with a smile. "You make sure my granddaughter's laughter always fills whatever rooms she's in." he swallowed hard before turning back to Oliver. "Oliver, do the one thing I couldn't. Keep your family safe, and always let them know how much you love them."

"Jacob, you need to tell me what's happening." Katie once again said and Jacob couldn't help the slight chuckle that morphed into a cough instantly.

"Be happy my sunshine. That's all I ever wanted for you." Jacob slipped his hand from hers, and placed it on her belly, with a slight smile. "And you take care of her."

"So you die and I do nothing?" she asked and Jacob sighed as he turned away from her. "Fine." she turned back to Oliver. "Let's go home." she stalked toward the door.

"Twinkie-" the woman was already out the door, and Oliver began following after her.

"You probably would never ask." Jacob said and Oliver stopped and looked back over to the man. "But you have my blessing. If that's why you're hesitating to ask her."

"It's not, but, thanks I guess." Oliver replied before turning to Martin. "We're going to talk, soon." Martin simply gave a nod before watching the man storm out of the room.

"I should fire you." Jacob said before falling into a fit of coughing.

"And yet here I am." Martin walked over to stand at Jacob's side, looking down to see the black veins seemed to be getting worse. "I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do."

"Just do what you always do." Jacob replied and Martin let out a heavy sigh before walking over and taking a seat and flicking on the television which surprisingly was playing a report on the newest candidate, Oliver Queen, running for mayor.

"So did you see this all those years ago when you and Robert were cooking up a plan to save this city?" Martin asked looking back to Jacob who had once again nodded off to sleep.

When they arrived home, Katie walked inside the house without saying a word to Oliver who had no idea how to even begin this conversation. He followed her into the kitchen, just as she pulled out a pint of ice cream. She grabbed a spoon and just dug in. Her eyes looked up to Oliver who stood staring at her as she took the first bite.

"I know what you're going to say." she said with a shake of her head as she took another bite of her ice cream. "Before you say it, just don't." Oliver walked around the counter, moving in to stand right beside her. He placed a hand on her back, gently rubbing soothing circles. He could see the walls holding in her emotions, slowly falling as he felt her slightly shaking. "I'm fine." she looked up to the man. "Really, I'm fine. I mean he already died once and I got over it. I'll just get over it again." she turned away from his eyes. "He hurt me, and he lied to me, he ruined my life." Oliver brought his arms around her in a hug, placing a kiss on the top of her head, and she felt the tears swelling in her eyes.

Katie cried herself to sleep that night, Oliver's arms around her never loosening the entire time.

They'd stayed home for a couple of days after that night. Katie didn't talk much about her father, but Oliver knew it was still eating her up inside. This morning, Oliver was the first to wake up. Katie was still sleeping and he placed a kiss to her head, before sliding a hand along her stomach. 

The hum of his phone vibrating, caused him to turn and quickly grab his phone before it could wake up Katie. He saw Felicity's number and sighed. He'd already texted her to let them know that Katie was fine and back home, but he told them that they needed some time alone.

"Felicity?" he whispered as he slid out of bed and headed to the bathroom so he didn't wake Katie. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Look I know you said you and Twinkie needed some solitude and I didn't want to argue-"

"Argue? Felicity what are you talking about?"

"So you know how bad I am at lying. Well I'm kind of awesome at keeping a secret and today I let you in on it. Come downstairs and open the door."

Oliver quirked a brow before stepping back to the bedroom. He cast a glance to Katie who was still fast asleep. He quietly slipped out of the room, and headed downstairs. When he opened the door, he wasn't sure why he was seeing Felicity along with his sister.

"Hey Ollie." Thea greeted nervously. "How's Twinkie?"

"Fine. What are you two doing here?" Thea and Felicity slipped past Oliver into the house, and the man let out a heavy sigh.

"We kind of did something." Felicity said and Oliver closed the door before turning to them with a quirked brow. "A good something actually. And I know you two needed some time, but I was kind of hoping that could wait until after today."

"Why exactly?"

"Because we're sort of throwing you two a surprise baby shower." Thea replied and Oliver turned to her. "Well officially it's called a push party, but it's today." Oliver shook his head and the two women could already see the protests in his features. "Before you say anything, think of this as a distraction. From whatever happened the night of your speech. Maybe you two could use a little distraction." Oliver wanted to argue, but he couldn't help but feel that Thea was right. After everything that happened that night, maybe a distraction was what they needed.

"Look I'm not sure about a party, but if you're able to convince Twinkie then-"

"Done." Felicity said with a bright smile before reaching into her purse and pulling out a card and handing it to Oliver. "So you are going to shower, get dressed and go ahead of us and plan whatever."

"Plan what?" Oliver asked looking down to the card and his eyes went slightly wide before looking back up to the woman. "This is where the party is going to be?"

"It is and we thought it fitting that something else special happens today." Felicity replied and Oliver looked back down to the card.

"So what do you say, Ollie?" Thea asked and the man looked over to his sister. "You ready to finally step on the road to forever?"

Katie heard voices that she knows for a fact didn't belong to Oliver. She cracked open her eyes and turned to see the doors to her closet wide open.

"Definitely not wearing that. She'll look like a giant flamingo."

"What about this?"

"I don't know. It's kind of low cut and her boobs are getting huge. I just get the feeling Oliver might end up killing someone if she wears that dress."

"Oh, I know." there was silence, as Katie listens to things being shuffled around. She finally decides to stand from the bed, and walk over to her closet to see Felicity and Thea standing there. Thea was holding a light blue dress that she'd bought, but had yet to wear. Both women turned to Katie with bright smiles. "Good, you're up. What do you think of this dress? It looked really cute when you tried it on in the store?"

"When did you two go shopping?" Felicity asked turning to Thea. "And why wasn't I invited?"

"Chill crazy lady, not about you right now." Thea said and Felicity turned back to Katie who still stood staring at them in confusion. "So, do you like this dress?"

"For what?" Katie asked before looking around the room. "Where's Oliver?"

"Running errands!"

"Mayor stuff!"

Both answers were spoken simultaneously, which made Katie that much more suspicious. She looked between the two women before shaking her head and walking back over to lie down.

"Hey, so I had an idea." Felicity said as she and Thea walked out to the bedroom. Thea took a seat on the bed beside Katie as Felicity walked over to meet the woman's eyes. "Why don't we go out for lunch?"

"That sounds like a good idea. I love lunch." Thea said and Felicity glanced over to the woman who simply shrugged. "What do you say Twinkie, you're up for lunch? There's this new place downtown that-"

"I'm not leaving this bed, so you two can just go." Katie replied pulling the covers over her head.

"Is everything alright?" Felicity asked. "Oliver didn't say much about that night, but we assumed since you're here and safe that everything was alright." Katie didn't say anything and Felicity and Thea once again shared a worried look. Felicity racked her brain with a way to get Katie out of bed, and soon one struck her. She wasn't proud, but she was desperate. "Fine, you caught us. We weren't going to take you to lunch."

"We weren't?" Thea asked and Felicity sent her a glare. "I mean, yeah, we weren't."

"We didn't want to say anything at first, but the truth is someone needs your help." Katie still didn't say anything. "Like medically." she looked over to Thea who just shook her head in confusion. "His name is Curtis Holt. He works at the company and he's been injured."

"That's what hospitals are for Felicity." Katie replied and Felicity once again tried thinking up a lie.

"He can't go to the hospital because-" she looked over to Thea who shrugged, not even able to help with this. "Because he was hurt during a mission. He was shot during the whole dirty cop thing and-" Katie pushed the covers from her head and looked over to Felicity. "He was caught in the cross hairs."

"Some guy who works at your company was at the exact facility where these cops had Lance hostage?" Katie asked and Felicity nodded as she cleared her throat.

"I didn't really get the details, but he's really hurt and I told him I had a friend whose a doctor."

"Ethan-"

"Oliver doesn't know he was there. And if I tell Ethan, then he tells Laurel and it's an endless cycle until your boyfriend goes all grrr. I just want to fix this before anymore damage is caused." she looked down to Katie with a slight smile. "What do you say?"

"About the first part of that lie, or the second part of that lie?" Katie asked.

"No, about lunch?" Thea asked and Katie looked over to the woman with a quirked brow. "C'mon, you know you're hungry." Katie dropped back to her pillow, only for Thea to lean in closer to her. "Pleeeeease." Katie rolled her eyes knowing she would do anything to get out of this room with these two women.

Soon Katie found herself sitting in the back of Felicity's car, pensively staring silently out the window. Her mind drifted back to her father, going over all of his symptoms and still unable to think of anything that could cause them. She was so deep in thought, that she didn't even notice when the car had stopped until her door opened. Katie stepped out of the car, looking from the two women who were brightly smiling before turning to a sight she didn't expect. Gorgeous flowers, of various bright colors, surrounded them, as they stood in front of a building. Katie spun around, a slight smile on her face because she knew where they were.

"What are we doing here?" she asked turning back to her friends. She turned back to the field of flowers and tall trees, a sight indescribably beautiful. "We were-" she looked back to Felicity and Thea. "We were going to have our wedding here."

"We know." Felicity replied, taking a step toward the woman. "We know you like this place, so we thought it could be the place for another important event." Felicity took Katie's hand and led her along a trail. Soon Katie heard music, and people talking.

"Smoaks, what's-" that's when they walked upon a beautifully decorated area of the gardens, that also seemed to be filled with people.

"Welcome to your push party!"

"My what?" Katie looked over to Felicity and Thea, before a hand slid around her waist. Her eyes turned to see Oliver. "You knew about this?"

"Absolutely not. I'm just as surprised as you." Oliver replied placing a kiss to the side of Katie's head as he smiled out to the guests. "But they came out to help us celebrate the baby." Katie looked back out to the crowd in confusion.

"Who are these people?"

"Thea was in charge of the guest list." Felicity muttered before spotting the caterer. "I'm going to make sure we're good on everything." and with that the blonde rushed off. Katie continued to look over the crowd when she realized something.

"Wait, that's...that's Evan Porter. We were in math club together in high school." she turned and spotted another familiar. "Ew, that's Ralph Higgins. He was on the football team with you." she looked over to Oliver. "He use to always mess with my locker." she continued to scan the crowd realizing there were more familiar faces from high school in the crowd. "Is our entire high school class here?" she turned to Thea who nervously smiled. "Because you figured that was a time I would want to revisit?"

"No, that's not it at all. I just thought—" Thea shrugged as she looked out to the people. "A lot of these assholes made your high school experience a living hell. I thought it fitting to rub their nose in the fact that you're winning in life. Oh, the DJ's here, I'll be right back." Thea hurried off as well, and Katie attempted to go after her, but Oliver held her back.

"Liver, your sister is-"

"I know." Oliver replied looking down to the woman. "Look maybe we could use this. One day where it's about something good." Oliver placed his hand on her belly. "All these people came out to celebrate our baby."

"No all these people probably came out to figure out why you're with me or if I'm really pregnant." she replied with a shake of her head.

"Then how about we show them." Oliver said before pulling the woman into a kiss. It was passionate, searing and they could feel the eyes on them, but soon they fell from the moment and it felt as if no one was even around. After just a few moments, when the need for air was a necessity, they finally pulled back.

"That only fuels the rumors, Mr. Queen." Katie replied breathlessly, turning to look back to the crowd who quickly averted their eyes as if they weren't watching.

"Yeah, but we get gifts." Oliver whispered and Katie turned back to him with a laugh.

For Katie this entire thing was just so weird. There were so many faces from her past, so many people she would've been happy never to see again. But there were a few old friends she was glad to catch up with.

"You seriously became an architect?" Katie asked, and the man in front of her laughed. "I'm sorry Luke, but all through high school all you ever talked about was how you were going to be this great inventor and become rich and all the people of Starling High would rue the day they would stuff you in lockers."

"Yeah, well inventing is hard. All the cool things are already created." Luke said with a laugh. "Plus I love my job. And in a way I am an inventor. I invent these structures and people pay me a lot of money for them."

"I'm happy for you." Katie said as she turned to see Oliver speaking with one of his old friends. Luke followed her eyes and smiled.

"You're seriously dating Oliver Queen and are about to have his baby?" Katie turned to the man with a smile. "I'm sorry Katie, but even you have to admit how bizarre that is. I mean it's great and congratulations and all that, but-" Luke looked over to Oliver and a few members of the former cool crew of Starling High. "We were in different worlds back then and now you two seemed to have ventured into the same one."

"Want to know a secret?" Katie asked and the man quirked a brow. "We found ourselves in each others world back then too. Just never told anyone."

"Now that I find hard to believe." a voice spoke from behind Katie and she turned to see someone who made her roll her eyes. Amber Baker. Former cheerleader, one of the many former high school girlfriends of Tommy Merlyn, and one of the banes of Katie's high school existence. "No offense, but I was there in high school and there was no way Oliver gave you a second glance. He actually-" the woman laughed, "he used to tell us how much he hated those little dinner parties his parents dragged him to with you and your parents. I thought it was pretty sad, your parents trying to make you two friends when that was never gonna happen."

"That's enough Amber." Luke said. "This isn't high school, and we're not kids anymore. So this-" he pointed to her. "It's just pathetic."

"You're right, we're adults." Amber replies turning back to Katie. "Some of us more luckier than others."

"And since you're looking at me, I'm assuming you're saying I'm the lucky one?" Katie chuckled with a shake of her head. "Because, me Twinkie somehow landed the most popular guy from school and got him to knock me up. Is that what you're saying?"

"I'm saying that Oliver Queen was the son of a woman who helped kill hundreds of people and lost all of his fortune. You're lucky because you're the only one in this city he could easily manipulate into believing he actually cares about you. You're lucky because you were born with the last name Robins. I mean if you didn't have the money or the company, what would you be?"

"A doctor." came the voice of Oliver, who some how slipped over in time to hear Amber's words. He walked over to stand beside Katie, bringing an arm around her and pulling her close. "A damn good doctor, with a good heart. So I think I'm the lucky one." he smiled down to Katie before turning back to Amber. "Wouldn't you agree, Amber?"

"Sure." the woman said with a slight shake of her head before looking back into the crowd. "I should find my husband." she turned back to the couple. "We should probably be getting home to our kids that we had after we got married. Congratulations." the woman turned, and stalked away.

"Vote Oliver Queen for mayor!" Katie called after the woman with a laugh before turning to Oliver. "That was actually kind of funny, maybe I did need this."

"You're still super weird." Luke said with a laugh. He turned to Oliver, holding out a hand. "Seriously, congratulations." Oliver took the man's hand and shook it. "I'm really happy for you two."

"Thanks Luke." Oliver replied.

"Now if you don't mind, I'm going to check out the food situation." Katie shook her head at the man before he walked away.

"You know I wouldn't mind checking out the food situation either." Katie said and Oliver chuckled placing a kiss to her lips before the couple headed over as well. "Who is that with your sister?" both looked to the man speaking with Thea, who neither recognized.

"No idea, lets go find out."

"And here he is!" Thea said as the couple walked over. "Oliver, Katie I would like you to meet Alex Davis, the new political strategist that Walter recommended." Oliver looked over to his sister for a moment before reaching forward to shake the man's hand.

"Alex nice to meet you-" Oliver said before glancing over to his sister. "At our baby shower."

"I'm sorry, I know this was probably not the best place, or time. I mentioned the party and thought it would be rude to not invite him." Thea said with a smile as she turned back to Alex. "Plus this gives him a chance to see who you are outside of the campaign. Get a feel for who you are on a personal level."

"Well I'm glad you're joining the team, but I just don't see why I need a political strategist."

"Well... I guess the question then is, do you want to take office with ten percent of the vote or 90?" Alex replied and Oliver frowned slightly.

"And what has you concerned?"

"Oh, politics talk is always so interesting, but I just spotted something covered in chocolate, so I'm just going to-" she nudged her head toward the food table before turning to Oliver. "Find me when you're finished with this."

"Twinkie, I can-"

"Oliver, it's fine. Hear what he has to say." she turned back to Alex with a smile. "Welcome to the team Mr. Davis."

"Please call me Alex." he replied with a smile as he shook the woman's hand. "And I look forward to not only working with Oliver, but you as well. You're gonna be a big part of this campaign."

"Well thanks for reminding me how big I am Alex, as if I didn't already know."

"Oh, I didn't mean-" he looked between Katie and Oliver nervously. "I just meant."

"She's kidding." Thea said placing a hand on the man's arm. "Her jokes are usually a hit or miss."

"I think I'm funny and that's all that matters. Now if you would excuse me-" the woman turned and headed for scope out the food.

"You know I wasn't lying." Alex replied and Oliver and Thea turned to the man. "Ms. Robins is going to play a huge role in your campaign. Especially now with the great PR surrounding her and her company. This city loves her, actually the city wants her to run for Mayor. She would actually be the ideal candidate."

"Bring it back to reality Alex." Thea muttered and the man gave a nod before turning back to Oliver.

"Right, you asked what my biggest concerns were. There's a couple. One of the biggest is the kind of closet skeletons that could cripple you on your first day in office. Your personal Chappaquiddick."

"Wait, like that game from Harry Potter?" Thea asked slightly confused with the connection.

"Uh-" Alex chuckles slightly. "Chappaquiddick was a scandal involving a can't-lose candidate whose campaign fell apart when he was caught having an affair after his vehicle went underwater and the girl he was with drowned." he turns to Oliver. " Does that sound at all familiar?"

"Ah, referencing the "Queen's Gambit" and Sara Lance."

"Yeah, got it. You're about to do your first on-air sit down, right?" Oliver gives a nod. "Bethany Snow? Ten'll get you twenty, she brings up Sara and her sister."

"Alex, all due respect, I don't think that people care about my friendship with Laurel Lance and an eight-year-old scandal when the city is disintegrating and there are masked armed men helping it." Oliver declared firmly. "Not to mention, there's a woman in Pennytown that's just running around killing people."

"You're right. I'm sorry. For a moment, I forgot how the electorate always cares about the issues and has zero appetite for scandal." Alex countered. "Look I saw your posters. Heard your speech. You want this city united? You can't do it as the rich kid playboy from the tabloids. And like it or not, Laurel Lance is a constant reminder of that. So from this day forward, when anyone brings up Miss Lance, you distance yourself from her." Oliver turned away from the man and let out a deep sigh. Alex glanced back to Thea who looked slightly nervous about the request. "Look I'm sorry to have brought this up here, but I think it's something to keep in mind."

"Well besides this whole Laurel thing, what else concerns you?" Thea asked, hoping to find a situation they could easily tackle. Alex looked over to the woman, before spotting Katie who was speaking with someone and laughing. Thea followed his eyes and quirked a brow. "It's about Twinkie-" the man turned to her with a quirked brow at the nickname. "Katie?" Oliver turned back to the pair before over to Katie as well.

"There will be a question about your commitment to this city." Oliver turned back to the man actually shook his his head. "Once again there will be no question if it will happen, it's going happen."

"Why would they question that?" Thea asked.

"Because I'm dating a woman and we're having a baby, and we're not married."

"Look we live in a diverse city, where families come in all forms. So there will be a portion of this city who has no problem with the unmarried Mayor and his pregnant girlfriend, but there will be a greater percentage that questions how you can commit to this city when you can't even make a commitment to the woman you say you love." Oliver looked at the man for a moment before turning, this time meeting Katie's eyes. She gave him a smile that he couldn't help but to return. "But these are all things we can talk about in a formal meeting. You should-" Oliver didn't even wait for the man to continue before walking over to Katie. "Maybe I should go?" he turned back to Thea.

"No, stay. There's free food and drinks and apparently there will be a game." the woman gave the man a pat on the shoulder before leaving his side as well.

Oliver brought his arms around the woman, who looked up to his eyes and seeing that something may have upset him.

"Everything alright?"

"Yeah." Oliver replied placing a kiss to the woman's lips. "Everything is perfect."

"Alright everyone, can I have your attention?!" they both turned to see Felicity standing on the stage they didn't think would be used at this party. "I want to thank you all for coming, but no good baby shower, I mean push party is complete without a couple of games. Can I ask the parents-to-be to come to the stage?"

"I say we make a break for it." Katie whispered to Oliver. "Sneak out and no will ever-"

"Oh there you two are." Felicity said spotting the couple in the crowd. "Why don't you two come on up here."

"So much for escaping." Oliver said taking Katie's hand and leading her to the stage.

"Why do I feel like you're enjoying this?" Katie asked and Oliver laughed. Once on stage, Felicity had them sit in two chairs that were labeled with their names. They sat across from each other, both seeming nervous about what this game could be.

"Alright, this first game is for the couple and all of you out there. It's a bit of trivia-" she heard some collective groans from the audience and she frowned slightly. "It's cool trivia though, about Oliver and Katie. Don't worry this will be fun. There are little note pads and pencils around, so grab one. Now the object of the game is, Oliver and Katie should be the first persons with the answers, but if one of you has the answer before them, shout it out and then one of you will get a prize. Everyone get how it works?"

"Where are the strippers!" someone called from the crowd.

"This isn't a bachelor party." Felicity sighed before grabbing her own note cards to ready the first question. She turned to he couple with a smile. "Alright, Oliver, in her entire life, Katie has only owned one pet. According to her, it was her first best friend."

"So that's why Thea was asking me all those questions?" Katie asked with a shake of her head.

"Wait, what's the question?" Oliver asked.

"Right, so what kind of animal was it, and what was it's name?" Felicity asked and all eyes looked to Oliver who turned to Katie hoping for a clue. Katie folded her arms over her chest, and Oliver had absolutely no clue.

"Was it gerbil?" Oliver asked and Katie just shook her head.

"Got it!" someone yelled from the crowd.

"This game may be more interesting than I thought." Katie says looking over to Oliver who laughed before turning to Felicity.

"Why do I feel like this game is set up for me to fail?"

The game was actually kind of a hit. Mostly because of how comical the couple was when one of them missed a question they thought the other should know. The crowd would watch their little arguments between questions.

Once the game was over, Oliver and Katie snuck away walking hand in hand along the trail looking out to the flowers that blew in the wind.

"You're smiling." Oliver said looking over to the woman who'd been wearing the smile for the better part of the day. "So were Felicity and Thea right in dragging you to this party?"

"Those words will never leave my lips." Katie replied letting out a sigh as she looked back out to the scene. "When I was a little girl, my parents dragged me to some charity function here. I so didn't want to come, but then we got here and I couldn't believe how beautiful this place was. It's why I-" she stopped, because the topic of marriage and their almost wedding seemed to never come up and she's not sure if she should bring it up now.

"Why, what?"

"Oh-" Katie says pulling from Oliver grasp and pointed further along the trail toward the tall hedge maze. "We have to go in there." she was already rushing toward the maze, and Oliver had to speed up to catch up to her.

"Twinkie, I don't think-" she was already walking inside, and he had to hurry to catch up to her. The moment he walked inside the maze his eyes searched for the woman only to find she was no where in sight. "Twinkie?!"

"Liver, I'm here. I turned somewhere." he heard her voice call. He began walking in hopes of finding his way back to her.

"How does someone who gets so easily lost, like mazes?" Oliver asked, as he continued moving, listening for movement around him.

"I don't know. I think it's the puzzle of it all." Katie replied as she slowly moved stopping at an intersection in the maze. She looked left and then right and both directions looked exactly the same. "It's a big guessing game. Much like our lives." she shook her head before just going right.

"I like to know where I'm going though." Oliver replied stopping at an intersection as well. He quirked a brow trying to decide which way he should turn. "Keep talking."

"What happened with your new political strategist?" Katie asked stopping when it felt like she was moving in circles. "You didn't look too happy after you left him."

"No, I'm just realizing that I'm going to have to be worried about those lines between my life as the possible Mayor and my personal life." he replied and he heard her snort.

"Starting to realize. Liver, you're opening that door wider to our lives. Everyone is going to have an opinion about everything."

"Yeah, I'm getting that." Oliver replied turning in the direction he thinks her voice had came from.

'What did he suggest?"

"He's afraid the whole Sara, Laurel, Queen's Gambit thing is going to come up, so he thinks I should distance myself from Laurel." Oliver waited for Katie to say something, but there was nothing. "I mean it makes sense I guess. My friendship with Laurel is... complicated." this wasn't exactly a conversation he wanted to have with Katie, especially with the history they've had with Laurel Lance. "Maybe it would be for the best."

"Seriously?" Katie asked and Oliver stopped walking. Her voice seemed closer that time, and he was at another intersection. "Liver, I get the whole love triangle between you, Laurel and Sara is a subject I will forever choose not to discuss, but that's in the past and right now Laurel is your friend, she's my friend. Complicated is not enough to end a friendship because if it was, you and me wouldn't be here right now." she let out a huff as she began looking between the two ends of the area she was in, because she had no idea which way to turn.

"You know I should hire you as my political strategist." he said and he heard her laugh. "What? Your opinion means the most to me than anyone else, you usually point me in the right direction, and-"

"That would never work because I believe too many of our meetings would end with us naked in your office. We would never get any work done." she smiled at the sound of a groan from from the man. "Why haven't you found me yet, Liver?" Katie once again turned and began walking, before she suddenly bumps into the man, who lets out a sigh of relief before bringing his arms around her.

"You should tell me more about these naked meetings." Oliver said, his lips already leaning into meet hers.

"Wait-" Katie pulled back, turning her head slightly. "Do you hear that?" Oliver turned his head, hearing something. He took Katie's hand, pulling her with him as he continued through the maze, until they finally reached the center, where a flowing pond sat beautifully surrounded by flowers and two stone benches. "We made it." Oliver turned back to the woman who turned back to him with a smile and he couldn't help but feel that this was the moment.

"What were you going to say before?" Oliver asked and Katie quirked a brow. "You said you saw how beautiful this place was and it's why you did something."

"It doesn't matter." Katie replied dropping her head to his chest as she looked down to the pond.

"It's why you chose this place for our wedding." Oliver finally said, deciding face the truth. "June 18th." Katie lifted her head and looked up to the man. "I never forgot." he took her hand, and placed a soft kiss to her knuckles before taking a step back, about to drop to his knee, when naturally the moment was ruined.

"Help!" a voice called and both Oliver and Katie turned at the sound of the familiar voice. "Is somebody out there?"

"Ralph?" Katie and Oliver both say.

"Oh thank goodness. I made a wrong turn somewhere, and now I'm super lost and I can't find my pants."

"I guess it's not a party until you have to find Ralph and his pants." Oliver says turning back to Katie, letting out a sigh at yet another ruined moment. He definitely didn't want Ralph Higgins associated with their engagement at all.

"If he calls me Twink Twink, I'm going to punch him." Katie says heading back into the maze. Oliver rushed off after her, not wanting to get separated again.

That evening, Oliver and Katie walked into their house tired and ready to turn in, but there was one more surprise. Katie was about to head up the stairs, when Oliver brought his arms around her stopping her.

"What are you doing?"

"I have a surprise for you." Oliver said placing a kiss to the woman's neck. "You have to close your eyes."

"But I hate surprises." Katie whined as she dropped her head back to Oliver's chest.

"You're going to love this one." the man replied, and Katie sighed dramatically before closing her eyes. Oliver took her hand and lead her up the stairs. They walked down the hall until they stopped outside the familiar door of the nursery. Oliver reached forward and pushed open the door and switched on the light. "Alright, open them." Katie opened her eyes, a smile forming instantly at the sight.

"Oliver Queen, did you finally conquer your fear of baby cribs?" she walked inside, sliding a hand across the beautiful oak crib. She looked inside at the blankets and the stuffed animals before smiling over to Oliver. "This is beautiful. This-" she looked around the nursery that was now completely painted and decorated. "This is her room." Katie once again met Oliver's eyes. "Now I'm like super nervous." Oliver smiled walking over and wrapping his arms around her. "I mean look how long it took us to just finish this one room." she looked up to his eyes. "We can do this, right?"

"We can absolutely do this. We have gone up against some pretty big odds, and I have to believe this will be like the rest." his lips leaned in for a chaste kiss before dropping his forehead to hers. This was going to be the moment. There was no one who could interrupt this, and so he was going to try again. He took a deep breath before pulling back and taking her hand in his. "You know I couldn't imagine doing this with anyone else. I don't think I've ever been as happy as when I'm with you and when I'm not with you, I count the seconds until I am. Which is why there was never a question about who I wanted forever with and-" Oliver's phone rang in that precise moment, and he let out a groan. The universe really hated him for some reason. "I'm not going to answer it."

"It could be important."

"This is important." Oliver replied with a smile. "When I imagine forever, I will always think-" the phone continued to ring, and Oliver could slowly feel this perfect moment fleeting. He quickly pulled his phone from his pocket and answered it. "Yes!" he looked to Katie's eyes and sighed. "Thea, now isn't a good—when?" he dropped his head and Katie simply placed a hand on his cheek. He lifted his eyes to meet hers.

"It's fine, go." she whispered with a smile and Oliver almost wished she wasn't so understanding. He wanted her to give him an ultimatum, one he would gladly agree to because he didn't want to leave her and yet a murdering woman on the streets of Star City also needed his attention.

"Fine, I will meet you at the hide out." he ended the call and let out a huff. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? I get it." she placed a kiss to the man's lips and sighed. "Now go, be the hero I know you are. I'm going to go take that bath." she pulled out of his grasp and Oliver turned watching her leave. This small voice in his head was just screaming at him to just ask her. To stop letting these distractions stop him from doing the one thing he really wants to do. And yet he didn't stop her, he just lets her leave and he wants to just kick himself.

Thea could tell her brother was not happy the moment he stormed inside, and headed straight for his hood.

"Sorry to have called so late." Thea said meekly, but Oliver didn't say a word. "You'd been looking into this woman in Pennytown and I thought-"

"Thea, it's fine." Oliver replied looking back to his sister. "It's what I do. I find murderers instead of finishing a marriage proposal to my girlfriend." he shook his head before turning back to grab his suit.

"Please don't tell me I interrupted the proposal?" the woman said taking a step forward. "Ollie, why didn't you just ignore the call?" he looked back to his sister. "Fine, murder is kind of a big deal, but if you finally worked up the courage to ask Twinkie to marry you, I would've understood."

"I was this close at the party, but Ralph Higgins popped up without pants and just ruined it." Oliver said. "Then there was Alex. I didn't want him or what people thought dictate that moment for us. We were in the nursery and the moment felt right, but-" Oliver shook his head before grabbing his gear. "I'll be ready in five."

Katie sat at her vanity after her bath, brushing her hair, her mind drifting to the moments back in the nursery when she thought for sure Oliver was going to ask her to marry him and once again he's interrupted and just gives up. She simply shakes her head before hearing the sound of her vibrating phone. She turns and spots it on the bedside table before walking over and looking down to a number she doesn't expect to see. She quickly brings it to her ear.

"Ms. Sandburg?"

"Yes, Dr. Robins, I'm so sorry for calling so late. It's just I have some great news. We have decided that placing Arianna in your custody would be in her best interest." Katie turned taking a seat on the edge of the bed, unsure if she'd just heard the woman correctly.

"I'm sorry, did you just say you're making me Arianna's guardian?"

"If you're still interested."

"I am, it's just after our meeting with you and your team telling me how unsafe my life is, and then me blowing up the way I did, I just thought this wouldn't happen."

"To be honest neither did I. But it was those last words you said before you left. You said that you had love to offer this child and I believed you. I've spent time with Arianna, and I know her living situation wasn't ideal, especially after her father passed away. There was always something missing for her there, and that's the argument I defended to our council here. But they want to give you a shot, at first it will be temporary, but if things go well I see no reason this can't be a permanent thing."

"Ok, wow, this...this is kind of unbelievable. What now?"

"There are some papers that you will need to fill out, we can go over her file and get you caught up with her school and her medical information."

"Have you told her about this?"

"I have and she said she liked this idea better than a foster home. I think she's going to give this a shot."

"That's great, when do we meet?"

"I still have some things to get run by the court. How does Monday sound?"

"Perfect, I will be there."

"Great, I will have my assistant call you with a time. Once again doctor, I really do admire what you're doing and I hope this works. For Arianna's sake."

"Me too. Thank you."

Katie ended the call, and just sat there still in a state of shock at the news. After a few moments, she figured she should fill Oliver in, and so she dialed his number.

Oliver, Thea, and Laurel stalked inside the hideout. Oliver pulled off his mask and dropped his bow and quiver to the table before turning to Laurel.

"Your sister's alive, she's out there, and she's hurting people." Oliver waited for Laurel to explain, but she simply stared at him, her arms folded over her chest. "How is she alive?" still not a word and then it hit him. "The Lazarus Pit?" he glanced over to his sister and sighed. "You two spent your spa weekend at Nanda Parbat?"

"It was the only place we could get a reservation." Thea jokes, hoping to cut the tension in the room.

"The blood lust is worse with Sara, isn't it?" Oliver asked turning back to Laurel, waiting for her to explain herself. "Because you brought her back from death."

"Yeah, and that's not the only problem. Sara's not herself. She's changed." Laurel finally spoke.

"Why didn't you come to me with this?" Oliver sighed, sliding a hand over his face and the question seemed to annoy the woman.

"Come to you for what?" Laurel asked. "Your expertise with magical resurrection? Or that judgmental look on your face?"

"For help finding her, Laurel, before she gets hurt, or she hurts anyone else." Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "And if I have a judgmental look on my face right now, it's because you played with forces that you do not understand, and now people are dying because of it." with that the man stalked away from the woman. He'd only taken a few steps before his phone rang. He slipped it from inside his hood to see Katie's number and he quickly answered. "Hey, are you alright?"

" _You know, a hey Twinkie is a better greeting."_ Katie said and the man let out a sigh. " _What's wrong? That's your upset sigh. Do I have to beat someone up, because I will."_ that made the man laugh.

"I don't think it's going to get that far. Tonight just didn't go as I expected."

" _You find the Pennytown Mistress?"_

"The who?"

" _Just testing it out, but did you catch her?"_

"No she got away. I will tell you everything when I get home. What's up?"

" _I got a call from Ms. Sandburg. Apparently they've had a change of heart and they want to give me custody of Ari."_ There was a few beats of silence before Oliver finally spoke.

"That's...that's great." the lack of enthusiasm in his tone was painfully obvious. He knows she heard too.

" _Why doesn't that sound like it's great? Are you having second thoughts about this?"_

"No, I just, tonight was rough. I'm just tired." was his reply.

" _Well, when are you coming home?"_

"I honestly don't know." Oliver sighed as he walked into the bathroom and let his back fall against the door. "Twinkie, I'm sorry."

" _Stop apologizing, Liver. It's fine, I should be getting to bed anyway. I guess I will see you in the morning."_

"I love you." Oliver said, needing her say it back, needing not to feel so guilty right now.

" _I love you too."_ she replied. " _I'm going to go. I will see you later I guess."_ with that she ended the call and Oliver just stood there, not feeling any less guilty.

Once Oliver had changed, he walked out to now find Felicity standing there, looking down to her phone, his sister and Laurel no where in sight.

"Hey." he greeted and the woman seemed to jump in surprise. "Sorry, I thought you knew I was here."

"I did, I just-" the woman shook her head. "It's been a very complicated couple of days."

"Tell me about it. Did you see Laurel or my sister?"

"Laurel was gone before I got here, but Thea filled me in. And I got a call from Lance, he's on his way here."

"Right." Oliver sighed before he walked over to return his hood to the case. "Do you have any information on those two women Sara almost killed?"

"Uh, no, but I can." Felicity replied going over to her computer. She glanced over to the man as she sat down. "Have you told Katie about Sara?"

"Not yet." Oliver muttered with a shake of his head.

"It's just as it turns out, she's still our resident Nanda Parbat guru, she may be able to shed some light on what's happening with Sara." Felicity looked over to Oliver who now stood in front of the Guardian's suit.

"I chickened out." Oliver said suddenly. "We were in the nursery, I showed her the crib and the moment was perfect. Then my phone rang."

"Oh Oliver." Felicity groaned. "Number one rule with a proposal, turn off the cell phone. Take the battery out and just throw it across the room."

"I know." he replied in frustration as he walked over to her. "But I answered, and then afterwards there was still time, still a chance to just finally ask, and I choked."

"Ok, so I guess the logical thing to ask is why." Felicity said turning to face the man. "What are you afraid of?"

"I don't know." Oliver muttered with a shake of his head. "I really don't know."

_Katie sat in the backseat of a car, glancing between the strange blonde women who apparently knew her, and the driver who still hadn't uttered a word. The woman, Dr. Quinzel Katie remembers, looks back to Katie with a smile._

_"We're almost there. It's going to feel so good to get home." she said and Katie looked back out the window, still not finding any familiarity with this entire situation. Soon they arrived at a gate, and her eyes looked at the dark, ominous building. "We're here." once the car stopped, the last thing Katie wanted to do was get out of the car, but soon her door opened and Dr. Quinzel stood staring down to her. "Don't worry, I won't leave you." It was oddly reassuring as she held out a hand, and for some reason Katie believe her sincerity. Katie took the woman's hand and stepped out of the car, her eyes going up to the illuminated Arkham Asylum sign that loomed overhead._

_"What is this place?" Katie asked turning to the doctor._

_"It's the place people come to get better." the woman brought an arm around Katie and lead her up the brick steps. "C'mon, lets get you to your room." Katie once again looked up to the sign, and couldn't shake the feeling that something just wasn't right._

Katie's eyes snapped open from the strange dream wondering why such memories were choosing now to come back to her. She glanced over to Oliver's side of the bed to find it still empty, and she let out a sigh before turning and looking at the clock. It was still late, but she hoped he'd be home already. She sat up from the bed about to go to the bathroom, when her phone rang. She looked down to the number, her eyes going wide before she quickly answered it.

"It's four o'clock in the morning Ethan, and you're calling me. What's wrong?"

" _It's Thea, she was just brought in."_

Katie didn't hear a word after that, because soon she was up and dressed and in her car, on her way to GMH. The moment Katie walked through the doors of the hospital, her eyes darted across the building looking for Ethan. The moment she sees him, she rushes over.

"Ethan, where is she?"

"Hey, calm down, she's fine." Ethan says placing a hand on Katie's shoulder. "I would've told you that if you didn't hang up the phone immediately after I told you she was here."

"Well next time start with that instead of the bad news!" Katie snapped, letting out a huff. She could feel her heart racing. "What happened?"

"She was attacked at Laurel's place." Ethan replied and Katie frowned in confusion.

"By who?" Ethan seemed hesitant to answer that question. "Ethan-"

"Twinkie?" Katie turned to see Oliver hurrying in her direction. "When did you get here?"

"Just now, Ethan called." Katie replied as they turned back to Ethan.

"How is she doing?" Oliver asked.

"She's fine. Some bumps and bruises, but she's going to live. I gave her something for the pain, so when you go in there she might be a little out of it." Ethan recounted before pointing to the door to his right. "She's in here. I'm going to keep her for a little while for observation, just to make sure there aren't any latent effects." the doctor gave a nod before turning to leave, but Katie caught his arm.

"You still haven't told me who did this." Katie replied and Ethan glanced over to Oliver, still unsure if he should be the one to tell her. Katie glanced over to Oliver as well. "What aren't you telling me?"

Soon Katie stood staring down to the sleeping form of Thea Queen. Her eyes lingered on the bruises on her neck, from an attempted strangulation. Her mind replaying the story that Oliver just told her moments before about Thea and Laurel going to Nanda Parbat with Sara's corpse and using the Lazarus Pit to bring her back.

She felt Oliver's hand along her back and she glanced over to him wordlessly. Since his story she hadn't responded, hadn't reacted and that was because she had no idea how one should react to this.

"Twinkie, say something." Oliver said and Katie shook her head before turning back to Thea who suddenly moaned as she began to wake up. Oliver rushed to his sister's side, and Katie took a slight step back to give them some space. "Hey, hey, how are you feeling?"

"Uh-" Thea was still a bit out of it, so she took a deep breath. "Sara, she-" Thea turned to her brother before looking over to Katie.

"I know, you're ok." Oliver assured her taking her hand. "You're safe."

"She tried to kill me." Thea said looking back to her brother.

"She's not in her right mind." Oliver sighed.

"You have no idea." Thea said with a shake of her head. "This is the Pit. She's going through the same thing I am."

"I-" Oliver looked down to his sister confused. "Thea, I thought that you were better." Thea turned away from her brother with a sigh.

"When I went to Nanda Parbat, I... killed two guys. Malcolm-" Katie shook her head before walking over to stand by the window. "Malcolm served them up on a platter for me, and... helped keep my blood lust at bay."

Suddenly the door swings open and they all turn to see Laurel who stares with wide eyes at Thea. She'd gotten the call from Ethan and rushed right over.

"Oh my God." Laurel exclaimed. "Thank God you're alright." she glanced over to Oliver and then to Katie who turned away to look out the window.

"Laurel-" Oliver said, the tension clear in his voice as he stalks toward the woman. "Come with me." the pair walked outside, closing the door behind them leaving Thea and Katie alone. Thea looked over to Katie, still waiting for the woman to say something.

"Are you mad at me?" Thea finally asked, but Katie still didn't say anything. "I'm sorry, I-"

"Thea, stop." Katie finally spoke, walking over and taking a seat in the chair beside the woman's bed. "Why are you apologizing?"

"Because—because we went to Nanda Parbat, and didn't say anything and it was stupid and dangerous, but-" Thea turned away unable to finish the sentence.

"But you wanted your life back. You wanted to be you again." Katie said and Thea turned to her and simply nodded. "I get it. I understand why you did what you did." Katie gave the woman a slight smile before standing to her feet and walking over to stand by the window once again.

"But you're mad at me." Thea said as she stared at the woman.

"No I'm mad at the situation. At the fact that Ra's Al Ghul is dead, and yet Nanda Parbat is still tangled in our lives." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "I'm mad that your father is an asshole, and I'm sorry if that offends you."

"It doesn't." Katie turned back to the woman and shook her head. "I just—I could feel it. The darkness, it was taking over and I couldn't control it."

"Like I said, I understand why you did what you did." Katie replied with a nod before nudging her head to the door. "I'm going to check on your brother and Laurel." Katie walked over pulling open the door and spotting the pair further down the hall.

"I'm sorry about what happened to Thea. I really am. I love your family-" Laurel said, tears in her eyes. "I always have. I just wish that sometimes you would give a damn about mine." she stormed away from the man, stopping at the sight of Katie. "If you're here to say what I know you're going to say-"

"I'm not." Katie said with a shake of her head. "I'm really not." she took a step to the side, and Laurel looked slightly confused, but continued to leave. Once she was gone, Katie turned to Oliver who was upset as well. "So this was that rough night you were telling me about?"

"I just-" the man shook his head. "How am I the bad guy here? What she did, it was reckless. And she tried to compare it to what I did for Thea, when it was two different situations."

"Was it?" Katie asked and the man looked to her in confusion. "Both of you trying to save your sisters."

"My sister was still alive, Sara was dead."

"And yet what you did was just as reckless, and it was just as dangerous, but you were lucky."

"So you're actually taking her side on this?"

"Sides?" Katie scoffed with a shake of her head. " Sides, seriously? There are sides right now? Can we really afford to have sides right now when Thea is still in danger?" Katie took a deep breath and took a step toward the man. "I'm not taking sides, Liver. I'm saying the one thing you need to hear, in this very moment. That's what I do." with that she turned and walked away from him.

"Twinkie-"

"Bathroom." she called back to him.

Oliver watched her until she turned down the hall, and he dropped his head before walking back into his sister's room. He walked over, taking the seat beside her and gave her a slight smile.

"Is Twinkie still here?" Thea asked.

"Yeah, she went to the bathroom. She should be back soon." Oliver said dropping his head slightly before taking his sister's hand. "So you're really doing ok."

"I'm fine Ollie, really. How about you?" He looked at his sister with confusion at the question. "I just feel like this situation could have come at a better time. I feel like I messed up the whole proposal atmosphere you're trying to keep in the air." Oliver shook his head.

"We're fine. A lot of things are happening and I guess I'm trying to figure out how to just take it all in."

"You mean the baby?" Thea asked with a slight frown. "I mean I would've thought after all this time, you would've accepted that a baby is really coming."

"That's not it. The baby is big, and I'm nervous about it, but I'm more anxious than anything." he replied with a smile. "I can't wait to meet her."

"Then what is it?"

"Katie got a call tonight. It's been decided that she's going to get custody of her little cousin Arianna." Oliver let out a heavy sigh.

"I thought that was impossible after that meeting?"

"So did I." Oliver said sliding a hand across his face. "I was actually kind of relieved." he looked back to his sister. "And when she told me, I was an ass, and didn't say the right thing in that moment."

"I don't think she expects you to say the right thing." Thea replied taking her brother's hand. "I think she only expects honesty, and if you're having second thoughts about taking in this kid, then you should tell her." Oliver gave a nod.

Katie held her hands underneath the running water, just watching as it trickled through her fingers. Her mind seemed to be stuck on this situation where it seems they find themselves in the middle of some kind of crisis all the time.

" _Your silence will only dig you deeper." came the rasped voice of her ever present tormentor._ Katie lifted her eyes to the mirror to see the face of her uncle staring back to her. " _Do you remember the first time you stumbled upon the Lazarus Pit? How inquisitive you were? You warned your beloved of the effects, but he didn't listen. You would've warned that Lance girl as well, but you know she wouldn't have listened either. You've surrounded yourself with people who need to see for themselves instead of trusting the one person who actually knows the truth. You know Ta-er al-sahfer will not stop until she quenches her own blood lust with the death of the one who stole her life."_ he seemed to chuckle at the thought. _"You can't run from the darkness when you've planted yourself right in the middle of it."_

His voice seemed to stir something inside of her, an anger she thought she'd gotten over. She realized she hadn't when she slammed her fist into the glass of the mirror shattering it instantly. Her chest heaved as she pulled back her bloodied fist, his laughter only seeming to intensify.

"Oh my God." Katie turned to see Laurel who stood at the door, her eyes wide as she looked between the shattered mirror and Katie's bloody hand. She snapped out of her shock and rushed over to grab some paper towels before hurrying over to Katie and wrapping her hand. "Are you alright?" Katie didn't say a word as she pulled away from the woman and stalked toward the door. "You don't think I feel bad enough?" Katie stopped at the woman's words. "I know what Sara did to those women, and I know it's because of what I did. So if me guilty is what you want, if me angry at myself is what you want, then you don't have to wait any longer." Katie finally turned to the woman who had tears threatening to fall. "But you don't know how it feels. To have this person who is so much apart of you, just ripped away. I had the chance to have her back and I took it." Laurel waited for Katie to say something because when this moment happened, when everyone knew the truth she was positive the woman in front of her would have something to say. "Say something!"

"Say what, Laurel?"

"I don't know, something. You're supposed to judge me, tell me how stupid I was. You're supposed to berate me and make me feel even more guilty for Thea's attack. You're not supposed to stare at me in silence as if you don't have an opinion on all of this, when I know you do."

"Laurel the time for me to say anything should've been before all of this shit. But now...right now that all of the damage has been done, me saying anything would be pointless. So I'm going to go get my hand bandaged, and you just get your shit together and figure out how to find your sister." with that Katie turned and left the bathroom. It was Ethan who spotted her, rushing over the moment he saw the blood.

Oliver sat watching his sister once again drift off to sleep. He glanced over to the clock that hung on the wall and frowned. It had been a while since Katie went to the bathroom and he was starting to get worried. He stood to his feet just as the door opened. He turned only to see Laurel walk inside. She glanced over to Thea who was still sleeping, before nudging her head for Oliver to come to the hall.

"Laurel, what's-"

"It's Katie, she's down in the ER." Oliver's eyes went wide and without a word he turned, but Laurel grabbed his arm. "Wait, she's fine. The baby's fine, she just punched a mirror." Oliver turned back to her in confusion. "Ethan's taking care of her now." Oliver let out a heavy sigh as he slid a hand across his face. "I walked in right after she did it and it was strange. She acted like it was nothing. She didn't seem like herself-" Oliver turned a look back to her, and she dropped her head figuring she was last person who should say anything. "I will stay with Thea if you want to-" before she could finish, Oliver had taken off down the hall.

The moment Oliver stepped off the elevator, he rushed down the hall until he spotted Ethan who was speaking with a nurse. Ethan looked over to the man with a quirked brow before going over to him.

"Where is she?"

"Who-" Ethan sighed with a shake of his head. "Laurel told you."

"It doesn't matter who told me, where is she?" Oliver demanded once again.

"Look she told me not to call you. Her hand is fine, just scratched a bit. I got her in a room and told her to cool off a bit."

"Ethan, just tell me where she is?" Oliver was getting annoyed with having to ask the same question and not getting the answer he wanted.

"I just think she could use a little time to herself and-" Oliver took a very menacing step toward the doctor. "You know that doesn't scare me as much as you think it does." the man let out a sigh. "Fine, but you keep that room calm and mellow." he pointed down the hall. "She's in eighteen." Oliver turned and hurried down the door toward the room. "You're welcome!"

Oliver gently pushed open the door, only to find the woman standing near the window. She turned to him, and that's when he saw the bandage wrapped around her hand.

"No!" she said pointing at the man. "You're not supposed to be down here." she said with a shake her head before stalking toward the man, and grabbing his arm.

"Twinkie, what are you-" the woman pulled him toward the elevator, where she repeatedly pressed the button until the doors opened. Once they were inside, Oliver turned to her, but she kept her eyes on the doors. "What is going on?"

"Your sister is in danger, you don't leave her side until Sara is found." Katie said, and as soon as the doors were open, she stalked off, only for Oliver to rush in front of her to finally stop her. "Liver, we don't-"

"You punched a mirror." Oliver said and Katie just looked at him with a shrug.

"I did, and now can we-" she moved to continue to Thea's room, but Oliver brought an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Talk to me."

"There's nothing to say."

"Well obviously there is if you're punching mirrors." Oliver replied placing a hand on the side of the woman's cheek and nudging her eyes to meet his. "It's late, or like really early. Either way you should be resting and not dealing with this."

"I'm not leaving." Katie replied defiantly. "I'm fine, I punched a mirror. Sometimes I do that. But right now we should stick close to your sister because Sara will be back." Oliver opened his mouth to reply only to look up to see Laurel. Katie turned as well and rolled her eyes. "Seriously?" she pulled from Oliver's grasp and stalked to Thea's room.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." Laurel said glancing back to Katie before turning back to Oliver. "Is she alright?" Oliver's eyes stayed on the woman until she stepped inside of Thea's room. "You know I expected her to yell at me." Oliver looked back down to Laurel. "I expected her to yell and I was going to hate it because I knew it would all be true." the woman took in a deep breath. "What does it mean when she doesn't tell you how bad you screwed up?"

Katie walked into Thea's room to find the woman sleeping and she let out a tired sigh as she walked over to the woman. She placed a kiss to Thea's forehead before hearing the creak of the door. She turned expecting to see Oliver, but instead she saw a ghost.

"Sara?" Katie said, her eyes not believing the sight of the woman who looked exactly the same, and yet her eyes were of a stranger. Sara silently looked to Thea, who awaken and gasped.

"Twinkie, leave." Thea urged, but Katie didn't say anything as she kept her eyes on Sara. "Twinkie, you can't be hurt protecting me. I would never forgive myself, just leave and let her-" Thea turned back to Sara. "I'm sorry. I know I did this to you. I want you to know that it's ok. I want you to-"

"Thea stop talking." Katie says taking a step toward Sara, who growled and spoke something under her breath that Katie recognized as Arabic. "'urid musaeadatak." Sara growled eyeing Katie in a way, that made Thea sit up from the bed as if prepared to stand. "aldamu ln yunqidh ruhk." Sara only growled louder, before rushing over to Katie as if about to attack.

"Katie!" Thea yelled, only to watch in surprise as Sara simply came to a stop in front of the woman. Her eyes seemed to search Katie's as if looking for something.

"I'm sorry I didn't protect you." Katie whispered, just as the door burst open. Oliver and Laurel rushed inside, only to stop at the sight of Sara who turned to them. Her eyes went from her sister to Oliver, before she turned and ran toward the window, shattering it as she jumped out.

It was that moment did they realize that the hospital probably wasn't the safest place for Thea, and so she signed the papers to be released and they all returned to the hideout to figure out their next move. Katie found herself standing in front of the Guardian's suit while the rest of the team came to the conclusion she'd come to the moment Sara once again disappeared.

"You knew Sara would find Thea?" it was Oliver behind her who asked the question. "You were positive she would and that's why you were angry that I left her."

"Now you want to ask me something." Katie said turning, to find that Oliver wasn't alone. Thea, John, Laurel and Felicity all stood waiting for answers they knew she had.

"What can you tell us about the Lazarus Pit?" Ironically it was Laurel who asked the question and Katie would've laughed if the situation wasn't so sad. "Fine, I should've asked that question a long time ago, but I'm asking now."

"You spoke to her and she heard you." Thea said and Katie looked over to her. "You connected to something inside of her. How?"

"I would love to go into Lazarus Pit 101, but the truth is someone in this city will see the girl whose supposed to be dead, and that's not going to be pretty for anyone." Katie says before turning to Oliver who stared and she just shook her head. "I thought I heard the plan was to use Thea as bait?"

"Right now it's the only-"

"It's stupid and it's dangerous." Katie interrupted Thea's defense. "But it's the only way to draw her out now that your connection has gotten stronger." they all looked at her her in confusion. "You're the one who took her life. She killed those women in search of you, and once the two of you were finally in the same room, it only intensified the connection. This is how we capture her." They all stood there, still staring and Katie let out a sigh. "This is usually the part where someone says suit up and you all start moving." she took a step away from the display case. "I guess I'll do it this time then. Suit up!"

They knew she was right, and so soon they all rushed into action.

Once they were all suited up, Katie stood behind Felicity who sat at her computer. A hand touched her back and she turned to Oliver.

"You should be going." she said before turning back to see if Felicity had any luck locating Sara from the facial recon search she was running. Oliver's arm snaked around her and pulled her toward him. "What are you-" Oliver grabbed another chair and slid it over, and moving her to sit. "I'm fine-" the man stared, until she let out a huff and finally sat down. "Are you happy now?"

"You know I will be really happy when you tell me what's going on in your head." Oliver replied before placing a kiss on the top of her head. "Felicity you are in charge of her now." Oliver looked over to the blonde who turned and gave a nod. Katie glanced from the man to the woman.

"What does that mean?" Katie asked as Oliver headed out with the others. "Liver?" she turned back to Felicity with a quirked brow. "Smoaks-"

"It means you sit." Felicity replied with a sweet smile.

"Well what if I don't want to sit?" Katie asked and Felicity spun her chair around, crossing her arms as she looked at the woman with a look that even gave Katie a slight chill. "I taught you that look." Katie replied with a roll of her eyes. She closed her eyes and let out a long, deep breath.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I just, I think I should lie down for a second." This time when Katie stood, Felicity didn't try to stop her. The woman stepped inside the bedroom that seemed so out of place in this new hideout. At the moment she didn't care, as she crawled onto the bed, in hopes that the headache that had been consuming her would finally go away.

_Days in the fortress were starting to blur together. Katie wasn't sure how long she'd been trapped here, but she knew she just had to find a way to get home. She spent her days slipping from the eyes of Ra's assassins and searching for any way for her to escape._

_She'd found the room by accident. It was in a part of the fortress that wasn't occupied by many, and so she figured it could be the one place that could lead to her freedom. When she stepped inside, her eyes looked around to the candles that lined the walls and illuminated the room. Soon she heard the sound of water, and her eyes were drawn to what looked like some kind of pool. As she neared it, she felt a sudden twist of her gut. It should be reason enough for her to turn and leave, but it wasn't. There was something about it that both scared, and drew her in. Once she stood looking down to the waters that seem to be moving on it’s own, she tilted her head at the slight glow that seemed to come from it._

_"I should've known you'd find your way here at some point." The voice of man who calls himself the demon spoke, startling her. She whipped around to see him standing there alone as he begins inching toward her._

_"What is this?" Katie asked and the man chuckled and she shook her head before turning back to the water, and her eyes caught a glimpse of something that couldn't be. She could've sworn she saw the reflection of her mother. She was so distracted that she couldn't even stop Ra's when he grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to the water. "What are you doing?!" he didn't answer before he pushed her hand into the water. His eyes looked to her instantly as if waiting for something. She pulled back her hand, and stepped away from the man. "Why did you do that?" she looked at her hand as the water trickled down her fingers before she looked back over to the man who still seemed to be waiting for something to happen._

_"Sit." he ordered and she looked back to him as if he were crazy. "My dear Nura, you know the consequences of me having to ask more than once." she did know and that is why she lowered herself to the floor, still keeping a wary eye on the man. He walked over and lowered himself to sit in front of her, and the close proximity only made her more nervous. "That is called the Lazarus Pit." she looked at him with narrowed eyes, still not sure what this was about._

_"Why are you telling me this?"_

_"Because one day it will be important to you." he replied before continuing his story of the impossibility that sat just a few feet away._

Katie's eyes blinked open to have awakened from yet another memory she'd prefer to forget. She sat up from the bed, at the sound of voices from outside the room. She figured the others had returned and hopefully they had Sara. She stood to her feet, just as there was a knock at the door. She eyed the door in confusion trying to figure out which one of her friends would actually knock instead of just walk inside. Katie walked over and pulled opened the door, her eyes going wide at the face on the other side before she slammed it shut.

"C'mon, Luv, open up for an old friend." came the British voice that Katie assumed she would never hear again. She heard more voices, before the door opened, only it was Oliver who came inside.

"I'm sorry, that's-"

"John Constantine." Katie said and Oliver seemed surprised that she knew the man's name. "Why is John Constantine here?"

"I called him. I think he can help restore Sara's soul. Wait, how do you know him? I thought he was kidding when he said he knew you, but I guess he wasn't."

"He's-" Katie pointed toward the door, still unable to believe that the man was really here. She shook her head before walking around Oliver, out of the room until she saw him again. He turned to her and he looked exactly the same since she last saw him. Constantine looked over the woman with a smile before walking over and bringing his arms around her in a hug. "Why are you touching me?"

"That's what old mates do." he pulled back, and looked down to her stomach and just shook his head. "You know when she said I was playing a part in a bigger story, I didn't believe her, but now I guess I was wrong." he looked back up to Katie's eyes.

"Wait, so you know the weird English guy?" Felicity asked as they all watched the exchange between the pair. "How?"

"Well I saved her life." Constantine answered looking over to Felicity.

"Right before you handed me back over to ARGUS." Katie replied and the man turned back to her and shook his head. "I thought you were a friend with a weird name, but instead you were just an asshole with a weird name." Katie turned finally spotting Sara lying unconscious on the table, Laurel staring down to her. She walked over, looking down to the woman, who looked as if she were sleeping. "You know how to help her?" she looked over to Constantine who gave her a nod. "Well then move your ass."

"Always a sweet talker." Constantine reached inside of his pocket and pulled out a small scrolled and turned handing it to Felicity. "Apologies. I didn't have time to translate that from its original Aramaic." Felicity just shook her head before going off to find the items. "You know, if I knew you were surrounded by so many pretty girls, Oliver, I would have stopped by sooner." Oliver just shook his head at the man before turning to Katie who took Sara's hand and continued to look down to her. He glanced over to Constantine who seemed to be watching her as well as if looking for something. He walked over to the man, grabbing his arm and pulling him off to the side away from the others.

"You want to tell me how you know my girlfriend?"

"You know about that, I'm all for living life the way you want, but you don't knock up a woman like that and still call her your girlfriend." Oliver glared at the man, taking a step toward him. "Look I knew her mum. We went way back." the man glanced over to Katie. "I owed her a favor and it ended up being something else."

"What do you mean?"

"She wanted me to see it." Constantine replied cryptically before walking back over to where Sara's body was where Katie was now alone. He looked over to Katie, whose hand slipped around the woman's wrist to measure her pulse. She noticed him staring and frowned slightly. "Feels like an eternity since we last saw each other. So beside the little biscuit in the oven, anything else new?"

"Like what?" Katie asked walking around to the other side of Sara's body to check for any wounds or broken bones.

"Anything. New job? Bought a dog? Seeing dead people?" Katie whipped her eyes to him. "I knew it."

"You knew what?"

"I'm going to need you later." he replied with a smile before giving her a pat on the shoulder. "So don't go too far." with that the man ran off leaving Katie utterly confused.

Surprisingly it didn't take Felicity long to translate and gather the items Constantine needed to restore Sara's soul. Everyone watched as he drew a symbol in the center of the lair, and placed four candles outside of it. Oliver carried Sara over, placing her in the center of the symbol.

The sound of the elevator caused them all to turn where they saw Quentin whose eyes went wide at the sight of his daughter in the center of some strange symbol drawn on the floor.

"I'm not even going to ask." the man said his eyes still on his baby girl.

"You got my message." Laurel said walking over to her father and giving him a hug. "I'm happy you came."

"I hate to be the one to say this, but what if this goes wrong?" Diggle asks looking over to Constantine who looks over the symbol and Sara's placement to make sure everything is right.

"Oh, don't worry. If things go wrong, then we'll all be too dead to care. Well, then. Now we just need a-" the man glanced around just as Felicity brought him the ingredients he requested.

"I think I got everything in here that you wanted, although I am not entirely sure what you need a dead peacock feather for." Felicity handed them to him, and watched as he took the feather to scratch his back.

"Ah, that's been bugging me for hours." he said before handing the feather back to Felicity who grimaced before placing it on the table. "Alright, where is my lovely assistant?" the man searched the room before turning to Oliver. "Where's your girl, I'm going to need her help?"

"You said you could do this." Oliver said walking over to the man. "Katie does not get involved with whatever this is. I'm not risking her or the baby. Especially when we could all be dead if this goes wrong."

"You know, I get your concern but I think you should know that she can handle it." Constantine said giving the man a pat on the shoulder before once again looking around. "Is she hiding? Come out you big scaredy cat!"

"I wasn't hiding." Katie said as she walked from the bathroom. "I just have to pee every five minutes." she said walking up to the man and looking down to Sara in the circle, and she couldn't explain the weird energy that seemed hit her in that moment. "What do you need me to do?"

"Hey, I don't feel comfortable with you doing this." Oliver said looking over to the man, and then down to Sara. "This is all a bit out of our element, but if it helps bring Sara back we'll give it a shot, but I draw the line with having the mother of my unborn child in the middle of this."

"Wait, you draw the line?" Katie asked turning to the man. "Since when do you-"

"Fine." Constantine said and they both turned to him. "I will do this on my own. I have enough juice to only send myself and two of you to the other realm."

"I think you should wait in the other room." Oliver said turning back to Katie who he knew was about to argue. "I know you want to help Sara, but right now forces beyond my comprehension are about to be used and if this goes bad, I want you and her as far away from it as possible. Please, just do this for me." Katie looked up to him before looking over to Constantine who gave a her a wink which she didn't understand at first. "Twinkie-"

"Ok." she replied turning back to Oliver. "You're right. We don't know what this stuff is all about, and being in the middle could be dangerous, so I will be in the other room. Just come get me when it's over." Oliver gave her a nod before pressing a kiss to her lips. He watched until she was gone before turning to Constantine who was also watching, but the man quickly turned back to the others.

Katie walked into the room, closing the door behind her before walking over and taking a seat on the bed. She placed her hands on her knees and took in a deep breath as she closed her eyes. The headache from before seemed to have turned into buzzing in her ears. She kept taking deep breaths, in and out, hoping it would just pass. There was something different about the air all of a sudden, and when Katie opened her eyes, there was a door, that was not there before, across from her. She stood to her feet in confusion, looking around to see that everything else was in it's place, except for this door. She slowly walked over. For some reason, the rational part of her brain just wasn't working. Because even though she knows there's no possible way for a door to just appear, she can't help but be curious to find what is on the other side. When she pulled open the door, she seemed to be pulled into a pool light and the next thing she knows, she's no longer in her room.

Her eyes look up and scan around the hall that she could never forget. It's as if she's found herself back in Nanda Parbat. She hears a scream, and she turns following the sound. The sight of Constantine in a sword fight with what seemed like one of the league's assassins stopped her.

"No-" she took a step forward. "Stop!" the moment the words came out of her mouth, everything in the room froze. Everything except for the man in the trench coat, who was currently out of breath.

"And this is why you were supposed to be my helpful assistant from the beginning." the man said looking over to her before looking around the room and stopping on the frozen forms of Laurel and Oliver who were reaching into the pool to save Sara. He turned back to Katie whose eyes looked over the room in confusion, and disbelief.

"This isn't real." she said backing away.

"Oh, it's real love." the man said and she turned to him with a quirked brow. "It's finally time for you to accept that." he looked over his shoulder. "But later, the longer we're here the harder it is to get out of here. So if you don't mind-" he nodded toward her and Katie wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, but if one word could do this, then there had to be another to undo it.

"Ok." she took a deep breath. "Go." the assassin unfroze, and Constantine didn't hesitate to drive his sword through his chest. They turned back to Oliver and Laurel who seemed to be struggling to pull Sara from the Lazarus Pit. Without thinking, Katie rushed over, leaning over the side, and sticking her hand into the waters, instantly calming them and allowing Oliver and Laurel to pull her free. The moment Sara is out of the water, Oliver, Laurel, Sara and Constantine just disappear, and Katie finds herself alone, and confused. The bodies that lined the ground disappear as well and Katie stands to her feet, her hand cradling her belly, suddenly scared.

"Don't worry." Katie turned at the sound of a voice she hadn't heard in what felt like ages. She looked over to the door as another face from her past seemed to appear. Only this one she didn't mind seeing. A smile came to her face as she hurried over to the man, and threw her arms around him in a hug. "It's good to see you too Twinkie."

"Tommy." Katie says pulling back to see his face, still not able to believe she was looking at him right now. "How...why...this is certifiable Twinkie, right? Like I've just lost all of my marbles." the man laughed and the sound made her smile. "You know I really miss you and your annoying face."

"Well your face is more annoying than mine. Plus I'm always around, to witness all these awesome moments, like-" he took a step back, and looked down to Katie's pregnant belly. "Ollie and Twinkie having a baby." he smiled.

"How are you here?" Katie asked and the man met her eyes and just shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't know. There was a door and when I walked through it I saw you looking kind of scared, which makes sense in a place like this." he looked around the room and then over to the Lazarus Pit.

"Wait, am I dead right now, because that would explain so much." that made him erupt with laughter, but he shook his head.

"No, you're not dead, but I do think you should probably get out of here." The walls around them began to crack, and they heard the sound of something crashing. Katie turned back to the man and gave him another hug. "Things are going to start to change, and you can't hide from it anymore. It's who you are."

"Tommy?" she pulled back from the man needing to ask more questions, but she felt herself being pulled away. "Tommy, I don't understand, what's happening?"

"You're going to finally see it." the man replied with a smile, as a light seemed to appear around the woman.

"See what?"

"Your purpose."

And in the blink of an eye Katie found herself standing back in the room, her entire body still buzzing. She slid a hand across her belly at the feeling of her baby in a fit of kicking. Suddenly the door burst open, and Katie turned with a gasp to see Oliver standing there, quite out of breath. He looked around the room for a moment before turning back to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked taking a step toward him. "Did it not work?"

"No, it did." Oliver replied still staring at the woman as if looking for something. "It's just-" he shook his head. "When Constantine took us to find her, I could've sworn-" Katie stared at him in confusion and the man simply shook his head, figuring that seeing her was just apart of the illusion. Katie placed her hands on the sides of his face, looking into his eyes.

"Are you alright? How do you feel? Light headed, nauseo-" her words were suddenly stolen by his lips crashing into hers. As usual, the world around them seemed to just disappear around them. Oliver pulled her as close as possible, and when her belly touched him, he felt the movement against his skin. He pulled back, slightly his hand reaching down to her belly, and smiling widely.

"I'm perfect." he looked up to her eyes about to kiss her once again, when there is a sudden knock that interrupts the moment.

"Sorry to bother-" comes the annoying British voice of John Constantine and the couple turns to him. "But the whole putting humpty dumpty back together again can be hit or miss, so I kind of figured-" he looked over to Katie who nodded in understanding.

"I should go check on her." Katie replied before hurrying out of the room. Oliver let out a sigh before turning to Constantine with an obvious look of annoyance.

"Sorry mate, but you don't ask a woman to marry you after resurrecting an old flame. Totally the wrong moment." the man said with a half smile. "You'll thank me later."

The moment Katie walked out and saw Sara, in a tight embrace with her father, she froze because she didn't think a moment like this was possible. A moment where death can be overcame without a price. When the pair pulled apart, Sara turned spotting Katie, a smile coming to her face as she slowly walks over.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Sara said and Katie laughed as she walked moved toward the woman as well. "You're bigger since I last saw you." The moment Katie was standing right in front of the woman, she still just couldn't believe it.

"I'm sorry." it was the only words she had for the woman after everything that has happened. "I promised you that I would protect you and-"

"It's not your fault and I don't blame you at all. I chose my loyalties, and those choices lead to my death." Sara replied before looking down to Katie's stomach. "Your choices lead you to a baby." she looked over to Katie's bare hand and frowned. "And no ring." she looked up to Katie's eyes. "I know I just got back, but do I need to beat him up."

"No, he's getting there I think." Katie replied before nudging her head toward the exam table. "C'mon let me make sure all the kings horses and all the kings men really put you back together correctly."

It was unbelievable, but Sara was fine. Better than fine. Once Katie gave the woman the clear, Laurel and her father took the woman back to Laurel's place. Katie was washing her hands when she felt someone staring at her. She knew exactly who it was.

"All of it was real." she said, turning to the man from her past who wore an annoying smile. "Like all of it. How is that possible?"

"You know in my line of work, I never can question what's possible." Constantine replied walking over to her. "Look I can't tell you everything, because I don't know everything about you. And even if I did, I probably wouldn't be able to say anything."

"Why not?"

"Because there's something inside of you that needs to be ignited and you have to be the one to do it." he replied and Katie looked over his shoulder to see Oliver walk over. Constantine glanced over his shoulder and smiled back to the man.

"You know you never told me how you found me that day. In that cabin in the middle of no where."

"I thought I did." Constantine said turning back to the woman. "Old friend told me."

"Yeah, and you said that old friend was my mother. I assumed you were lying."

"Why would you assume that? Sometimes the dead have as much a purpose as the living. There are those of us that can help them with that." he gave he woman a nod before turning to Oliver. "And I think I should be going."

"I'll walk you out." Oliver replied and Constantine gave the man a nod before following after him.

Katie stood there for a moment, holding onto the man's words before walking back over to join the others. She spotted Thea, and walked over.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Katie asked and Thea turned with a slight smile.

"Fine. The pain meds Ethan gave are top of the line. I'm going to have to buy him something." the woman replied before looking around for Oliver. "I thought my brother would be pulling you out of here by now. You seriously should be resting." she turned back to Katie before reaching out a hand to Katie's belly. "I'm sure my niece would appreciate it." she looked up meeting Katie's eyes. "We're alright, right? I'm just waiting for you or my brother to yell at me for-"

"Going to Nanda Parbat without telling anyone?" Katie asked and Thea gave a nod. "Like I told you before, I understand why you went."

"You still didn't answer my question." Thea replied and Katie let out a heavy sigh. "You punched a mirror. Why?"

"You quenched your blood lust going to Nanda Parbat. Laurel got her sister back." Katie shook her head as she turned back to the woman. "But people had to die for the two of you to get your happily ever afters. I'm not judging what either of you did, because I don't have the right to do that. I told you before, I'm just upset about the situation."

"The situation me and Laurel-"

"However corny this may sound, there really isn't an I in team. We all had some kind part in this decision, so I will say I'm upset at the situation we created." she placed a hand on Thea's shoulder and smiled. "But we will do better. We will make smart decisions and you and Laurel will not feel the need to hide secrets from us, from your family. Ok?"

"Ok." Thea replied with a smile, before suddenly wrapping her arms around Katie in a hug. "You're gonna be a great mom."

Soon, the night and days activities catch up to them, and the team begins to clear out, everyone heading home. Thea actually heads home with Katie and Oliver, letting the recently reunited Lance family have their time alone.

When Oliver opens the door, he steps aside to let in Katie and his sister.

"Is anyone else really hungry?" Thea asks, already headed toward the kitchen. Oliver chuckles with a shake of his head before turning to Katie who heads to the living room, and just drops to the couch to lay down.

"I think our bed is more comfortable than that couch right now." the man said walking over to her.

"And I agree one hundred percent, but right now I have a problem. And that problem are those stairs over there, and I just can't solve them right now. So the couch is going to be my friend." the woman turned, closing her eyes. "Can you close the shades, please?" Oliver shook his head before bending over and sliding his hands underneath the woman. "What are you-" she opened her eyes and turned, just as the man hiked her into his arms. "Oliver Queen, put me down, you can't carry me!" Oliver simply laughed as he walked toward the stairs, just as his sister walked from the kitchen, eating something from some tupperware, to see what was going on.

"We're going to bed." Oliver informed the woman.

"Ok." Thea said watching as her brother carried the woman upstairs.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Katie expected the man to place her back on her feet, but he actually continued toward their bedroom.

"You're unbelievable." she said turning to Oliver. "I'm a whale, and I know you can tell."

"What do you mean?" Oliver asked smiling to the woman. "You're as light as a feather." he kicked open their door, and carried Katie all the way to the bed, gently lying her down. "I mean why do you think I work out all the time?"

"I assumed to stay in enough shape to catch up to these bad guys in this city." Katie replied with a shrug.

"Nah." the man said pulling off his jacket. "It's so when the stairs are a problem for my girlfriend, I can help solve it. Because that's what I do. I'm like her hero."

"Are you, now?" the woman asked as the man slid on the bed beside her. She placed a hand on his cheek before bringing her lips to his.

"You punched a mirror." Oliver spoke, stopping the kiss. Katie let out a sigh, before shrugging. "Tell me why." she pulled back and folded her arms over her chest. "Twinkie-"

"I'm seeing him." Katie said turning back to Oliver. "My uncle. I keep seeing him and I-" she shook her head. "I don't know why. I mean he's dead. That chapter in our life is over, but for some reason there is something still holding on and I keep seeing him and he talks to me and-" she looks over to Oliver who stares back to her with a look she hates. He's worried, probably thinks she's insane and she really can't take the look and so she slides off the bed and stalks toward the bathroom.

"Twinkie, wait-" Oliver quickly catches her arm before she can retreat, but she pulls out of his grasp.

"I know what you're thinking." she says turning back to the man. "And you're probably right, but I'm handling it." she turns to go to the bathroom, needing to be alone.

"Do you think now is a good time to bring someone else into this?" Oliver asks and Katie turns to him with a quirked brow. He sees the hand she brings to her stomach, and he shakes his head. "Wait, no, that's not what I meant. I can't wait for our daughter to be here. But a baby coming here will be different than a teenager."

"You're talking about Arianna?" Katie asked. Oliver didn't respond right away, slightly worried about how this conversation would go. "You don't think we should take her in?"

"I just think with our lives, with this...seeing Ra's, it just risks exposure."

"Did you not hear the part where both of her parents are out of the picture, and I'm the only family she has?" Katie asked and Oliver dropped his head and that's how she knew that he still held the same opinion. "Ok." Oliver lifted his head to the woman with slightly wide eyes. "I hear you. Hear everything you're saying, and I agree there will be a level of risk having this girl come here and us having to hide who we are and what we do. And me having to hide how crazy I really am."

"Twinkie, that's not what I meant, I just-"

"The answer is no Oliver. You wanted to come back to Star City, and I supported the decision, you wanted to become Mayor, and I bank rolled it. Each one of those things hold just as much if not more risk of exposing who we are. Arianna is my family, and I will not turn my back on her. So this time you are going to support something I want to do, and if it blows up in our face, you can blame me. But until that happens, this is what we're doing." she simply gave a nod before turning and heading into the bathroom.

Katie went over to the sink, turning on the faucet and staring down to the water that ran down her fingers.

 _"Bravo."_ came his voice, and Katie lifted her head to see the man staring back at her from the mirror. _"I'm glad your backbone is finding it's way back to your life. Now you have to-"_

"You're here." Katie interrupted the man's rant. She tilted her head as she looked at him, saw how exactly the same he was, and yet she could just feel how different he was. "You're really here, just like my mother, and Tommy and Jeremy. They're not figments of my imagination. They're real, and for some reason I can see them. How?" he only smiled back to her, not answering her question. "Tell m—"

And in the blink of an eye, he was just gone. Katie shook her head turning back to the running water. A thought hit her, and so she let her hand cup a small pool of water before lifting it. She took a deep breath before slightly turning her hand and watching the water fall. "Stop." Katie backed away from the sink, her eyes locked on the stream of water just frozen in mid air.

There weren't many people who actually knocked on the door of the hidden safe house where the currently dying Jacob Robins now slept. Not a soul knocked that Martin didn't expect to come. It's' why the man now held his gun firmly in his hand as he crept toward the door.

"Just open the door, mate!" came a voice from the other side, that made Martin roll his eyes. He let out an annoyed sigh before reaching forward and pulling open the door. "Ah, look at you Marty. I like the new face by the way. It really suits you."

"What are you doing here John?"

"Well I know since mama Waller kicked you out of the clubhouse, you're a bit behind on the intel happening in the city-

"I know Oliver called you to help with that Sara Lance problem, but what I don't know is why you're standing here, right now."

"Well that's simple." John replied with a smile. "A friend asked me for one more favor before I left." John glanced up into the house. "So are you going to invite me in, or what?"

"Probably, or what?" Martin said and John chuckled. "What friend?"

"The kind of friend I can see and you can't." Constantine replied. "The kind of friend Jacob will be seeing soon if I don't help him." he looked back over to Martin. "She doesn't seem to think it's his time."

"She...as in..."

"You want to ask questions you already know the answers to, or are you going to let me in?" Martin looked at the man for a moment, before taking a step to the side to let the man in. "I always knew you were smarter than you looked. Now where is the bastard?"


	8. A Constant State of Being

**Chapter 8**

**A Constant State of Being**

_"Happiness is when what you think,_

_what you say, and what you do are in harmony."_

_-Mahatma Gandhi_

* * *

There are just some situations that are just hard to handle. Katie couldn't even think of where to start with her little...situation. How does one handle finding out that they can speak to the dead, or that they can stop things with a single word.

So until she figured out exactly how to deal with it, she would ignore it. For the moment anyways. Right now she had a company to run, a baby to finally coax out of her, and a teenager that would be arriving soon. There was just no time to dive into this new found crazy of hers. Which was hard at moment, especially when she was sitting in the office of her crazy doctor.

"So I guess we have to build our trust all over again." Nick spoke from his chair where he sat watching Katie who stood in her favorite spot in the office, by the window. "Lets start with simple. You're having a baby, that has to be a little scary."

"It is." Katie replied, her eyes on the park across the street.

"Is that why you're here?" Nick asked, still staring over to the woman. "You didn't say much when you made the appointment and now you're here and it's like you're paying me to stare out my window. Which is fine, but if I'm not needed, there is this sandwich shop down the street I've been dreaming about."

"Do they have good sandwiches?"

"Well yes they do, they actually-" Nick stopped because he noticed what she was doing. She was deflecting. "You can't be here to talk about sandwiches." Katie let out a sigh, and Nick looked down to his notes. "We haven't talked about Oliver."

"Why would we?"

"Because that topic you swore you would never discuss is now your boyfriend, and the father of your baby." Nick replied. "And I get the feeling he may be the reason you're here today."

"You think he's driving me nuts?"

"I believe he's the one person in your life that could get you to come back here when he sees you need some help."

"He doesn't know I'm here actually." Katie replied walking over to take the seat across from the doctor. "He suggested I see you, but I brushed it off and told him I didn't need a therapist."

"But you're here now, because you think you do?"

"No I'm here now because I don't know what I need." the woman shook her head, because that was the truth.

"Why did Oliver suggest you see me?"

"Because I told him something, something I think freaked him out and when he tried to get me to talk more about it, I wouldn't...I couldn't." She turned to see Nick silently staring at her.

"Hallucinations." Nick said and Katie turned away from him. She thought they were hallucinations, but she realized that maybe they weren't and she felt that made her crazier than before. "Who are you seeing?"

"My uncle-" Katie says turning back to the man. "He was a bad guy who did bad things, and he died." she shrugged. "I used to see my mom all the time, but now not so much lately."

"So your uncle, and your mom-" she watched as Nick scribbled something on his not pad. "Anyone else?" he looked back up to the woman and she just folded her arms with a shake of her head. "I'm trying to help. Hallucinations are one the notable symptoms of PTSD and-"

"I don't have PTSD." Katie replied angrily before turning to grab her purse and stand to her feet. "Some fucked up shit happened to me, but I got out and I'm fine, and having baby with the man I love. I'm fine."

"You were held captive for years by dangerous people who hurt you. Those emotions, those fears, they just don't go away because you're free. A part of that life is still holding on to you, still making you remember and-" Katie was half way to the door. "You came here for a reason!" she stopped but didn't turn to him. "You want help, someone to help you figure this out and I believe you want that to happen before your baby is born."

"You're right, I do want that to happen, but I really doubt you're the one who can help me right now." and with that, Katie hurried out.

She wanted to go home, and hide under her blankets, but she decided to distract herself with work. And so she ended up at RI, attending a few meetings while she was there.

"That's a stupid ass idea!"

Katie was snapped out of her thoughts by the outburst from the man on the other side of the boardroom table. They were currently having a meeting with her marketing team, and she was ashamed to say that she'd stopped paying attention after a while.

"You know what Allen, screw you!"

"Alright people-" Katie stood to her feet collecting her not pad and cell phone. "I'm going to leave before the brawl erupts." she looks over to Allen whose shaking his head. "Allen, I welcome all opinion, but only constructive criticism in this boardroom." She looked over to the young man who'd just given his presentation. "And Mr. Hall, just...go back to the drawing board and then call another meeting once it's fine tuned." she turned about to leave, but stopped and turned back to the man. "It's a good idea Mr. Hall, just figure out how to make it work in a way that makes sense, ok?"

"Yes, ma'am-" Katie quirked an eye at the man. "I mean yes, Katie." she gave the man a smile before finally turning and leaving the boardroom. As soon as she stepped out the door, Claire appeared at her side, holding a cup handing it to her.

"Your iced tea."

"Oh, thank you." Katie said taking the cup and looking over to the woman. "Did I ask you to get this? I don't remember-"

"You said that you wanted one, and so I got it. It's kind of my job."

"Well, you didn't have to. You're smarter than someone who gets beverages." Katie replied as they continued to her office. "Any messages?"

"Uh yes-" Claire took out her tablet. "We just got confirmation with Ms. Smoak about the New Beginnings meeting. The meeting is all set. Ms. Sandburg called, just to verify Arianna's arrival around Christmas break, and I confirmed with her as well and said that you would call if there needed to be any changes. And last but not least, Mr. Queen called, said something about a meeting with his political strategist. I may have mentioned that you didn't tell me about it, so I didn't schedule it."

"Ugh, I didn't want you to schedule it." Katie muttered walking into her office. "I-" Katie stopped at the feeling of a sharp sensation along her stomach. "Oh-" she cradled her stomach, and Claire rushed over.

"Alright, is it time?" Claire asked and Katie shook her head and looked over to the woman.

"No, it's fine. I just think I shouldn't have had that big breakfast. What time is my next meeting?"

"Half hour, are you sure you're alright? I can reschedule. I mean everyone knows you're about to pop and have been expecting a maternity leave for some time now."

"Really, I'm good, I just need to sit for a second. Where's the meeting?"

"Off site, I got a car and the driver already knows where you're going."

"Why do I have a car and a driver?" Katie asked turning to the woman. "I can drive."

"You can, but you're also nine months pregnant and in the event you go into labor, it was decided that a driver would be necessary to get you around to all your meetings and to get you home." Katie turned to the woman, folding her arms over her chest.

"Decided by whom?"

"Look I know he's not my boss, but-"

"Oliver Queen likes to think he's everyone's boss." Katie replied before taking a sip of her iced tea. "Let me guess, he's the one who vetted the driver?"

"He did. Said something about the man being an old friend of Mr. Diggle's." Claire said and Katie gave a nod. It did make her feel more comfortable. "Are you sure you're alright, Dr. Mills has kind of made it adamant that if I think something is wrong, I should call him."

"When did you talk to Ethan?"

"Oh, he randomly shows up here." Claire replied with a slight shake of her head. "He says he comes for the free food and no one really says anything because they know he's a friend of yours."

"That's a believable story. I will talk to him." Katie replied before looking over to the clock. "And I guess I will have to sit in a car."

The woman soon found herself sitting in the backseat on her car. She'd spoken a couple of words to her driver, Mr. Donald Jennings, but he didn't try to engage with small talk, which she was grateful. They'd been driving for a while, when she looked out the window to a familiar neighborhood. When they finally stopped, Katie looked out the window and just shook her head. Soon Donald stepped out of the car, and walked around to open her door. Katie stepped out, and looked up to the office, her eyes going to large picture of her boyfriend. She took out her cell phone and sent a message to Claire, about how Oliver really isn't her boss before heading inside. It had been a while since she'd been here, and it looked like Oliver had gotten a few more volunteers. Everyone was moving about, phones ringing, and Katie watched them with a shake of her head. This was real. Oliver Queen was running for Mayor.

"Twinkie!" a voice called and Katie turned an annoyed look to Thea who thought yelling that nickname across the office was the best idea. She looked over to see the woman walking from Oliver's office, the man appearing behind her, a smile on his face. "I thought you weren't going to make it."

"Well your brother ensured that I did." Katie replied looking over to Oliver as he walked over as well. "You do know Claire is my assistant, right?"

"I thought we could share her." Oliver replied stopping in front of the woman. Thea stood between the couple with a quirked brow.

"Is everything alright?" Thea asked and they turned to her. "The Twiver PDA is borderline inappropriate sometimes. I'm just not use to a greeting between the two of you without all the touching and kissing." Oliver turned back to Katie, before leaning in and placing a kiss to her cheek. "Seriously, what's going on?"

"We're being professional." Katie replied looking around the office with a slight smile. "I can't maul your brother while he's running for Mayor and when there's a camera always lurking to catch the money shot." she turned back to Thea and Oliver. "So did I miss the meeting?"

"Not even close." Thea said looping her arm with Katie's and pulling her toward Oliver's office.

For the majority of the meeting, Katie sat at Oliver's desk looking down to her phone. She'd zones out completely when the political conversation started and she couldn't even pretend to feign interest. At the moment she was currently interested in this stupid Candy Crush game Ethan had told her about.

"Son of bitch." she muttered when she lost, and all conversation stopped. She looked up seeing the eyes on her, noting Thea's attempt not to burst into laughter. "My apologies. I was just-" she looked down to her phone. "I was-"

"Playing Candy Crush." Alex said and Katie looked over to him. "It's a cool game."

"It's a stupid game, that doesn't make any sense, and yet-" she looked down to her phone before turning it over. "I'm sorry. Mr. Davis-"

"Please call me Alex."

"Fine, Alex, if you haven't already guessed, I'm not very interested in politics. Can I say that?" she looked over to Oliver who seemed to be watching her in amusement as well. "Am I allowed to say that when you're all-" she waved a hand in his direction. "Political and-" the woman just shook her head. "Never mind, continue please."

"We were just talking about how pricey this is all going to be and uh-" for some reason the man seemed nervous.

"The budget?" Katie asked and the man simply gave a nod. "Oh, well I've already had my assistant draw up some numbers for you." she picked up her phone and sent another text to Claire. "Which you should be receiving soon. Just let me know if it's all kosher." she put down her phone before looking back over to the man. "Anything else you needed from me?"

"I did want to talk to you about your place in the campaign." Alex said and Katie quirked a brow.

"At Oliver's side, I assumed." Katie replied glancing over to Oliver who turned to Alex as well, confused about where this was going.

"Right, but that may mean a lot more public appearances with the two of you. And I know that may be difficult with your situation, but-"

"Wait, my situation?" Katie asked even more confused. She looked over to Oliver in hopes someone could help her figure out what this guy was talking about. "I have a situation? I didn't know I had a situation."

"Are you talking about the baby?" Thea asked turning to the man, who nervously laughed, but gave a nod. "Oh, we usually refer to the baby as a baby, not a situation."

"I'm sorry, but this is the first campaign I'm a part of where the candidate was an expecting father." Alex said looking over to Oliver. "I mean this is going to be a lot of work and it's going to require a lot of your time and I just want to make sure you understand that now." Oliver looked over to Katie who gave him a small smile.

"I do understand. Just as long as you understand, that they will come first." Oliver replied turning back to Alex. "Always."

"I understand." Alex replied with a nod before turning back to Katie. "At some point we should talk, you're going to be asked questions and we should plan on how you answer them."

"I usually joke my way out of difficult questions." Katie replied with a shrug. "I guess that's not going to work here."

"Not all the time." Alex said standing to his feet and gathering his things. "Well I should be going. I will call you when I've wrote up a plan for us." Alex shook Oliver's hand and then Thea's before walking over to Katie. "Ms. Robins." he shook the woman's hand.

"I will walk you out." Thea said standing to her feet as well. Katie watched the pair as they left.

"I think your political strategist likes your sister." Katie said before turning to Oliver who stood to his feet and closed the door. She watched as he closed the blinds as well. "And now your whole staff thinks we're about to have sex." Oliver chuckled before walking over to sit on the side of the desk beside her.

"Thanks for coming. I know you're not really interested in this, but it means a lot to me that you came."

"Well I had no choice. You hijacked my assistant." Katie replied letting out a sigh, as she ran a hand across her stomach. "If you really want to make it up to me, you can try to bribe you daughter out of here already."

"You know I would if I could, but she's stubborn like her momma." Oliver replied placing a hand on her swollen belly and smiling at the kicks against his hand. "She's showing up when she wants." they sat in silence for a few beats before Katie turned to Oliver.

"I went to see Nick this morning." Katie said suddenly, and Oliver looked over surprised.

"I thought you said-"

"That I was fine, and that I didn't need to talk to shrink, and I still believe all of those things." she replied turning away from the man.

"Then why did you go?"

"In case I was wrong." she looked back over to the man and shrugged. "In case I'm not fine and in case he could help." she let out a sigh, dropping her head, and in this moment Oliver wasn't sure what he should say. He was afraid of asking too many questions, but he was also afraid of not knowing what really was going on with her.

"Did it help?" he asked and Katie looked over to him and just shook her head, and so Oliver took her hand in his. "Then we will figure it out together." Katie gave a nod, and the room once again fell into silence before Oliver once again spoke. "Twinkie I'm sorry." she looked up meeting his eyes. "With Arianna-"

"Oliver you already apologized, and I already accepted." Katie replied spinning the chair back around, and picking up her phone. Oliver looked over to the woman and sighed. They didn't really have a conversation about that night, and he really wanted her to understand his fears when it came to a teenager being so close to them and the risks it really held. "So when were you going to tell me about my new driver?"

"Donald's a good guy." Oliver said and Katie glanced over to him. "You could go into labor at any moment and I don't want that to happen when you're by yourself." Katie simply gave a nod before leaning back in the man's chair. "So what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Why?" she asked spinning back toward the man. "What did you have in mind?"

"How about I take you to dinner?" Oliver asked and Katie smiled over to the man.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Oliver Queen?"

"You know I think I am, Doctor." Oliver replied with a smile, and Katie simply nodded.

"Sure." she said standing to her feet, and Oliver took her hand to help her. "I thought you were going to say something else."

"What?" Oliver asked, helping the woman into her jacket.

"Well you did close the door and draw the blinds." Katie replied as they headed to the door. Before they could actually leave, Oliver snaked an arm around Katie's waist, and pulled her to his chest. He dropped his lips to hers, gently pushing her back against the door. "See this is why I could never be your political strategist." she whispered against his lips as she brought her arms up and around his neck.

Bruce sometimes found it so bizarre how he could walk through the doors of Palmer Technologies and it was as if he were walking into Wayne Industries. The familiar faces were all there, waving to him, greeting him and he didn't hate it. He was surprising Felicity for dinner, finding the woman could use a bit of a break since she'd been working late the past few nights. He'd actually just arrived back in Star City from Gotham, and he'd been dying to see the woman ever since he landed. He walked down the hall, his eyes glancing over to the woman's glass office, but slowing a bit when he noticed she wasn't actually in her office.

"Oh, Mr. Wayne, I wasn't told you were coming." it was Jamie, Felicity's assistant, who'd came from behind him as he neared the office. "Ms. Smoak is actually down in her lab with Mr. Holt."

"Mr. Holt?" Bruce repeated, remembering Felicity mentioning the name. He was the man who'd developed the algorithm to determine which one of the members of staff should be fired, which also included himself. It was one of Felicity's shinning moments when she decided that she wasn't going to fire anyone and that she was going to work extra hard to increase their profits enough to retain the company's staff. Apparently that meant working long hours in the lab, with Mr. Curtis Holt.

"I can show you down there." Jamie replied and Bruce just shook his head with a charming smile.

"That's ok, I remember how to get there." he replied before waving goodbye and turning, the smile leaving his face instantly. It was one of his greatest annoyances when trying to pursue a long distance relationship with Felicity. There would always be other guys, and he'd know nothing about it because he would be in another city.

The man arrived down to the lab, slipping inside, and smiling at the sound of Felicity's voice. He turned the corner, and she didn't see him right away, but the man there with her did, and so Bruce held a finger to his lips and the man simply gave a nod.

"I will take a break when I finally figure this out." Felicity said as Bruce got closer.

"Or until I kidnap you and steal you away from this place." Bruce said, startling the woman who practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice. The man looked over to the woman, who looked absolutely exhausted.

"Bruce, you're here!" Felicity said smiling over to the man who walked over placing a kiss to her forehead. "You sneaky man, why didn't you tell me you were coming today?"

"Well how else will I catch you off guard." Bruce said before looking over to the young man who seemed to be smiling widely. "With other men."

"Oh, Bruce, this is Curtis Holt, Curtis this is my boyfriend-"

"Bruce Wayne." Curtis says holding out a hand to the man.

"Right, I forgot he's like mildly famous." Felicity said looking back down to her computer.

"I would say a bit more than mildly." Curtis said looking over to Bruce. "I've been following your story, since your parents, and-" he noticed the slight frown by the man, and figure that probably wasn't the right thing to say. "I mean it's just your life is very interesting, and then you appeared back to your company and-"

"So you're a bit of a fan, Curtis?" Felicity asked and the man sent a slightly glare to her and he laughed in embarrassment as he turned back to Bruce.

"You know I actually interned at Wayne Industries out of college. Best experience of my life."

"Why didn't you stay on?" Bruce asked.

"Well I visited Star City, back when it was Starling and I met someone. Didn't expect it, but it was enough to get me to stay and a few years later I have a husband, and a great job here."

"Oh, husband? So you're-" Bruce asked and Curtis simply gave a nod and a smile broke out on Bruce's face. "That's great!" that seemed to confuse Curtis a bit.

"Don't mind him Curtis, Bruce is just happy I'm not spending all this time with some guy who's trying to get into my pants."

"Oh!" Curtis said with a laugh, as he shook his head. "Yeah, that's definitely not going to happen."

"I'm glad." Bruce replied looking over to Felicity who'd already begun typing away. "Curtis, could you give us a moment?"

"Sure thing." Curtis says once again reaching out to shake Bruce's hand. "It was nice meeting you."

"Nice meeting you too." Bruce replied shaking the man's hand, before watching him leave. Once he was gone, Bruce walked over to stand in front of the woman whose eyes were locked on the screen. "You know I kind of imagined that since we don't see each other that often, when I do come to town, I expect ridiculous amounts of affection. Maybe a hug, a kiss, sex in an empty lab."

"Curtis would kill me if I had sex in his lab." Felicity replied not taking her eyes from the monitor. "Plus we can't have a rom-com moment every time you swoop back into town."

"And here I thought distance made the heart grow fonder?" Bruce muttered still waiting for some eye contact from the woman. "Has the spark finally died, Ms. Smoak?"

"No, not yet. I'm just a little too busy to ignite any sparks right now." she replied.

"Busy with what?" Bruce asked and that's when Felicity pressed a few buttons and suddenly Bruce heard a voice he'd didn't expect to hear.

" _I'm alive... And I'm in trouble."_

"That sound's like..."

"Ray?" Felicity says finally looking up to the man's eyes. "That's because it is Ray." she lets out a sigh, as she glanced back to the screen. Bruce walked around to look for himself. "Because Ray isn't dead." his eyes went wide at the sight of the man who he could see was very much alive.

"That's impossible. Ray was—"

"Killed. In an explosion that blew up the top of this building six months ago. But that's obviously not what happened, because he sent this message six days ago, and dead people don't generally do that." Felicity replied turning to looked up to Bruce. "Ray's alive. He's out there somewhere." Bruce looked over to her, now seeing why the woman looked like she hadn't slept.

"Ok," he sighed with a nod. "We're going to help Ray. First you're going to come with me."

"I've been trying to back trace this signal, do you have a way I can do that?" Felicity asked, standing to her feet.

"Maybe, but I would have to make a few calls. I actually wanted you to come with me, because you look like you could use a nap, maybe some food, a nice hot shower." he bent down and closed the screen she was working on, before he brought his arm around the woman, snagging her purse as he pulled her out of the lab.

"But Bruce-"

"I know, but you can't help Ray when you're not at the top of your game. Let me help you with that."

Apparently, tonight's date between Oliver and Katie would be fancy. Oliver had reserved the rooftop table of one the city's finest restaurants. The food was delicious, and now they were just waiting for dessert.

Oliver stared over to the woman who stood at the balcony that overlook one of the city's most beautiful cityscapes. He looked back down to the box in his hand, lifting the lid to look down to the engagement ring and took a deep breath before standing to his feet and walking over to her.

"How about Rosalyn?" Katie asked turning to Oliver, who slipped an arm around her from behind. "Rosalyn Queen."

"You know I dated a Rosalyn, and she was kind of crazy." Oliver replied and Katie looked over to the man and laughed.

"You know if you're eliminating names based off of your ex girlfriends, then our choices are going to get limited." she said laughing, as she dropped her head back to his shoulder.

"I love how you can joke about my dumb youthful years." Oliver replied placing a kiss to the woman's forehead. "How about Emily. Emily Queen. That sounds nice."

"It does, but I had a college roommate named Emily, and that girl was a sociopath." she said and Oliver couldn't help but laugh. "No, I seriously had to request a new room, because I would find these pictures she would paste together of me and her, and I was totally freaked out. Emily is going to be a no from me."

"You know if we keep this up, we're going to end up writing Twiver Queen on the birth certificate." Oliver replied.

"Or Twiver Robins." Katie replied glancing over to the man. He turned meeting her eyes with a smile. "I'm joking, I-" she shook her head, before she turned back to the cityscape. "Never mind."

"Well Queen is a nice last name to have." Oliver said.

"I wouldn't know." Katie let slip and she groaned before pulling away from the man and heading back to the table. "I didn't mean to say that." she looked back over to Oliver who was still smiling. "I'm really not saying anything, it was a joke." she turned toward the door. "Now would be a perfect time for the waiter to come with that cake." she looked back to her boyfriend who walked over to her, still smiling and she was getting annoyed. "What? Why are you smiling?"

"Because I love you. Because when I look at you, I have no idea how I ended up so lucky." He took her hands in his. "You know it kind of blows my mind sometimes, when I really think about it. I mean high school, I had these feelings for you, these feelings I was so afraid of, so confused about and I didn't even know how to deal with them. And then you left for college, and I just knew I lost any chance of ever figuring out what those feelings were. Years later, you're standing on my front lawn, stomping on my friend's foot-"

"You know he still complains about that. Whenever it rains, he says it hurts a little more." Katie laughed with a shake of her head. Oliver placed a hand on her cheek, and his heart skipped a beat at the sight of her smile.

"I once told you that when I was on the island, I would have dreams about you. Dreams where your laughter would keep me warm, where the touch of your skin motivated me to keep going. Where your smile kept the idea of getting home in the front of my mind. You've been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I want-" Katie's hands suddenly reached up, grabbing Oliver's arms as she hunched forward, letting out a groan. "Twinkie?!" she looked up to his eyes, her breathing now feeling harder than it should be. "Is this it?"

"I think so." she replied still grasping for breaths, as a sharp pain once again hit her. "We should probably-" before she could finish her sentence, Oliver had hiked her into his arms. It was that moment that the waiter finally did arrive with their desserts. The moment he saw the couple his eyes went wide.

"I need you to hold that door!" The waiter was already rushing to the side, as he watched the man carry the woman away.

Oliver didn't have the patience to wait for paramedics, and so he carried Katie to the car, and sped off toward the hospital. His heart was drumming in his chest as he sped along the streets. For some reason it felt like every car on the road was going snail speed.

"How are you doing, Twinkie?" he asked once they were stopped at a light. He looked over to the woman to see her eyes tightly closed as she held her stomach.

"Just hurry, Liver." she groaned, and he could hear the pain in her voice. The moment the light turned green, Oliver's foot met the floor as he pressed the gas.

They were closest to Starling General, and so he called Katie's OB and Ethan to meet them there. When he finally pulled up, he spotted Christian waiting outside with a wheel chair and an a nurse. Once he stopped, the doctor didn't wait before opening the door, and kneeling down in front of Katie.

"Hey, how we doing?" Christian asked placing a hand on Katie's neck. When she opened her eyes, he could see unshed tears. "Hey-" he turned back to the nurse. "Get me a gurney!"

"What's going on?" Oliver asked now out of the car and at Christian's side. The doctor looked up to the man and just shook his head.

"I don't know yet, but we're going to get her inside to make sure she and the baby are alright." Once the gurney was rolled outside, Oliver and Christian helped Katie to stand and lifted her to the gurney.

"Hey, I'm right here ok?" Oliver says taking Katie's hand in his. "I'm not going anywhere." they moved quickly through the halls.

"Oliver, we're going to have to separate for a while." Dr. James said looking over to the man. It was the last thing he wanted to do right now, and it was written all over his face. "I promise I will send a nurse out here to get you prepped for the delivery room." Oliver's hand was still wrapped tightly around Katie's hand.

"Liver, it's alright." Katie said looking up to the man. "We're going to be fine." soon her hand slipped from his, and she was rushed through double doors. Oliver stood there, watching the doors as they continued to flap, until they just stopped. Charlotte and Ethan arrived at the same time, but it was Ethan who actually stopped to check in with Oliver while the OB continued through the doors.

"Hey, how long have you been waiting out here?" Ethan asked. Oliver shook his head. He hadn't actually been looking at a clock, but it felt like centuries since he last saw Katie.

"I don't know. I just—" he looked over to the doors. "No one is telling me anything, and I-"

"Hey, calm down. I'm going to go back there, and find out what's going on and then I'm going to come back, ok?" Oliver nodded before watching Ethan leave as well.

He was supposed to call everyone. It was one of the things he promised. When Katie went into labor, he was supposed to let everyone know so they could be here, but right now Oliver's eyes were still on those doors with the sinking feeling that something was wrong.

Soon he heard raised voices, and stood a bit straighter as Christian walked back out to the waiting room, Ethan right behind him.

"No, you're an asshole. Always have and most likely always will be." Ethan says pushing past the man to Oliver. "Good news and bad news. The good news is she's fine and so is the baby."

"What's the bad news?" Oliver asked nervousely folding his arms over his chest, before glancing over to Christian.

"She's still pregnant." Ethan answered and Oliver turned back to him in confusion. "It was braxton hicks and this close to the due date, I'm sure it felt very real. As you know it's very normal, and I'm glad you got here quickly."

"Can I see her?" Oliver asked and Ethan nodded about to take him back, but Christian spoke up finally.

"Wait, that's not it." the doctor said, glaring over to Ethan. Oliver turned to the man, with his full attention. "Her blood pressure was high-"

"For a woman who thought she was in labor, I would say it was in a very normal range." Ethan replied glaring over to the doctor. "You've seen her records and-"

"I have seen her records and I know her medical history." Christian says turning to face Ethan fully. "And it is my medical opinion that she should be admitted and monitored-"

"That's not happening. If she's going to be admitted then I will have her transferred to GMH and away from this money hungry hospital and all of it's fame deprived doctors."

"You're such a child you know that, this has nothing to do—"

"Enough!" Oliver yelled angrily and the two doctors turned to him startled. "Can I see her?"

"Yes you can." came another voice. They all turned to see Charlotte wave a hand toward Oliver. "She's asking for you, c'mon." Oliver didn't hesitate to follow the woman who sent a glare back to the two doctors.

Oliver followed the doctor to a door, but before he went in he turned to the woman.

"She's fine. Her blood pressure was high, as it has been for points in her pregnancy. It's not at a level that alarms me, but I'm going to want you to pay close attention to her. Make sure she's relaxed, not too stressed about things, make sure she's not over extending herself. She seems like the type of person who likes to hold everything together, and take it upon herself to fix it. Lots of things could go wrong if she doesn't. And I've already talked to her about finally taking a maternity leave from work, and she begrudgingly agreed. I want her off her feet until that baby gets here, and I'm going to need your help with that."

"Absolutely. Thanks Dr. Baxter." Oliver said and the woman gave him a smile before watching him go into Katie's room. The moment he walked inside, the woman was lying in bed, arms folded over her chest, a sour expression on her face.

"Your daughter is being stubborn Oliver."

"You know, I wonder where she got such a thing?" he replied walking over to take a seat on the edge of her bed beside her. He placed a hand on her stomach and smiled, letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. "So that was kind of scary." he looked up meeting her eyes. "Like I remember nothing from that lamaze class."

"You were fine. You actually did better than I thought you would." Katie replied with a smile as she laid back on the bed, she looked over to the man and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"For what? I was made to believe, no one controls false labor. It happens." he leaned forward, placing a kiss to the woman's forehead. "We're just going to have to wait to meet our little Twiver." Katie laughed at that before placing her hands on the sides of his face.

"And I so wanted that cake." the woman whined and Oliver laughed as he brought his lips to hers. There was a knock at the door, and soon it opened and in walked Ethan. "You didn't hit him did you?"

"I didn't. I'm proud of myself."

"Do I want to know what that was between you and Dr. James?" Oliver asked looking over to the man who opened his mouth.

"You don't." Katie answered instead. "You really don't. It's beyond stupid and whenever those two are in a room, it becomes a competition of who has the biggest penis."

"Well that's no competition at all." Ethan replied as he walked over to check the monitor beside her bed. "So no little one today. You're being released, but you're going to have to go through the back."

"Why?" Oliver asked looking over to the man who chuckled. Ethan grabbed the remote control and flicked on the television to show the latest headline, which happened to be a video of Oliver carrying Katie out of the restaurant, to his car and speeding off.

 _"There has been no official announcement as of yet, but we believe tonight is the night the child of Dr. Katherine Robins and Mayoral Candidate Oliver Queen, will be born. Eye witnesses have verified that the couple left in a frenzy after the woman announced that she was in labor. They are now at Starling General Hospital. We're waiting for confirmation now. This is so exciting_." the reporter looked back to the hospital behind her. That's when they noticed the whole slew of reporters in front of the hospital. _"Please stay tuned as we find out about the newest Queen's arrival to Star City."_ Ethan turned off the television and couldn't help but laugh.

Katie groaned, burying her face in Oliver's chest. The man just shook his head. The last thing he wanted when Katie actually went into labor was the whole city knowing about it. There was just too much that could go wrong in such an event.

"That was a real Tarzan and Jane kind of moment." Ethan said looking over to Oliver. "I'm going to have your car pulled down to the parking structure and I'll make sure the press keeps their distance. Just go home, get some rest and if it is in your ability, never come back to this hospital."

Oliver and Katie were able to successfully evade the press and escape without notice. They arrived back home, not before picking up some cake, later that evening.

Katie grabbed the cake, and headed straight for the kitchen. Oliver chuckled as he followed behind her. The woman grabbed two forks, handing one to Oliver before opening the box and taking a seat at the counter and digging in.

"I'm sorry I ruined our date." Katie says looking over to Oliver who smiled over to her. "I feel like we have yet to go on one date that actually goes as planned."

"You know I wouldn't trade any of our dates for anything in the world." Oliver said as he watched the woman enjoying her cake. "So I talked to Dr. Baxter and she told me that she wants you to take it easy until the baby is born." Katie sighed, as she continued to eat her cake. "She mentioned you taking off from work."

"Yeah, we had a little chat before she went to get you." Katie replied looking back up to the man. "I agreed with the terms, don't worry. I will call Claire in the morning to let her know about my sudden time off and see what needs to happen."

"And maybe you should stay away from hero stuff as well." Oliver added and Katie dropped her head. "We can handle the Ghosts and Damien Darhk. I don't want you to worry about that stuff anymore. Especially if it's causing more stress for you." he slid over a hand to hers and she met his eyes once again. "I want you to let me know if it gets to be too much. Like I said before, the moment this city brings more trouble than it's worth, then we're gone."

"You can't say stuff like that Mr. Mayor. This city needs you and-"

"And I need you. And as long as I need you, then nothing else matters." Oliver replied and Katie couldn't help the smile that came to her face. Both turned at the sudden steps that came from the stairwell that lead to the kitchen. Neither seemed surprised at the sight of the woman who walked in all smiles. "Hey Speedy, you're still here."

"I am still here." Thea said smiling at the sight of the cake, before grabbing her own fork and digging in as well. "So how was your date?" Katie turned to her about to tell the ridiculous false labor story when Oliver's phone suddenly rang. He pulled it from his pocket and looked down to the familiar number.

"It's Felicity." Oliver said looking back up to Katie.

"Go, take it." she replied before glancing back down to the cake in hopes he didn't see the disappointment in her eyes at the realization that their little date was coming to an end.

"I will be right back." Oliver said before slipping out of the kitchen. Thea silently looked from the door, back to Katie.

"Hey, are you alright?" Katie looked over to the woman and gave a nod. "Look, I know you're not one to let the things swarming around your head just spill out, but there are those of us who can see it." the door once again opened and in walked Oliver, and the truth was written on his face.

"You have to go, don't you?" Katie asked and the man let out a heavy sigh before walking around to her. "I guess our date really is over."

"I'm sorry. Felicity didn't say much on the phone, but she said there was something important her and Bruce needed to tell me. I promise to make this up to you." Oliver replied, but Katie didn't even look over to him. "Twinkie-" she suddenly pulled on a smile and turned to him.

"It's fine. I get it. Go, you have a duty, right?" she stood to her feet and let out a sigh. "I think I'm going to go take a bath." she simply walked around the man to the stairs, leaving him feeling even more guilty.

"I'm sorry." Thea said suddenly and Oliver turned to her in confusion. "I think it finally hit me right now. You two had this nice house, in a nice neighborhood and you were preparing for your baby, and then me and Laurel show up."

"Thea, that's-"

"We told you that this city needed you. In a way we told you that this the life of the hero was more important than the life of a man with a baby on the way with the woman he loves." Thea lifted her eyes to her brother. "We were wrong, and we had no right to-"

"Thea we needed to come back. What me and Katie had in Coast City it was...it was perfect, but it wasn't real. It would never be real. We chose to come back."

"Now, I'm kind of wishing you didn't." she replied with a shake of her head. "I love you and I love Katie, and I love that you're here and I love that I will get to see my niece soon, but right now I wish you'd chosen the fantasy. You deserve the fantasy, Twinkie-" Thea turned away with a slight shake of her head. "She's been through a lot, and she deserved the fantasy."

"I know, but we can't change this. We're facing reality, and this is our lives." Oliver replied and his sister turned back to him.

"The world better be ending right now." Thea said and Oliver let out a heavy sigh. "Oliver I don't think I have to tell you how important your prioritization is going to be. I get being the Arrow is important, and being the possible mayor will be important too. Fine, this is your reality, but you want that woman to be your wife. That means not running out on a date, or ballet recital, or a soccer game unless it's absolutely necessary."

"I know that Speedy, I know all of that. But it's hard. I didn't expect this to be so hard and I want to be everything for everyone, but it's not working." he dropped his head for a moment before grabbing the rest of the cake and sliding it into the refrigerator. "I can't even imagine why she would even want to marry me. I'm screwing up being a boyfriend." he shook his head before turning and heading for the door.

"Ollie, that's not-" she followed after her brother, but he was out the door before she could even speak.

The moment Katie was finished with her bath, she fully intended to just crawl into bed and sleep the rest of this day away. She should've known Thea Queen just would not let that happen. She'd only sat down on the bed, before the door to her bedroom swung open and in came the woman.

"Want to watch a movie?" Thea asked with a smile. "I made popcorn, and there's still some of that cake. I think there's ice cream in the freezer. Let's just pig out."

"Thea, I don't really feel like-"

"C'mon, pleeease. I never had a sister to actually have bonding moments like this, and I want to share them with you." Thea said and Katie sighed. "I mean after my dad and Ollie were gone, and then you left I was sort of all alone and I needed moments like this, moments-"

"You're really laying on the guilt real thick right now Speedy." Katie replied before pushing herself back to her feet and following behind the young woman.

They soon found themselves on the couch, watching some movie, a bowl of popcorn between them.

"So what's going on with you and Alex?" Katie asked grabbing a handful of popcorn.

"What,nothing." Thea replied, her voice portraying nervousness that shouldn't be there if her words were true.

"Well I saw the way he was looking at you and he looked like he wanted some of that." Katie said laughing at the embarrassment on Thea's face.

"Nothing's going on between us. He asked me on a date, I told him my life is too complicated and I don't think my next relationship should be with my brother's campaign manager. He totally was ok with it and now everything is right with the world."

"Well I'm just saying, a nice, normal guy could be a good change for you. I don't want your life to be consumed by that mask." Katie says giving the woman's arm a nudge. "You deserve some happiness."

"What about you? Are you happy?" Katie turned away for a moment and shrugged.

"There are moments when I'm over the moon happy. Moments when I'm with Oliver, and we're in bed and he's talking to my belly, or when we're having dinner and I know he's going to propose to me." she shook her head. "Then there are moments when a mad man with abilities I've never seen just walks into my company and fear just consumes me. Or when I find out my father is dying again." Katie looked down to her belly, sliding a hand along her skin. "Happiness isn't a constant state of being." she dropped her head to Thea's shoulder and grabbed another handful of popcorn. "Food always makes me happy though."

Neither woman expected the loud crash, from outside the house. The two women share a look of confusion before standing to their feet.

"Was that an earth quake?" Thea asked and Katie just shrugged before walking around the woman toward the kitchen. "Twinkie, will you wait, we don't-" Thea stopped when she saw Katie standing at the open back door. "What is it?" Katie turned to Thea with wide eyes before waving for her to come closer. The moment Thea walked over, the last thing she expected was to see Superman lying in a crater in the backyard, unconscious. "Is that-"

"Yes." Katie says before walking outside to figure out what was going on.

"Twinke, wait!" Thea rushed after the woman.

When Oliver arrived to the lair, he walked in to find Laurel standing watching as Felicity and Bruce seemed to be arguing about something.

"Hey." Oliver says and Laurel turns to him. "What the hell is going on?"

"Uh-"

"Oh, you're here." Felicity said, completely cutting off Bruce and walking over to Oliver. "I know it's late, but I have news." the woman walked over to her computer and played the video of Ray explaining how the explosion didn't kill him, only made him ridiculously small and that he's being held captive by someone who wants the suit for some reason.

"So he says there's a way to get him back to life size?" Oliver asked and Felicity gave him a nod.

"Yes, back at Palmer Tech, are the schematics and I can wrangle Curtis to help me." Felicity said and Oliver looked over to Bruce who stood with a shake of his head. Felicity glanced over to Bruce and glared. "Pay no attention to that man. He seems to think I don't know what I'm getting myself into, that this could be more dangerous than it seems."

"And I guess you don't care, huh?" Bruce asked and Felicity let out sigh before turning back to Oliver.

"I'm going to go, build this device, and then when it's finished I will get his location and then you and the team kick ass." Felicity rushed off to get her bag and turned for the elevator, Bruce following behind her. "Maybe it would be a good idea if you stayed here."

"Seriously? You're angry at me for worrying about you?"

"No, I'm upset that you're here trying to save me, when I don't need saving. Ray does, and I am going to do everything I can to get him back." The doors to the elevator opened and Felicity stepped on. "You should make your peace with that." Once the doors slid closed, Bruce let out a groan before turning back back.

"Ok, so I get how big finding out Ray is alive and all, but I kind of assumed when I was called tonight, I actually needed to do something." Oliver said glancing from Laurel to Bruce.

"We assumed someone holding Ray captive would be something you would want to know." Laurel said and Oliver let out a heavy sigh through his nose. "Unless it was at a particularly bad moment." the man looked over to the woman and she instantly felt guilty. "Oliver, we're sorry. It's just you're the leader here, and you like to know what's going on."

"I do, I want to be informed, but I guess what I'm getting at is that before I run out on date with my girlfriend, maybe I should know the level of importance, and if I'm needed right away." the man slid a hand along his face. "We thought she was in labor tonight. It was a false alarm, but I didn't want to leave her. I shouldn't have left her." the man shook his head before stalking off.

"I think we may have to readjust the dynamic here." Laurel says looking over to Bruce who glances down to his phone. "Everything alright?"

"Well I just got a text that almost ensures that Felicity is going to kill me." Bruce said with a shake of his head.

The sound of a baby crying caused everyone to stop and lift their heads. Bruce turned to Laurel, who turned to see Oliver rushing toward the computer.

"What is that?" Bruce asked as he and Laurel walked up behind the man.

"I don't-" Oliver wasn't sure how Felicity could identify why the alarm was going off. "It's an alarm at the house, but I don't know how to-" Bruce moved the man out the way, and typed a few keys before suddenly a video feed of the back door of the house appeared. Oliver moved in closer, looking down to the image in confusion. "Why is the door just open?" he turned to Bruce. "I think there's another camera of the back yard, could you-" Bruce was already typing before the man could finish the question. Soon they looked to a grainy black and white image of what looked like Katie and Thea, standing over something in the back yard. "What the hell?" Oliver took out his cell phone and dialed Katie's number, only for her not to answer. He then called Thea, who didn't answer either. "I have to go, just keep watching. Call me if something happens before I get there." Oliver turned and ran toward the elevator. Bruce and Laurel moved in closer, squinting to make out what was happening.

"It looks like they're trying to pick something up." Laurel said and Bruce shook his head. "Where did that hole come from?"

Thea wasn't sure of anything at the moment. Katie held a flashlight, while Thea jumped into the crater and attempted to move the man, but he was completely solid and couldn't be moved.

"It's no use Twinkie, he's not moving." Thea looked up to Katie who moved around the hole before slowly dropping down to her knees.

"Superman!" she whispers, her voice filled with an urgency she hopes gets through to him. "Superman you have to wake up. You made a big hole in my yard, and someone will notice." the man didn't stir, and Katie sighed about to try again when the light moved over something. "Wait, what is that?" Katie moved the light to something protruding from his chest. "Is that a dart?" Thea leaned in a bit closer.

"It's filled with some kind of green liquid." Thea said before looking up to Katie.

"Pull it out of him." Katie ordered and Thea looked up hesitant and Katie just gave the woman a nod. "Just trust me. Try to avoid touching whatever that liquid is, but yank it out of him." Thea turned back to the man, swallowing the lump of nervousness in her throat before reaching forward and pulling out the dart and tossing it aside.

"Now what?" Katie moved the flashlight along Clark's body. "Oh, there's another one!" Thea grabbed the dart, pulling it out as well. There were two more found, and the moment she pulled them out, they heard a groan escape his lips.

"Superman?" he opened his eyes, barely, but he saw her staring down to him. "You have to get up, now." she looked over to Thea. "Grab his arm." Thea did as she was told and this time when she pulled the man's arm, he lifted with her. She got him to stand, but she knows it was him who held most of the weight. They were able to get him up the stairs of the porch, and inside the house when the doorbell suddenly rang and everyone froze.

"What now?" Thea asked and Katie racked her brain before turning to the pair.

"Take him down the basement." Katie says with a nod, before heading toward the basement. Thea and a slow moving Clark were right behind her. As soon as Katie entered the code, she stepped aside and watched the pair head down the stairs before closing the door behind them. The doorbell once again rang, and Katie walked over stopping a couple of feet away. "Who is it?"

"Your favorite uncle." A voice called and Katie sighed before reaching forward and opening up the door.

"You have to get someone-"

"There is already a crew in route." Martin says walking into the house, and looking around. "Where is Mr. Spandex?

"Basement with Thea. What the hell happened to him?"

"He went looking under beds we warned him not to." Martin says with a shake of his head. "We have to get him out of here now."

"That's going to be difficult since he's going in and out of consciousness. There were these darts. They were still in him, had some kind of green liquid."

"That bastard." Martin muttered with a shake of his head. "Look, I can get him moved and out of your hair as soon as-" Katie opened her mouth to reply, when the front door quickly opened. Both turned, Martin grabbing his gun and aiming it, only to let out a sigh of relief. "Mr. Queen, good evening." Oliver looked from Martin to Katie before letting out a deep breath.

"What is going on?" he asked first before turning to Martin. "Why are you here?"

"Something very bizarre happened." Katie says walking over to the man and nudging her head for him to follow her.

Soon they all walked down to the basement where they found Thea leaning over the man now lying on a table.

"Twinkie, I don't-" Thea looked over to see the woman wasn't alone. "Ollie? When did you get here?" the hard look on her brother's face only meant he only wanted to know why an unconscious Superman was lying in his basement. She looked over to Katie who came to Clark's side to see his eyes closed. "He fell out of the sky." Thea looked back over to her brother. "Someone shot him with something that's made him extremely weak, and now he can barely keep his eyes open."

"It's called Kryptonite." Martin said and they all turned to him. "It's from his planet. When he arrived, he brought some with him. It's harmless to humans, but can be deadly for him." Martin walked over to look down to Clark and just shook his head.

"Ok, you know what did this, then you know how to fix it?" Katie asked, but the man didn't answer. "Martin-"

"We barely know his weaknesses. He keeps himself and his origins to himself. We've seen him hurt bad by this stuff, but he usually leaves and comes back fine. Only he knows how to fix this."

"Well someone else knows his weaknesses." Oliver added. "Who shot him?"

"The man on this table has a list of enemies." Martin shook his head looking over to Oliver. "Right now, getting him out of here is the number one priority. The person who did this could track him and I think we all can agree that we don't want them here."

"The person?" Oliver asked and Martin let out another sign. "You know who did this. Who is it?" Martin looked over to Clark before turning back to Oliver.

"We should talk upstairs." Martin said. Katie looked from the man to Oliver, wondering why the need for secrecy.

"You will tell him down here." Katie ordered turning to the man. "He dropped out of the sky, into my backyard, which means he came for my help. We need to know who did this to him." Martin folded his arms over his chest and gave a nod.

"That's just it, you don't need to know who did this to him." Martin replied before glancing over to Oliver. "This is a problem that you don't have to solve." he looked back to Katie. "You're nine months pregnant-"

"Don't you dare-"

"Twinkie, just wait." Oliver interrupted and she turned to him in confusion. "What if he's right? I mean we don't have the capabilities to help him, and maybe Martin and his people can." he took a step toward her. "You're supposed to be taking it easy, not-"

"Trying to help someone?" Katie asked with a shake of her head. "Oliver he came here, to me,-"

"Twinkie, just no." Oliver stated firmly, and her eyes went slightly wide because he was no longer listening. He was barking orders. "I completely understand you have this need to help, but right now you're gonna come first. That means we're going to let Martin and his people help Superman." he looked over to Martin and gave a nod. Martin actually looked nervous as he looked from the man to the pregnant woman in front of him who he knows is not keen on taking orders, but at the moment he or the caped man on that table didn't have time and so he turned and hurried up the stairs. Oliver turned back to Katie who continued to silently stare at him, her expression not showing him what was going through her head at the moment. "Twinkie-" she scoffed before turning and walking back over to Clark's side, slipping her hand into his.

"Hey, don't worry, you're going to get help. Just hold on." she was about to pull away, when she heard him mutter something.

"Did he just say something?" Thea asked looking over to Katie who lowered her ear closer to his mouth.

Soon numerous footsteps came down the stairs and Katie turned to see Martin along with a few men and a stretcher. They transferred Clark's body before carrying him away. Once they were gone, Katie, Oliver and Thea stood in that empty basement, still a bit in shock and confusion of the past events. Katie shook her head before heading for the stairs.

"Wait, what did he say?" Thea asked.

"Doesn't matter anymore." Katie muttered as she stalked up the stairs. Oliver sighed, going to follow after her.

"Ollie, just don't." Thea called after him and he turned to her and let out a huff.

"Thea, I feel guilty too, but we were in a hospital today, and doctors were telling us how her blood pressure was high and how that could be bad for her and the baby and I promised I would make sure she took it easy and this-" he pointed to the table where Clark had laid. "People falling out of the sky into our backyard, that's not taking it easy. He will get help, she just doesn't have to be the one to do it."

"You're probably right. I mean, I completely understand your point of view, but you made a mistake just now. Instead of telling her what you just told me, instead of talking this through, you turned into the Green Arrow before her eyes and gave an order and left no room for discussion." the woman walked over to her brother. "That's not how relationships work Ollie and you know that."

"I just feel like sometimes I have no control when it comes to these choices she just makes."

"Well maybe that's your problem. Stop trying to have control, and start trying to compromise." she gave her brother a pat on the shoulder. "And now if you will excuse me, I need to shower and maybe have a drink and eat some more of that cake." she was about to head upstairs when Oliver's phone rang.

"Felicity, what's up?" he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. If Felicity was calling, that meant it was time to get back to the current mission at hand, finding Ray, and also meant he would once again have to leave home at probably the worse possible moment. "Alright, Thea and I are on our way." he ended the call and turned to his sister and sighed.

"Why do I have the feeling my evening plans just came and went in the blink of an eye?" Thea sighed as she stalked up the stairs.

Before leaving Oliver hesitated outside of their bedroom. He wasn't sure what to expect after what just happened. He stalled for a few moments longer before pushing open the door, but he didn't see her right away.

"Twinkie?" he walked over to the bathroom about to knock, when the door suddenly opened and the woman brushed past him. "Uh, Felicity called and-"

"You have to go." she walked over, taking a seat in front of her vanity, before grabbing her brush. "Then go."

"Twinkie, I'm sorry. I-" walked over to her, knelt down in front of her. "I worry about you. Worry about you trying to save the world, and not worrying about yourself in the process. And in cases like that, I step in."

"So what you're saying is that you're not actually sorry?" Katie asked sitting down her brush and turning to the man.

"Twinkie-"

"You should go. They're waiting for you." the woman turned away from him, grabbing her brush and continuing to brush her hair. Oliver wasn't sure how he could help himself tonight, and so he would let the air between them settle before trying again. The man stood to his feet, before placing a kiss on top of the woman's head, before finally leaving.

Thea was downstairs, standing at the back door. He walked over to stand beside her, looking out at the backyard that looked the same as it always did.

"No one would ever know there was giant hole there." the woman muttered before turning to her brother. "Is the Twiver love connection fixed?" Oliver sighed, before heading out the door. "Well if at first you don't succeed." the woman hurried to catch up to her brother.

Katie sat at her vanity, until she heard the distant sound of Oliver's bike engine. She quickly placed the brush down, before standing to her feet and hurrying over to her phone. Her finger swiped through her contacts, before finding the one she was looking for. She only paused for just a moment before dialing the number and bringing it to her ear.

"Hi, it's Katherine Robins, and I need your help. Are you still at the office?"

This time of night, Palmer Technologies was pretty much a ghost town. It's one of the reasons Curtis Holt liked staying a bit later to get work done without interruption. It's also has become a bit of a requirement that he stays a bit later since his boss revealed to him that she works with the Green Arrow. At this point, Curtis assumed the unexpected would happen quite often now. And after Felicity asked him to help build a device that could help save their once believed dead boss, he thought the unexpected for the night was over. But then he got another call.

There was a knock on the door of the lab, and he stood to his feet about to see who it was, when he stopped because he no longer had to.

"Sorry, I know common courtesy is to knock, and then wait for someone to let you in, but I'm in a bit of a hurry and I needed your help." Katie said. She waited for Curtis to say something, to at least ask what she needed, but instead he stood there as if he'd seen a ghost. "Is this a bad time?"

"Uh, no-" he stuttered a bit, before pulling on a nervous smile. "I just-" he shook his head. "You called my cell phone and I didn't even know you had that number. How did you get that number?"

"You work with RI often, and I figured I should get your number in case I had questions. Since RI and Palmer Tech are business partners, I do have access to employee files."

"Ms. Robins, I mean doctor Robins-" the man shook his head, because he knows when he's nervous, he usually makes a fool of himself, and for some reason the woman in front of him just made him nervous. "I'm sorry, I just really didn't expect this call or for you to come here and ask for my help. I assumed anything you need me to do Felicity could-"

"She could, but I needed help from someone who wouldn't lecture me and so I thought of you." Katie replied. "I know it's late, and you're probably headed home, but I need you to find someone for me."

"Like a person?" Curtis asked and Katie quirked a brow. "Well of course a person, because that's the only thing that would make sense." he turned, heading over to his computer and Katie followed behind him. "Ok, what's the name?"

"Kara." Katie says and Curtis waited for a moment before turning to her.

"It's kind of easier if I have a last name, or last known address, occupation-" Katie stared down to him and sighed. "It's just first names seem to bring in more than a few results."

"The only thing I know about her is that she has a connection to a man named Clark Kent. He is from Metropolis and he works for the Daily Planet. Does that help?"

"I can try." Curtis says, and Katie watches the man quickly type something, and soon the screens seem to flip between different pages, until it finally stops, a name highlighted. "Can't believe that worked."

"Did you find her?" Katie leaned in a bit closer.

"I cross referenced the name Kara with anything connected to Clark Kent of Metropolis and I have phone records between him and a Kara Danvers." the man typed a few keys, bringing up some more information. "Says here she lives in National City and is an assistant at CatCo Worldwide Media."

"Why do I know that name?"

"They're the ones who named their city's hero." Curtis said, tying a few more keys before bringing up an article from the company. "Supergirl." Curtis looked over to Katie who wore a smile. "Does this help?"

"It does Mr. Holt." Katie says heading for the door, but stopped and turned back to the man. "Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is this all about?" Curtis asked standing to his feet and walking around to the woman.

"Just righting a few wrongs." Katie replied with a slight smile before turning and heading out. "And call me Katie!"

The night seemed to be filled with the unexpected. In order to build the device to restore Ray to his right size, they needed a device called a manifold that happened to be kept at Kord Industries. It would be the first team mission with Sara's returned, which they soon realized may have been too soon after she almost beat a guard to death.

When they returned back to the lair, Bruce, and John found Felicity who'd spoken of news of Ray. It was getting late, and Oliver decided to call Katie, just to check in. The phone was ringing when he heard footsteps.

"Oliver, we have a problem." Felicity said and Oliver turned to her in confusion, phone still pressed to his ear. "My last call to Ray, I was able to see who actually is holding him hostage. It's Damien Darhk." Oliver pulled the phone from his ear and ended the call.

"Are you sure it was Darhk you saw?" Oliver asked and Felicity nodded. Oliver turned away, not even wanting to think of the reason Darhk would kidnap Ray.

"It's actually good that Darhk has Ray." Bruce commented and Felicity turned a dark glare to the man.

"This would be the same level of delusion that made you think my mother coming to town would make me feel better?"

"Because if it's Darhk, that means that we have an asset." Bruce replied looking over to Oliver.

"Lance." Oliver said looking down to his phone. "I'll ask him to get us a location."

"And what if between then and now, Darhk decides to squish Ray underneath his shoe?" Felicity asked still not able to stop thinking of the actual danger Ray was in right now.

"If Darhk wanted to hurt Ray, he would have done it by now." John said, in hopes of comforting the woman.

"Digg's right. We stay focused." Bruce said walking over to the woman. "We get Curtis the manifold, keep him working, and we unfortunately just have to wait and see what Lance finds out."

"I hate waiting and seeing. I have to do something."

"Your mother's in town, spend some time with her." Bruce suggested, gaining him another dirty look. "We can do dinner. I know this restaurant that delivers and they have those little crab cakes you like."

"You already made dinner plans with my mother, didn't you?"

"What? No." Bruce shook his head, but the look on her face let him know, she knew he was lying. "Fine, Yes."

"Oh! Oh, my God!" she swat the man's arm. "It is like a sickness with you!"

"It wasn't intentional." Bruce tried to justify. "We were having a nice conversation; the subject turned to food and some of the restaurants in the city, I mentioned this great restaurant that I makes a spectacular chicken cordon bleu. She said she'd never had one." Felicity was already shaking her head. "It's just dinner."

"He's right, Felicity." Oliver says and the woman turns to him. " Besides, you look like you haven't... eaten or slept."

"A man's life, a friend's life is in danger. Doesn't seem like the right time for cordon bleu."

"I promise you that there is nothing that we can do until we get what we need from Lance and Curtis." Bruce said, and he could see this was weighing her down. "So, dinner. 7:00 pm." she groaned, but she gave a nod, and the man smiled in triumph before placing a kiss to her cheek.

"I'll meet with Lance." John says looking over to Oliver. "You should be getting home. Laurel told us about earlier, so go home." Oliver gave the man a nod in silent appreciation before turning to change. "And Oliver-" Oliver stopped and turned back to his friend. "No one here would fault you for stepping back once and while. It's why we're all here. When one of us needs a break, or to be with their family, then the rest of us will pull the weight. Remember that when that phone rings."

"I will." Oliver replied before turning and get changed.

Once Oliver was changed, he headed outside to his bike when his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket to see Katie's number and he quickly answered.

"Hey, are you alright?"

 _"You know we've talk about your greeting."_ Katie replied.

"Sorry. Hi Twinkie. Is everything alright?"

 _"You were an ass earlier tonight, and I fully planned on next level silent treatment, and you sleeping on the couch tonight_."

"But you had a change of heart?" Oliver asked, hopeful.

_"Not at all. Actually a change of plans. Do not freak out."_

"That only ensures I'm going to freak out." Oliver said quickening his steps toward his bike. "What's going on?"

_"I need you to meet me at the Star City airfield."_

"Why, exactly?"

_"Because a half an hour from now, a plane headed to National City is leaving, and I will be on it. I just figured you probably would want to join me."_

"Twinkie, what-"

 _"You're about to ask a bunch of questions and you haven't given me much of a reason to listen. So either get here, or I'll see you when I get back."_ and with that the line ended.

Oliver let out a low growl before hopping onto his bike and speeding away.

When he got to the airfield, he spotted the plane right away. The mobile stairway was still lined with the door of the plane, and so he quickly hopped off his bike and ran up the stairs where he found Katie casually eating from a basket of fruit. She glanced over to him for a moment before continuing her eating. Oliver, still a bit out of breath, walked over and took the seat across from her.

"You may want to buckle up." she said, but Oliver didn't move. "Well suit yourself."

"Twinkie, whose plane is this, and why are we on it?"

"This is my plane, and we're on it because we're going to National City." Katie replied picking another grape and tossing it in her mouth. Oliver had so many more questions, but the door to plane suddenly closed and so he reached down to buckle his seat belt.

"Why are we going to National City?"

"Because I have to find Supergirl." Katie replied and Oliver looked over to her in confusion. "I have a feeling she's related to Superman, and will know how to help him."

"So me saying not to get involved-"

"In one ear and out the other." she replied with a shrug. "You don't want me in danger, well this isn't dangerous. I'm passing along a message."

"If only there was a device that could pass that message that would prevent a nine month pregnant woman from boarding an airplane and flying off to find a flying woman." Oliver huffed. "Of all the things you're not supposed to be doing right now, being on an airplane is one of them and since when do you have a plane?"

"The company actually owns it, which means I've had one this entire time." she chuckled slightly before looking back to her fruit basket. "National City isn't that far. Flying is just faster than driving, so chill out."

"Chill out? Twinkie, this is crazy."

"It's not that crazy." Katie replied turning back to the man and tossing a grape at him. "And I would very much like to enjoy my fruit in silence if you don't mind." Oliver let out another heavy sigh as he looked over to the woman who he was sure would probably be the death of him.

"Where did you get a fruit basket, this late?"

"I may have snagged it from-" she plucked a card from the side of the basket and flipped it open. "Colleen's desk." she tossed the card before turning to Oliver who she could see was silently judging her. "It's fruit, it would've went bad. Shut up." Oliver was upset, annoyed and probably a couple of other things right now, but he couldn't help the small smile the came to his face as he watched the woman eat her stolen fruit. He loved the woman sitting across from him and he just hoped this trip was as tame as she was making it out to be. The flight itself wasn't that long. When they landed there was a car waiting for them that took them to a hotel. Once they pulled up, Oliver looked out the window to see the front of the hotel covered with paparazzi.

"We should probably go around the back." Oliver says about to instruct the driver but, Katie grabbed his hand and shook her head.

"No, we should go through the front door." Katie replied to Oliver's confusion. It was pretty much agreed upon that they would limit their time on cameras, especially if they could lead people to their location. "Trust me." Soon the driver had gotten out, and open the door. Oliver hesitated for a moment, the flashing lights hitting him instantly. He looked over to Katie who gave him a nod, and so he let out a sigh before stepping out of the car. He quickly turned back to take Katie's hand, to help her out of the car as well. The moment she was out of the car, she pulled on a bright smile, placing a hand to her stomach as they walked toward the door. Oliver was totally confused, but he brought an arm around her and smiled slightly, but kept a watchful eye for anyone who got to close.

Once they got inside, the smile was gone and she dropped her hands back to her side, and Oliver just had to ask.

"What the hell was that?" he asked and she looked over to him and laughed slightly.

"That was part of the plan." she replied when she headed over to the front desk. Oliver shook his head, before following after her.

Soon the pair were treated to a ridiculously fancy hotel room. Oliver stood at the balcony looking out to the wonderful view of the city just as Katie stepped out of the bathroom. He turned to see the woman now dawned a pair of pajama bottoms and one of his old t-shirts. He assumed since he'd rushed to the plane, that he wouldn't even have a change of clothes, but the woman had packed him some things as well.

"At some point, you're going to tell me the plan, aren't you?" Oliver asked, walking over to the woman who pulled back the covers and lied down. He walked over to the other side of the bed and lied beside her.

"I actually wasn't planning on it." she replied giving a smile over to the man before grabbing her tablet.

"Twinkie, I'm sorry-"

"You've said that before and we both know you really aren't." Katie continued to stare down to her tablet, and Oliver let out a sigh, before reaching out and plucking it from her hand. The woman let out an annoyed groan before finally turning to the man. "Give it back."

"You're right." Oliver said instead. "I'm not sorry. I don't regret what I said." the woman shook her head about to turn and get out of the bed, but Oliver took her hand. "The truth is—"

"The truth is, you like to control everything. You want everyone to do as you say and not argue because you are the boss." Katie replied, turning a glare toward the man. "But that's not how you and I will ever work. I assumed after all this time, you got that, but I guess not." she attempted to pull from his grasp, but he wouldn't let her. "Let me go."

"No, because, fine you're right again. And I know that's not how our relationship works, it's just, Twinkie, we were in a hospital and I was in a waiting room for what felt like an eternity. And my heart stopped." Oliver dropped his eyes to the woman's belly. "I remember everything Charlotte told me. About keeping you relaxed, about keeping you stress free, and how things can go wrong if that doesn't happen."

"I know-"

"You do know." Oliver interrupted, bringing his eyes back to hers. "You probably know more than me, and yet you want to throw yourself in the middle of whatever is happening with Clark, and I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let you put yourself and our daughter at risk."

"Then say that. Tell me you're worried, tell me that you think this is too dangerous and that you don't think I should do it."

"Would that have even made a difference?" Oliver asked. "I know you Twinkie, and when you think what you're doing is right, you do it anyway. I mean look where we are."

"Yes, in this very luxurious hotel. You have no idea how stressful this place is." the sarcasm was dripping from her words. "Liver, I know the risks of me overextending my self, of me taking on too much, and I know how bad it could be for both of us. I also know how much you worry, and how scary this can get, and you probably don't see it, but I actually stop myself. What happened with Clark, it wasn't stressful at all. He was hurt, and I'm doctor, and in that situation I can't be stressed. I actually wasn't. I may have not been able to help him, but I wouldn't stop trying, just like I wouldn't for any patient in front of me." Katie reached over and took the tablet from Oliver's hand. "Now if you would excuse me, I'm researching." Oliver looked to the woman in confusion, before lying further back on the bed so he could see what she was doing.

"Who is Cat Grant?"

"She is the CEO of a media company here in National City."

"Ok." Oliver says waiting for the woman to continue.

"A media company that RI has a very large investment in."

"I'm still not seeing how this involves helping Clark." Oliver says looking over to the woman who turned to him with a smile. "What are you up to Twinkie?"

Bruce stood on the elevator, a bouquet of flowers, and bottle of a very expensive champagne in his hands. He didn't want to admit it, but he was nervous. He hadn't expected Felicity to get so caught in this search for Ray, see how determined she was and the amount of emotion she seemed to be having. He didn't know what it meant. He hoped this dinner, and a little distance from the mission could bring them back to their lives. When he walked over to the door, he smelled the distinct scent of something burning and he quickly dug his keys from his pocket and opened the door. He rushed into the kitchen to see Felicity and her mother standing over something he's sure used to be chicken cordon bleu. Both women looked over to him with two different looks.

"The food arrived early and it started to get cold so I popped it in the oven, and I kind of got distracted." Donna says looking at the burnt chicken. "I mean maybe it's a little dark, but I'm sure it still tastes good." Bruce looked over to Felicity who looked completely annoyed before she grabbed her glass of wine and stalked back into the living room.

"Don't worry about it." Bruce says walking in, sitting down the champagne and handing the woman the flowers. "I will take care of everything. I'll make a couple of calls and dinner will be here before you know it."

"Thanks Bruce." Donna says smiling down to the flowers before glancing into the living room where she spotted her daughter. "I believe she's in a mood. I don't know if she wants me here."

"She does." Bruce replies and Donna turns back to him. "There's some other stuff going on with work, but I'm sure she's glad you're here."

"And I'm sure you're usually a good liar, but I know my daughter." Donna replied. "I'm going to go put these in some water." Bruce gave a nod before watching the woman walk over to Felicity.

"Look what Bruce brought me." Donna says, and Felicity looks over to the beautiful arrangement of daisies. "I wonder how he knew I loved daisies?"

"I think I mentioned it once." Felicity said looking over to the flowers before glancing back to the kitchen where Bruce stood with his phone to his ear. "Didn't think he'd remember something like that."

"A man who listens to the little things." Donna sighed looking down to the flowers. "You snagged a good one."

"Alright, I just made another order and I was promised a speedy delivery." Bruce said walking over to the women. "So while we wait, would anyone like a drink?"

For some reason, Bruce thought this dinner with Felicity and her mother would go by better than it did. When the food arrived and they sat down to eat, most of the small talk was between Bruce and Donna, while Felicity silently picked at her food. Once everyone was finished with dinner, Felicity dropped her fork to her plate before standing and taking it to the kitchen without a word.

Bruce let out a sigh, before sitting back in his seat.

"You know, I saw this bakery not too far from here. How about I go get us some dessert." Donna says and Bruce gives nod before the woman stands to her feet and heads out the door.

Bruce sits there for a moment, still unsure why the woman was so upset at the moment. He realized he wouldn't figure it out unless he asked her, and so he stood to his feet and walked into the kitchen where he saw the woman attempting to wash the pot that once held the burnt chicken.

"I figure we just throw the pot away and buy another." Bruce joked hoping to lighten the mood, but the woman didn't even pretend to find it funny. "You know I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong." he shook his head. "Ok, so maybe this wasn't the best time to invite your mother for a surprise dinner, I just thought you could use the break." he looked over to the woman, who still kept her back to him. "But I accept that maybe it was a mistake, what I can't accept is you shutting me out." with that the woman dropped the pot in the sink and turned to him.

"I'm not shutting you out Bruce. I'm trying to focus. Ray is being held captive by our newest super-villain, and I'm trying to focus on saving him and I can't do that with all of these distractions!"

"Distractions?" Bruce said, because the way she said it, made it pretty clear who she thought the distraction was. "What-What's going on with you? You're acting as if it's my fault Ray-"

"It's my fault." Felicity admitted with a nod. "What's happening...to Ray-" she gave another nod and he could see that she could truly believe it. "It's my fault."

"Felicity-" Bruce took a step toward her, but she shook her head and took a step away. "What's happening to Ray is absolutely not your fault."

"Ray was sending distress calls for weeks after the accident. I wasn't here to receive them because I was too busy traveling the world with you." Felicity looks over to the man and she shook her head. "I took the voice's word for it that no body could be recovered because I was so swept up in being with you."

"I'm sorry." Bruce says, unsure what else he should say to such a statement.

"It was my choice to uproot my entire life, leave my home and my job, which turns out, I am very good at. I lost myself in you, and I was never that girl. That girl who just loses herself in a guy." she let out a sigh, turning away from his eyes. "That's not who I am." Bruce looked over to the woman and he could feel it. The truth behind her words.

"This isn't about Ray, is it?" Bruce asked and Felicity turned back to him, but she didn't say anything right away.

"No." she whispered with a shake of her head. "Yes." she looked back over to the man, unable to not feel that tug of guilt these words seemed to be causing. "I don't know." After everything that's happened tonight, Bruce didn't expect this moment. Just a few feet away from him was the woman who captured his heart, and has become the sole reason it beats. That same woman just told him the status of their relationship was now something she was questioning.

She couldn't see it. She couldn't see it because he didn't...wouldn't show how his heart broke in that moment. There were moments Bruce Wayne had to become the Dark Knight, even in the light. Had to put up the walls, and act as if nothing affected him. It's why his expression was unchanging following her words, why he took a slight step away and gave the woman a nod.

"I guess maybe I should give you some space until you figure it out." the man says before turning and heading for the door. There was a voice inside his head screaming at him to turn around, to try to talk to her about this. But there was another part of him that told him to keep walking, because maybe this was the moment she saw what he feared she'd realize so long ago. Maybe this was the moment she realized choosing to be with him was a mistake.

The next morning, Oliver sat on the edge of the bed, with his phone to his ear. He'd only started getting dressed, when John had called and told him about last nights mission.

"Has Sara said anything?" Oliver asked.

" _No, but I think she was a bit freaked out about it as well. I'm going to see how Laurel wants to handle this."_

"Right. So how are things going with finding Ray?"

_"Curtis is still building the device, but I figure once we have that we can figure out how to get him from Darhk."_

"I want to be there when that happens. I don't want you guys going after Darhk without me. He's too unpredictable, and I want to know why he has Ray, and how Superman is involved."

_"That's going to be hard to do with you in National City."_

Oliver let out a heavy sigh as he stood to his feet and walked out to the balcony. He glanced back to the bathroom door where Katie was still getting ready.

"We shouldn't be here long."

_"Yeah, well be there as long as you need. We can handle this. You just focus on your family."_

"Thanks Digg."

Oliver ended the call, before slipping the phone into his pocket. He turned as Katie finally walked from the bathroom, and he paused for a moment. She was wearing a black dress, that accentuated all of her curves. Her hair was pinned back, with a few loose curls falling over her face. She even wore a pair of heels, though he's sure she won't be wearing them for long. She looked over to him, with a sudden look of annoyance, before grabbing his tie from the bed and walking over to him and bringing it around his collar.

"We're going to be late, and you're not helping." Oliver looked down to the woman as she effortlessly tied his tie. His hands instinctively slid to her waist, and she looked up to meet his eyes. "Who was on the phone?"

"John, he was just filling me in on this thing last night."

Katie stopped and remembered Oliver being called away last night by Felicity.

"Wait, there isn't a case, is there?" she asked. "Oliver, if you're supposed to be somewhere else then-" Oliver pulled the woman as close as he could.

"Twinkie, this is where I'm supposed to be. Keeping an eye on you."

"I don't need a babysitter. If you should be working-" Oliver's lips captured her's, stealing her words, and soon she forgot what they were all together. It was the sound of her ringing phone that tore through the moment, and they pull back, breathlessly. Katie walked over, and answered her phone. "Claire, hey I know we're running behind schedule, but we are on our way out." Katie ended the call and turned back to Oliver who was pulling on his jacket. "Are you sure there isn't something more pressing you should be doing, because I'm really not in any danger here."

"Twinkie, there isn't anything in the world that could get me to leave this city without you." Oliver walked over to the woman. "Everything is alright back home. I'm here as your back up, and to be your voice of reason. Plus you're nine months pregnant, and I'm not risking not being here if you go into labor."

"Fine, but I doubt I even go into labor. Your daughter is beyond stubborn." Katie says turning to grab her purse. "And I'm starting to think she actually got it from you, Mr. Can-Never-Be-On-Time for anything."

"You know that's not fair, since the majority of the time, you're the reason I'm late." he followed behind the woman out of the room.

It wasn't until their car was pulling in front of the building, did Oliver once again try to get Katie to tell him what was going on.

"Ok, we're here, don't you think I should know the plan now?" he asked

"Kara." Katie replied, just as their driver opened their door. Oliver looked over to Katie in confusion, before stepping out of the car, and then helping her out as well.

"Oh, Ms. Robins!" a voice called and they both turned to a blonde woman who quickly rushed over. She slightly tripped, but gathered herself with a bight smile as she straightened her glasses. "I'm sorry, Dr. Robins, I'm Kara Danvers, Cat Grant's assistant and she asked me to personally escort you up to her office for your meeting." she smiled over to Oliver as well. "Why don't you two follow me." the woman turned and Oliver looked over to Katie with a quirked brow before bringing an arm around her as they followed the woman. They all stepped onto an empty elevator, that was silent for a few moments before Kara once again spoke.

"You know it's really nice to meet you. " Kara turned to Katie, still wearing a bright smile. "I've seen you on the news so often about your company and your New Beginnings Initiative. I believe it's rolling out in National City soon, and I just know it's going to help so many people."

"Well I hope so." Katie replies before plucking a small device from her purse, and pressing a button before turning to Oliver. "Could you hold this?" the man was clearly confused, but took the device that looked oddly familiar. He stared at it for a few moments before realizing that this was one of Felicity's devices that knocked out surveillance video. He watched as Katie walked over to the elevator buttons and pressed the emergency stop button, causing the elevator to screech to a sudden halt.

"I don't think we're supposed to do that." Kara says nervously, as the lights in the elevator go out. She looks back over to Katie who is now standing in front of her. "I don't understand what is happening."

"Kara I know you're Supergirl." Kara nor Oliver expected those words to come out of Katie's mouth. The elevator was silent after those words were spoke, but Katie decided to get on with it. "I kind of wanted to work my way up to that, but I figured not beating around the bush was the best option."

"I don't-" Kara laughed nervously. "I don't know what you think, but I can assure you, I'm not-" she shook her head, glancing over to Oliver who simply looked from Katie to Kara silently. "I mean look at me, nothing about me is super."

"Well I think it is." Katie replied with a smile. "But I'm not here to yell it from the roof tops. I'm here, because I think you're the only one who can help a friend of mine. Superman?" Kara didn't reply right away, still a bit unsure what was going on, so Katie let out a sigh before glancing over to Oliver, an idea suddenly striking her. She turned back to Kara. "Oliver is the Green Arrow."

"Twinkie!" Oliver called and Katie just waved him off before turning back to a wide mouthed Kara, who glanced from Katie to Oliver.

"I-" Kara turned back to Katie. "I don't-"

"We're on the same side, fighting the same fight. Superman is a friend, and he's been hurt and I think you may be able to help him. Kara stared, and Katie could see the hesitation, but the woman simply shook her head.

"What do you mean hurt?"

"He was shot with Kryptonite darts. When I saw him last, he was extremely disoriented, which I didn't even know was possible from the man who I thought was impenetrable. The only thing I was able to get out of him was your name, and then I had a friend find you and then I put two and two together. Look I don't know what's truly wrong, but I assumed you'd be able to help more than I could." Kara turned away slightly. "Kara, I know how important this secret is, and I promise you that it is safe with me and Oliver. It's why Superman trusted us, and it's why you can as well." Kara turned back to Katie for a moment before giving a nod.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know exactly. He's with this guy, Martin-"

"Martin Ellis?" Kara asked and this time it was Katie's turned to be confused. "Jacob has him?"

"You know my father?"

"He's been a big help to me and my cousin. But if Superman is as bad as you say, he may not be able to help. I need to see him." Katie gave a nod before glancing over to Oliver, who stood silently. Kara followed her eyes, and let out a sigh. "This is all a bit confusing, and bizarre, but if Superman really does trust you, so will I." she turned back to Katie with a slight smile. "Thanks for informing me." the woman reached around, releasing the emergency stop, and the elevator was once again moving. Soon the doors slid open, revealing the bustling floor. They all stepped off, and Kara cast one final glance to Katie before nudging her head toward Cat's office. Katie grabbed the device from Oliver, pressing the button before the pair walked off as well. Oliver brought an arm around Katie who glanced over to the man who didn't look happy.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Oliver whispered over to her, and she simply placed a kiss to his cheek.

"I always do." she whispered back, as they stepped inside the office. Cat Grant was standing in front of her desk, as if awaiting for them to arrive.

"I was wondering what was taking so long." Cat says with a bright smile before walking over to Katie, and bringing her into a hug. "I'm so happy you've come." Katie awkwardly returned the hug, looking over to Kara who stared in confusion at how uncharacteristically strange her boss was acting. Cat, pulled from the hug, and turned to Oliver, and pulled him into a hug as well. "Mr. Queen, I'm glad you could come as well."

"Ms. Grant." Katie says and the woman turns to her. "You don't have to worry, I'm not pulling RI's investment. There is still a pretty tight contract between us, and it would take a lot of hoops to break it." the woman's smile dropped and she let out a sigh before asking the one question she'd been wondering since the meeting was scheduled.

"Then why are you here?" the woman asked walking back around, to take a seat at her desk.

"I'm just taking a peek at some of our investments, seeing how well they're doing." Katie replied looking over in time to see Kara slip out of the office.

"And I would believe that if I'd actually heard that you'd done this before. Or that anyone as pregnant as you would travel to another city just to observe. I know exactly why you're here." Cat says with a slight smirk.

"You do?"

"I do." Katie glanced over to Oliver before turning back to the blonde. " It's why you made it a point to put yourself in front of the cameras last night. You want me to interview you."

"And why would I want that?" Katie asked.

"I saw your press conference. Saw how hungry the press is to learn more about this-" Cat gestured toward Oliver and Katie. "You and Mr. Queen, about this baby nobody expected. So you came here." Katie dropped her head and sighed before looking back over to the woman.

"You're right." Katie replied.

"She is?" Oliver asked and Katie turned to glare to him and he shook his head.

"But I know you're a busy woman, so look, we'll just leave and-"

"I'll do it." Cat says standing to her feet. Oliver and Katie looked over to her a bit surprised. "The two of you are kind of socialite royalty, and I think this could be a nice change from our Supergirl stuff."

"Are you sure, because we can-"

"Sit." Cat says pointing toward the couch behind them. Oliver and Katie looked slightly hesitant, but walked over to take a seat. The woman walked around, closing the doors to her office before walking over and taking the seat across from them. She placed her tape recorder on the table between them and smiled before looking over to the couple. "Alright, just so you two are aware, I do not hold back and you hold the right to not answer any of the questions I ask you, but I think you should know the questions your don't answer, only fuels the rumors."

"There are rumors?" Katie asked.

"Quite a few actually, and I think this could be a way to clear some of them up." Cat replied. "I think one of the biggest topics people are interested in is Star City's new Mayoral Candidate." Oliver sat up a bit. "One of the growing concerns among people in your city is how you can dedicate yourself to the betterment of your city, when you haven't even seemed to dedicate yourself to the woman carrying your child."

"Wait, so there's this question of Oliver's dedication because we're not married?" Katie asked, and Cat simply gave a nod. Katie looked over to Oliver who let out a sigh, and she reached over and took his hand in hers.

"Everyone wants to know why you haven't asked her Mr. Queen?" Cat asked and Oliver definitely wasn't expecting that question today and from someone he barely knew. He turned to Katie who gave him a smile before turning to the woman.

"Have you ever been married Ms. Grant?" Oliver asked.

"Yes." was the woman's short answer.

"And are you still married?"

"No."

"I grew up seeing how marriage isn't something you should rush into, or should enter without being completely sure that it's something you can handle."

"And are you not sure?" Cat asked.

Oliver looked over to Katie who looked over to him, before shaking her head and turning back to Cat.

"I don't think that answer was meant for you Ms. Grant." Katie replied with a nod. "I think for now the people of Star City just need to be reassured that Oliver Queen will dedicate everything he can to making our city united once again." the woman simply nodded before scribbling something in a note pad before looking over to the woman.

"Alright, Ms. Robins-" Cat glanced back over to Katie. "One of the biggest topics in the business world is you finally grabbing the reins of your company, and taking responsibility for it's success and it's failures. Which a lot of people think is noble, especially with the impact your company has on Star City and cities around the world."

"Is there a question?" Katie asked.

"Well there are a few people who are disappointed that you would give up being just a doctor since that profession actually brought you face to face with the people in your community. What would you say to those people?"

"I would say-" Katie shook her head, because the question was tough. "I would say that I'm a doctor and that I love being a doctor." she looked over to Cat with a slight smile. "In the event someone needs their life saved, I can still help. But I'm not just a doctor. And I think focusing all my attention on one of my responsibilities wouldn't be fair to the others. I'm just trying to find a balance between the worlds I'm a part of, but that doesn't mean I'm giving anything up. I'm just trying to burst out of those boxes people like to place you in." Cat gave a smile, before scribbling some more notes.

The rest of the interview was relatively painless. There were a few questions that were a little personal, mostly concerning Katie and Oliver, and the baby. They kept their answers short, not revealing too much and attempting to push the conversations back to the company or the campaign.

Once the interview was finished, Cat invited the couple to dinner, but they informed the woman they couldn't and should be getting back home. Cat watched the couple as they stepped inside of the elevator and she couldn't shake the feeling that something was definitely up. She shook her head and walked around to her desk, and grabbed her cell phone before dialing a number she dreaded.

"Hello, Perry, it's Cat Grant." of course he had to rant and rave about how he always expected her to call and beg for her job back at the Daily Planet. "Are you finished? I'm not calling about my old job. I don't know if you've been paying attention, but CatCo has been doing better than ever. That's not why I called. Katherine Robins and Oliver Queen just walked into my office for an interview." the woman looked down to her tape recorder and sighed. "And I get the feeling, that I'm the one who got played. Has there been any word from Ms. Lane?" he gave the answer she'd already known. "Well I will keep my ears to ground." the woman ended the call and picked up the recorder as she sat back in her chair. "Kyra!" she looked over to the door expecting her assistant to rush in. "Kyra!"

Katie and Oliver stepped on the elevator, glad that it was once again empty. Oliver glanced over to Katie who buried her face in her palms.

"So was the interview part of the plan?" he asked and she turned a glare over to him.

"No, that was totally spontaneous, and I'm sorry I put you in the middle of that." she replied with a shake of her head. "I guess she was telling the truth about not pulling any punches."

"I expected the questions. Every interview I've done so far, and will do, I'm probably going to have to answer similar questions about us, about the baby." he replied with a nod. "But our life is our life, and no one can change what we have." Katie turned to the man with a slight smile. "As long as we're happy, then that's all that matters." Katie gave a nod before letting her back fall against the wall as she closes her eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just-" she opened her eyes and looked over to the man. "I will try to be less impulsive, maybe a little bit more cautious, but I'm also not going to turn away someone who comes to me for help. Does that sound fair?" Oliver walked over, bringing his hands to her waist.

"It does, and I promise to not revert to bossy Oliver again. I'll try to talk out our problems instead of trying to control them. I will also trust that you knew what you were doing when you told someone we'd only known for five minutes that I am more than just Oliver Queen."

"I didn't plan that either, but I promise that won't bite us in the ass. I just have a feeling." Katie placed her hands on Oliver's chest.

"A couple of months ago, we were sitting on a plane, about to fly off and find a new life and you asked me not to ask you to marry me." Oliver said suddenly and Katie looked up to him, a bit surprised at the sudden topic change. "We both agreed that we weren't there yet."

"We did." Katie replied, dropping her eyes for a moment before looking back to him.

"The whole world wants to know why I haven't asked you marry me." Oliver said and Katie shook her head before turning back to the doors.

"Marriage is a very big topic Liver. It's a decision that we will make, and the world doesn't get a say. If the world wondering why you haven't asked is why you're bringing it up now, then you shouldn't bring it up at all."

"Twinkie, that's not-" the doors to the elevator opened and Katie hurried off. Oliver rushed after her, hoping she would let him finish, but he never got the chance when a woman, with short brown hair, along with two men, blocked their path to the car. Oliver quickened his step, placing himself between them and Katie, just as the woman took out a badge.

"Mr. Queen, Ms. Robins, I am Special Agent Alex Danvers with the DEO, and I'm going to need you both to come with me." the woman said. Katie moved from around Oliver to look at the woman's badge.

"Danvers?" Katie asked before looking over to the woman. "You're related to Kara?"

"I think at this point all conversation should be held until we get to HQ." Alex replied before turning to the SUV that pulled up. "I doubt either of you will want to be seen being forced by federal agents into this car, but if necessary-"

"I've never heard of a federal agency called the DEO." Oliver interrupted and Alex gave a nod.

"Well we're not very well-known, but we do have the right to detain anyone we think may be a threat." Alex replied folding her arms over her chest, and standing tall. She'd had her share of men who attempted to be intimidating, and at this point it didn't even phase her.

"Liver, we're going to go with them." Katie says and Oliver looks over to her in confusion. "You can't just know someone's biggest secret and not be seen as suspicious." Katie turned back to the agent and gave a nod. "I mean, I'm sure we can clear this right up."

"Absolutely." Alex replied before stepping aside. Oliver let out a sigh, before taking Katie's hand and leading her toward the SUV.

It was the fact that half way to the facility, they had to be blindfolded that made Oliver more suspicious. These people seemed too similar to ARGUS, and Oliver was trusting them less and less with every passing second. Once they arrived they were ushered onto an elevator, and Oliver made sure to stay close to Katie's side. The moment the doors opened, Agent Danvers stalked off, and ordered for them to follow.

"Trust her? You said we could trust her." Oliver remarked once again, as he scanned the halls, and agents that passed them. "I don't like this. I really don't like this."

"Yeah, you said that already." Katie says keeping her eyes on the woman they were following. "Just calm down, I don't think this is as bad as it seems."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I think I've been here before." Katie replied and Oliver looked over to her in confusion. "When I was younger I think." she looked back around finding how oddly familiar the halls seemed. "I think my father may have brought me here."

"So ARGUS is involved." Oliver muttered with a shake of his head. Alex stopped at a door, scanning a badge that caused the door to slide open. She turned to the couple, and stepped aside.

"You can wait in here until we're ready to question you." she said.

"Question us about what?" Oliver asked angrily. "We just got here yesterday! We haven't done anything wrong and I demand you let us go."

"I'm sorry Mr. Queen, but you don't make demands here." Alex said taking a step toward the man. "I do actually. Right now I demand you and your girlfriend, go into that interview room and wait for our director to meet with you."

"Liver, lets just go." Katie says taking the man's hand and practically pulling him into the room. Katie walked toward the door, bumping Alex on the way in. "I'm sorry. I've become a klutz since I got pregnant." Once inside, the doors slid closed behind them and they were trapped.

They'd been waiting for a while, and surprisingly it was Oliver who nervously paced while Katie sat and watched him.

"You're trying to think of a way out of here, and I'm telling you, they're going to let us go." Katie says and Oliver glanced over to her. "Liver, the agent before is related to Kara, they're just taking precautions in case we're like evil villains or something."

"That doesn't reassure me Twinkie." Oliver says before spotting a camera in the far corner of the ceiling. He walked over and eyed it. "Look I don't know what this is about, but we haven't committed any crime, and I would very much not like my pregnant girlfriend locked in a room right now."

In the command center, Alex Danvers stood in front of the wall of monitors with a shake of her head as she watched Oliver talking to the camera.

"You know I could've sworn I ordered you not to bring them in." A voice spoke from behind her and she quickly turned around to see her boss, Hank Henshaw.

"Hank, I know what you said, but I'm sorry I can't be alright with two people I only know from magazines, knowing my sister's secret." Alex said turning back to the monitor. "Kara can be trusting, but I expected you to be even more suspicious than I am." the woman thought about that, and knew there would only be one reason the man wasn't suspicious and so she turned back to him. "Unless you know something I don't." Hank let out a deep sigh, before walking over to look at the monitors as well, his eyes going to the woman who sat in the room. Alex glanced over to him, before following his eyes. "Do you know her?"

"I do, which is why you're going to let them go." Hank says turning and walking away. That wasn't going to fly with Alex who stalked after him.

"This is Kara, Hank!" the woman snapped angrily and the man stopped and turned to her. "For most of my life, it has been my job to protect her secret, and now I'm supposed to be alright with these people magically knowing who she is." Alex shook her head. "That's not happening. I need to know the truth. Who are they and why are you protecting them." Hank was about to reply, when the elevator doors suddenly opened and they both turned to see someone they didn't expect walk off, and come toward them. Hank smiled, before walking over and bringing the man into a hug.

"You're the last person I thought I would see walk back into this building, Jacob." Hanks says before pulling from the hug and shaking his head. "It has been entirely way too long."

"That it has Hank." Jacob said with a smile before turning to the woman, staring in confusion. "Special Agent Danvers, it is a pleasure to meet you." Alex turned in confusion to Hank who chuckled slightly.

"Was I wrong in assuming that Jacob Robins was dead?" she asked turning back to the man. "I remember not being able to go anywhere without hearing about the death of one the world's most prominent blue bloods."

"Agent Danvers, I would like you to meet Jacob Robins. The former director of the DEO." Hanks says and Alex's eyes go wide at the revelation. She looked over to Hank needing more information. "After Superman landed on this planet, Jacob here figured there had to be more out there beyond the stars and he thought there should be an agency dedicated to taking care of such matters." Hank turned back to the man with a shake of his head. "He was one of the first people to advocate for the acceptance of those from other planets. He's actually the reason Kara was placed with you and your family." Alex turned back to Jacob who gave a nod.

"I've always thought your sister was exceptional, and I couldn't think of a better family for her than with Jeremiah, and your family." Jacob said before taking a few steps further inside. "It seems like a lifetime ago."

"I doubt you're here for social visit." Hanks says and Jacob chuckles before turning to the man.

"Wait, you're here for your daughter." Alex stated and both men turned to her. "Are you the one who told her about my sister. Because former director or not, that is a serious violation and-"

"Agent Danvers, calm down." Jacob replied before turning to Hank. "Is there somewhere we can talk?" Hank gave a nod before turning down the hall. Jacob turned to Alex and nudged his head. "You should come with." the man turned and followed Hank, and Alex hesitated for a moment before following as well.

After a while, Oliver finally sat in the chair beside Katie, who dropped her head to his shoulder as they continued to wait.

"What about Amelia?" Katie said suddenly breaking the silence. She lifted her head and looked over to Oliver. "Amelia Queen."

"You seriously want to brainstorm baby names now?" Oliver asked and Katie shrugged.

"We have nothing better to do, and I would seriously like to pick a name before she comes." Katie replied. Oliver thought about the name for a moment, then shook his head.

"I don't know, I'm not a fan of Amelia." Oliver replied and Katie groaned as she dropped her head on the table. "I'm sorry, but the deal was we both have to agree." the man slid a hand through her hair. "How about Twinkie." Katie lifted her head, and glared at the man. "Twinkie Queen."

"I love my daughter too much to let her endure the wrath of that stupid name." Katie replied before lifting her head toward the door. "And now I have to pee." Oliver stood to his feet and walked over to the door, and banged loudly.

"Hey, get us out of here now!" he snapped angrily. He turned when a hand touched his back and saw Katie standing beside him.

"Hey, chill." Katie replied before lifting a badge that looked like the one Agent Danvers had earlier.

"Where did you get that?" Oliver asked and Katie smiled with a shrug of her shoulders. "Klutzy Twinkie, is a sneaky Twinkie. If you've had that this whole time, why didn't you say anything?"

"I thought we'd be in the clear by now, but since we're not, and I still have to pee-" the woman lifted the badge to the scanner on the side of the door, and as expected the door slid open. The pair walked out into the empty hall, glancing down both ends. "Where do you think the bathroom is?" Oliver took Katie's hand and pulled her with him.

Alex Danvers stood in silence, after hearing a story she only half believed. She, like the rest of the world, knew of Oliver Queen and Katherine Robins from what she saw from the news or whatever magazine they ended up in. Nothing she's ever read or saw would make her believe that the couple lead the vigilantism in Star City.

"Clark was attacked with Kryptonite by a man named Damien Dhark." Jacob said and Alex nodded. It wasn't the first time she'd heard the name. Damien Dhark was at the top of a lot of wanted lists. "The amount he was exposed to, really weakened him, and I figure through his delirium he must've said Kara's name, and naturally my daughter figured out the rest." Alex turned to Hank who stood with folded arms as if none of what was spoken surprised him.

"And you knew about this?" Alex asked. "Civilians taking the law into their own hands?"

"This was bigger than that." Hank replied looking over to Jacob. "That city was filled with corruption, and crime and someone needed to stand up."

"I don't understand." Alex said looking from Hank to Jacob. "You planned all of this?"

"I had an idea, and that idea sprouted into much more than I could ever imagine." Jacob replied just as an alarm went off. Hank's phone suddenly rang, and the man quickly answered only to hear something he wished he didn't.

"Stand down, damn it!" the man snapped before rushing from the room, Alex and Jacob right behind him.

Oliver pushed Katie behind him when agents appeared with drawn guns. He scanned the area in search of an escape route, which he he would probably more difficult with a pregnant woman.

"Director Henshaw orders are to stand down!" one of the agents yelled, and the guns slowly lowered. Oliver kept his body covering Katie, still not trusting the situation or these agents from an agency he'd never heard of before.

"Now that no one's gonna get shot, can someone please direct me to a restroom?" Katie says raising her hand slightly. She'd only taken a step before the guns were once again raised.

"I said stand down!" a voice boomed around them, and Oliver and Katie turned to see the agents part as the man they assumed was in charge, along with Agent Danvers came walking forward. But it's who they saw that followed that really surprised them. "You all can go!" the agents cleared out of the hall leaving Hank, Alex, Katie and Oliver and the man they didn't expect to see today.

"Jacob?" Oliver said when the man came into view. The last he'd saw the man he looked as if he could be dead at any moment, and now he looked as healthy as ever. Oliver turned to Katie who looked over to the man silently. "Twinkie-" Katie turned to Oliver and just shook her head.

"I want to leave now." she said and Oliver brought an arm around her, and turned to the man in charge.

"Is there anything else you need us for, because sticking us in a room and leaving us there doesn't do anything." Oliver angrily before turning to Alex. "We came here to help and now we're being treated like criminals."

"And that's my fault." Alex says taking a step forward. "Supergirl's identity is a heavily guarded secret and I needed to be assured that your knowing it, doesn't put her at risk."

"And you know that now?"

"I do." the woman said with a nod. Alex looked over to Katie who still looked over to her father, with a look she couldn't explain. "I can have you taken back to your hotel, right away." Alex nudged her head for them to follow, which they did. No one quite expected the moment Katie suddenly grabbed the gun from Alex's holster and aimed it at her father.

"Twinkie, don't!" Oliver says as everyone cautiously surrounds the woman.

"Ms. Robins, I'm going to need you to give me back my weapon." Alex says already thinking up a way to disarm her, without causing too much harm to her or the baby.

"It's alright." Jacob says looking over to his daughter as if expecting this moment.

"This is the farthest thing from alright!" Oliver snapped angrily looking over to the man before turning back to Katie. "Twinkie, I know you're upset and I promise to get you far away from this place as possible, but I need you to put the gun down." Katie didn't acknowledge anyone else in the room, but her father.

Alex and Hank watched the woman who seemed to hold the gun steady, without even the slightest twitch of her hand. It was the sign of someone whose held a gun before and it's something they couldn't really believe with what they knew of the woman.

"Ms. Robins-" this time it was Hank who attempted to calm the woman. "This day will get a whole lot longer, if you don't put that gun down." Katie's eyes bore into the eyes of her father, not able stop seeing images of him connected to tubes and machines and looking deathly pale. Everyday she expected a call, or for Martin to show up on her doorstep with news that he was gone. Alex took a step and Katie hissed slightly.

"Agent Danvers, don't take another step. He'll be dead before you try to take this gun from me." Katie says, her voice suddenly lower than usual.

"Well I think I might be faster." a new voice spoke, and suddenly Supergirl quickly sped to stand in front of Jacob. She looked down to Katie who didn't even lower the gun. "Dr. Robins, I can see how upset you are right now, but pulling that trigger isn't going to make it go away." Katie lifted her eyes to the woman, knowing what she was saying was true, and yet something deep down inside of her wanted to pull that trigger, wanted to see her father lying on the floor, blood gushing out of him. She felt the undeniable need to hurt him just as much as he's hurt her. She lowered her eyes to her stomach at the sudden kick from the baby inside of her, and the thoughts suddenly disappeared.

"Twinkie-" Oliver reached out a hand, placing it on top of the gun and gently lowering it, until he felt it loosen and he quickly took it and handed it back to Alex. Katie closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before looking back up to Supergirl.

"Which way is the bathroom?" she asked and Supergirl looked slightly confused, but pointed to the left of the hall. "Thanks." Katie said simply before turning and rushing down the hall. Oliver glared over to Jacob with a shake of his head.

"I don't know what game you're playing, but you stay the hell away from her." with that the man, turned and headed down the hall after her.

"I can't imagine what you could've done that would make your own daughter want to shoot you." Alex says turning to Jacob as she slips her gun back into her holster.

"I can." Supergirl says turning a dark look to Jacob. "My cousin has been telling me such riveting stories about the man I once admired. Now I want to punch you in the face."

"Get in line." Jacob says, turning about to head down the hall to trying to talk to Katie, but this time it was Alex who moved to block him.

"I think everyone here can agree that you going anywhere near your daughter is a bad idea." Alex looked over to Supergirl. "How is Superman?"

"Better." Kara replied still glaring at Jacob. "How much have you told them?" All eyes turned to Jacob who simply turned to Hank.

"I have to go. There will be eyes on my daughter and Oliver as they leave the city, and I would appreciate any extra you could provide." Jacob said, and Hank simply nodded before watching the man turn and head for the elevator. Once the man had stepped onto the elevator, Hank and Alex turned back to Kara who let out a heavy sigh.

"That man-" she growled with a pointed finger toward the elevator. She shook her head before turning to Alex. "Lois Lane is missing-" the blonde shook her head. "Clark believes she's been kidnapped, by someone named-"

"Damien Darhk." Hank says and both Danvers sisters turns to him.

"You knew about this?" Kara asked and Alex scoffed.

"Hank here knows more than he's letting on. I wouldn't doubt him and his old buddy Jacob Robins are just bubbling with secrets." Alex snipped, ignoring a look from her boss. "Why is a Daily Planet reporter even in Damien Darhk's orbit? Was she doing a story on him?" Alex and Kara waited for Hank to respond, but the man didn't utter a work. "Hank-" the man refused to answer, and so he turned and walked away. Alex turned back to Kara, who shook her head again. "Did Clark tell you why this is happening? Or how he even knows this is happening?"

"He didn't, but he also said Jacob is being just as tight lipped as Hank is." Kara replied glancing down the hall. "You should get them back to their hotel." she turned back to her sister. "I really doubt the DEO is somewhere they want to be right now." Alex simply nodded before turning and heading down the hall. "Alex-" her sister stopped and turned back to her. "I usually am a good judge of character. That woman trapped me in an elevator, told me my biggest secret and I was scared to death. To have it spoken out loud by someone I've never met was just-" Kara turned with a slight shake of her head. "It was just-" she turned back to Alex. "I can't explain it."

"Then you understand why I had to bring them in?"

"I do, but you weren't there. That woman trapped me in an elevator and told me my biggest secret, and it wasn't even what she wanted to talk to me about. She wanted to talk about my cousin, whose life she believed was in danger. She even told me about Oliver, and his arrow wielding alter ego. You weren't in that elevator, so you couldn't see that me being Supergirl was not biggest thing. It wasn't even a fraction of the biggest thing in that moment, because to them, to her it wasn't. Helping someone in danger was, and that's how I knew I could trust them."

"Kara, I-"

"Keeping my secret is important, and I know you've done everything in your power to do just that, and it's important to me as well, maybe even more because-" she shrugged. "Well it's me. So when I trust someone with it, when I believe in the person, or people, I usually am one hundred percent sure that it's the best choice and I kind of want you to listen to me when I do." Alex looked at her sister. "That woman saves lives for a living, and I really do admire her. I really wanted her to like me."

"Don't worry. I believe I'm the Danvers sister they're not liking at the moment." Alex replied with a nod. "And I promise to try to listen to you next time."

"Thank you." Kara replied with a smile before seeing her sister turn and head down the hall.

The fact that the door said ladies' room, didn't stop Oliver from walking inside after Katie. He was glad that there wasn't anyone else actually inside so he didn't startle anyone. When Katie walked out of the stall, she glanced over to Oliver, before walking over to the sink to wash her hands.

"I'm fine." she says, knowing the question he wants to ask. She reached over and grabbed some paper towel to dry her hands before tossing it in the trash and heading for the door. Oliver walked over to block her and she simply shook her head before turning and walking away from him. "I said I'm fine, let's just go home."

"You're not fine. I think you almost shooting your father is proof enough that you're not fine."

"That's not my father." Katie shakes her head. "That man—" she pointed toward the door. "That man is the monster. He stole my life, he stole everything." she dropped her face to her palms and let out a heavy sigh. "I wish he was dead. I wish he died instead of my mother." Oliver walked over, and brought his arms around her in a tight embrace. Katie dropped into the man's arm, letting her head fall to his chest.

As promised, the DEO provided a car to take Katie and Oliver back to their hotel where they quickly packed and headed back to the plane. Right now both agreed that getting back to Star City was the priority, so when their car stopped outside of their plane and they saw Martin waiting, they just knew he was the kink in their plan. Katie glanced out the window and just shook her head.

"I can't." she said and Oliver placed a hand on her arm.

"Don't worry, I'll get rid of him." the man stepped out of the car, and stalked toward Martin. "You need to leave."

"I heard what happened, and I think I at least deserve a chance to explain-"

"Explain what?!" Oliver snapped. "This game where you pull her from her life, push her into the emotional turmoil of thinking her father was dying again, and then him just walking up to her like nothing had happened?"

"It wasn't a game. Jacob was dying, by some sort of curse inflicted by Damien Darhk." Martin replied and Oliver shook his head. "It's the truth, and the only reason you saw Jacob today is because you called a British guy who knows certain things about the mystical world around us."

"Constantine?" Oliver asked and Martin gave a nod before glancing over to the car, still waiting to see Katie. "It doesn't matter. Right now she's upset, so that means you go away." Martin wanted her to actually hear the truth, but knew there was nothing more for him to do, so he gave a nod before walking off toward his car. Oliver watched until he drove away before walking back over to their car, and giving a nod to the driver to open the door. Oliver held out a hand to Katie carefully helping her stand from the car and head over to the plane.

Silence filled the plane the moment they were in the air. Oliver's looked over to Katie who simply stared out the window.

"Stop staring at me." she said glancing over to him. "I'm not about to shatter into a million pieces. Seeing my magically resurrected father can't do that."

"It can just drive you to attempted murder apparently." Katie shook her head before turning back to look out to the clouds. "You know I actually thought you were going to do it. You had that look in your eyes."

"Well I thought I was going to do it too. I wanted to so badly."

"Why didn't you?" Oliver watched as the woman slid a hand over her belly and smiled.

"Because she chose that moment to kick." Katie looked down to her stomach. "Pulled me from the darkness I was being sucked into." she looked back over to the man and let out a sighed. "You helped with that as well, so thank you." she turned back to look out the window, and silence once again filled the air between them. "Can I ask you something?" she turns to the man.

"Sure."

"What are you really afraid of?" she asked and the man's brow furrowed in confusion. "With us?" Oliver shifted in his seat, not expecting the question after the day's events.

"I don't know what you mean. I love you, I love our life together. I can't wait to meet our daughter, can't wait to hold her and look in her eyes. You, us, it's the only thing in my life that makes any kind of sense. The only thing that feels right and that doesn't scare me."

"So why-" she turned slightly, hesitant to continue this conversation, and yet she knew she just had to. So she took in a deep breath, and turned meeting his eyes. "Why haven't you asked me to marry you?" she shook her head. "I mean, this isn't me pressuring you to do it or anything. I'm fine with our life the way it is, but I know its something you've wanted to do, it's something I think you've been trying to do, but something always stops you." Oliver looked over to the woman, now realizing that this moment he was trying to surprise her with wasn't as much of a surprise as he hoped. He also knows now how she's seen him run away from the moments he could've actually just asked her. Oliver took a deep breath, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the small box.

"This thing has been in my pocket for long time." he looked over to the woman with a smile. "I mean it looks small, but it's been weighing down my pockets for months." he shakes his head, because actually speaking the words out loud is probably what he needed. "And I've been close, so close to asking a question I've wanted to ask since I realized I could have a piece of normal with the woman I'm crazy about." he looks down to the box and sighs. "I've put this ring on your finger twice and both times I thought I knew what I was doing. I thought because I loved you and wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, that putting this ring on your finger was the logical step." he looked over to the woman who simply stared in silence. "I assumed I understood the promise this ring held, but I didn't. I promised you forever and then I let other people and situations dictate what that meant. I messed it up. I almost lost us because I couldn't keep this promise." Oliver shook his head before turning back to the woman. "I don't want to break your heart again, I can't-" he looked down to her stomach. "I don't think I could live with myself if I broke her heart ever. So maybe I thought it would be easier to leave things the way they are." he met the woman's eyes, and she gave him a nod before turning back to look out the window. He expected her to say something, to tell him he was being stupid, or that he was crazy. That's when he realized he didn't need her to say any of those things because he already knew them. "Twinkie-" she turned back to the man with a smile.

"Yes Liver?"

"Will you-" he paused for a moment to take his cell phone from his pocket and power it off, before taking out the battery and choosing to drop it into the cup holder beside him instead of throwing it across the plane as Felicity suggested. He took a deep breath before turning back to Katie.

"Yes." she said simply. "Yes, I will-"

"Wait, I have to ask." the man said laughing. He'd been so anxious for this moment he actually wants to make it special. The man unclasped his seat belt, before slipping down to one knee in front of her, and opening the box revealing the ring. "I didn't know what this promise was before. I didn't understand how hard it can be to keep, how life can poke at it and push it until you can either choose to keep going or just give up." Oliver plucked the ring from the box and took Katie's hand in his. "Katherine Robins, I think my life started the moment I met you and even though I didn't understand it, even though I didn't really accept it at first, I want you to know that it was you who showed me what love can be." he saw the tears in her eyes, and he swallowed the lump in his throat hoping he could keep it together long enough to actually get to the question. "You made life worth living. You made me fight to keep living, to keep striving to live, because I know if I'm alive, I get to see those eyes in the morning. I get to hear your laugh, see your smile. My life was consumed with darkness, and then you came back into my life with a light I think I might be addicted to. So with this ring, I promise to keep loving you, not that there is anything that can make me stop, I promise to always listen and not control everything, I promise do everything in my power to keep you and our daughter, and Arianna safe." Oliver slipped the ring on Katie's finger. "With this ring I promise I will try my hardest to never break your heart again." Oliver took a deep breath before looking up to Katie's eyes once again. "Katherine Robins, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

In this moment Katie was consumed with a surge of emotions. A part of her was scared, because she shared some of his fears. She was afraid that this life they so desperately wanted would be ruined again. But there was another part of her that was just happy. Happiness wasn't a constant state of being, so in the event that you stumble upon a happy moment you dive in.

"Only if you do me honor of becoming my husband." Katie replies with a bright smile as she unclasped her seat belt, and they both stood to their feet.

"Absolutely." Oliver declared, before bringing his arms around her, and capturing her lips in a kiss that seemed to seal the promise.

Once they landed, and Oliver put his battery back in his phone, he wasn't too surprised that he'd had a missed call. The moment he heard the voice mail from Diggle, his mood instantly changed.

"What's wrong?" Katie asked looking over to Oliver as they walked to the car. He pulled the phone away from his ear before turning back to the woman.

"I'm just now remembering that I forgot to tell you something." Oliver said and Katie looked at him with a quirked brow. "It's about Ray."

The couple assumed they would be going straight home, but after Oliver's call about Ray being back, Katie insisted they head to the lair. They were standing on the elevator on the way down, when Katie once again swat Oliver's arm.

"I can't believe the fact that Ray Palmer was still alive, just slipped your mind." she said with a shake of her head.

"Well you know when my pregnant girlfriend says she's on a plane, priorities change." Oliver replied and Katie turned a glare toward him. He hoped the celebratory mood could linger a little long. "I said I was sorry." Katie simply shook her head, just as the elevators opened. She rushed off, searching the lair until she saw him. Ray was talking with Felicity who spotted the couple first. He followed her eyes, and smiled brightly when he saw Katie.

"And it's moments like this when I realize just how long I was gone." Ray says walking over to the woman, and looking her over.

"Oh Ray, it's good to see you." Katie says bringing the man into a hug. "This is so weird, I thought you were dead."

"Apparently so did a lot of people." Ray replied pulling back from the hug and looking down to Katie's stomach. "You know this is a good look on you. Congratulations." he looked over to Oliver, and held out a hand to the man who gladly shook it. "Oliver."

"It's good to have you back Ray. I'm sorry I wasn't a part of the rescue mission."

"Oh, don't worry about it. It seems you have a team of very capable people here." Ray says looking over his shoulder to where Bruce stood in the meeting area with John. "I didn't know the Batman had joined the team."

"Neither did I." Oliver replied with a sigh. "But apparently he's been a part of the team for a long time now."

"Why don't I take you home, Ray. I can catch you up on what's happening with your company." Felicity said coming to the man's side.

"Uh, actually, until I decide to come back from the dead, it's your company." Ray says, and Felicity gives a nod.

"Great." she replies before turning to Katie. "And I will call later to hear about the adventures in National City." Katie simply gave a nod before watching the woman and Ray head over to the elevator. The doors had just opened, when Ray stopped and turned back to the couple.

"Oh, and congratulations on the engagement!" he called out to them.

"Oh, they're not engaged." Felicity said and the man looked over to her confused.

"I thought-" he looked back over to Katie and pointed to her hand. "She's wearing a ring." Felicity looked over to Katie's hand as well and her eyes went wide before letting out a high pitched squeal.

Later that evening, when everyone had returned home, Bruce sat on a park bench, debating if he should get on his plane and head back to Gotham. Soon a decision was made for him when his phone buzzed and he slipped it from his pocket to see a text from Felicity asking him to come over. Bruce let out a heavy sigh, because he was afraid of this moment, but he knew that hiding from it wouldn't make it go away. So he stood to his feet and headed to his car.

It wasn't until he was standing in front of her door did his heart start to ram in his chest. He couldn't find the courage to knock, and soon he didn't have to because the door suddenly opened and there she was. He had to remember to breathe the moment he saw her standing there. She was wearing pajamas, no make up, her hair pulled from her face, and yet she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

"Why didn't you use you key?" she asked.

"I uh-" the man cleared his throat, dropping his eyes for a moment. "Wasn't sure I should."

"Do you want to come in?" she asked and Bruce gave a small smile and watched as the woman took a step aside to let him in. Bruce walked in to see the room illuminated by the flickering flames of the fire place, and a few candles that lined the room.

"I wanted to-" the man turned back to the woman. "Thank you. For helping to save Ray, and for being understanding with my mini- gargantuan freak out."

"Well I'm sorry I-" the man shook his head. "I'm not the best listener, but this-" he pointed between him and the woman. "You and me, it's kind of new to me. For a long time I thought this was impossible, and now that I'm giving it a shot, I'm realizing it's not that easy."

"I'm starting to realize that too." Felicity says closing the distance between the man, before placing her hands on his chest. "This is kind of new to me too, and I guess that means we're gonna stumble, but I think everything will be fine if we're able to come back to each other in the end." Bruce slid his hands around the woman's waist. "I think we're going to be fine."

"How can you be so sure, Ms. Smoak?"

"Because we found ourselves in each other." she replied, and Bruce smiled down to the woman. "Too many seconds, right?"

"Definitely too many." he replied, his lips already leaning into hers.


	9. New Arrivals

**Chapter 9**

**New Arrivals**

_"Some things are so unexpected that no one is prepared for them."_

_-Leo Rosten_

* * *

Running was one of those stress relievers Oliver found usually worked. At the moment though, not so much. The last week had been pretty rough, with Darhk seeming to kick up his plan to destroy this city into high gear, to finding out that John's brother, Andy, was still alive and working for the man under the influence of some sort of drug. They were able to extract Andy, get him away from Darhk, and now he sat caged in the lair until they figure out how to get the drug out of his system. And even with all of that, it seemed the most stressful was the teenager that would finally be moving in with them in a week. This run was much needed.

When Oliver returned home, he grabbed a bottle of water and headed upstairs to see if Katie had waken up yet. He walked down the hall, but stopped when he noticed the door to the nursery slightly opened. He pushed open the door, and smiled at the sight of the woman slowly rocking back and forth in her rocking chair, her eyes closed and hand sliding across her stomach.

"I'm now convinced that this child is definitely yours." the woman spoke and Oliver chuckled.

"There was a question with that?" Oliver asked leaning against the door, still enamored by how beautiful the woman looked in this moment, the sun shining from the window so perfectly on her.

"She's a week late." Katie says opening her eyes and looking over to the man. "Doesn't that just scream Oliver Queen?" she shook her head and looked down to her bulging belly and sighed. "You did this to me and now I'm realizing that it's never going to end." Oliver laughed, walking over to the woman and kneeling down in front of her, placing a hand on her stomach.

"Alright little one, your mommy is getting impatient, and grumpy and I think the only thing that will make her feel better is to finally see your face." the baby gave a kick at the sound of his voice and Oliver looked back up to Katie. "Anything?"

"Nothing. At this point she's just squatting in there." Katie groans with a shake of her head before looking down to her stomach. "I'm serving you your eviction notice kid! Just get out already!"

"Calm down, I doubt yelling at her will help anyone." Oliver replied standing to his feet and placing a kiss to her head. "Maybe we should reconsider induction." Oliver says and Katie turns away with a shake of her head.

"We haven't gotten to that point yet. It's just a week, she can still make her grand entrance." Katie says looking up to the man. "I'm still holding out hope this can all be done naturally, but if she keeps being stubborn, then we'll kick her out." Katie held out her hands, and Oliver helped her to her feet. "How was your run?"

"Not as calming as it use to be." Oliver brought his arms around the woman. "Lot on my mind I guess."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Katie asked and Oliver shook his head.

"It's just Darhk, and trying to figure out a way to beat him with his powers." he said, but shook his head. "It's not your problem. His fascination with you seems to be over, so that's a plus."

"Yeah, but I think I'll feel a whole lot better when he's gone." she drops her head to his chest. "He makes me nervous about this little girl being born, nervous about planning a wedding." she pulls back to look up to the man's eyes. "I had this weird nightmare, that we just got married and were at the reception about to cut the cake, and he just popped out of it." Oliver knew he shouldn't laugh, but for some reason picturing that in his head just made him laugh. "It's not funny." she swat his arm before pulling out of his embrace and leaving the room.

"I'm sorry, Twinkie, I know it's not funny. Don't worry," Oliver followed the woman down the stairs, to the kitchen. "Darhk's not coming anywhere near this little girl or our wedding. How's the planning coming along anyway?" Katie turned to the man with a quirked brow. "What? I thought you, Thea and Felicity were diving into the whole wedding planning thing."

"We were, but I didn't realize how insane those two women are until I saw them arguing about flowers." the woman shook her head before reaching into the refrigerator and grabbing some orange juice. "I just-" she looked over to the man and sighed. "I really want to do this before she's born, but I don't think it can. I'm like tired all the time, minor annoyances drive me to thoughts of murder. I think I will cry if I start looking for a wedding dress my size." she let out another sigh. "I think maybe we should wait until my head can be completely in wedding planning mode." Oliver tried not to look as disappointed as he felt in that moment. Now that the ring was on her finger, all he wanted was to get to that altar and make her his wife. Right now he had to be understanding, and so he pulled on a smile and gave a nod.

"Ok. Then we'll wait." he replied before nudging his head. "I'm going to get a shower. We have a plan to catch Darhk tonight. Hopefully this could be the night." he gave a nod before turning and Katie dropped her head, because she knew postponing the wedding was not something he wanted to do and yet there was just way too much happening with her that she just needed to understand before she tied the man down to her for life.

After Oliver's shower, he changed and headed downstairs where he found Katie also changed, sitting in the living room reading something on her phone, as if she were leaving as well.

"Where are you going?" Oliver asked and Katie lifted her head to the man with a quirked brow.

"You said there was a plan to catch Darhk tonight?"

"Yeah, but I told you we would handle it. You should be taking it easy." Oliver replies walking around, and taking the seat beside her. "Staying away from the hero stuff."

"But you know I also remember you bringing me into the hero stuff to help me figure out who I am." Katie says turning to the man. "Maybe I still haven't figured that out yet." Oliver turned away with a shake of his head. "Or maybe I just don't want to be left here by myself." he turned back to the woman. "I'm not scared or anything, but I get bored without you here to distract me."

"Well there you go. You're never alone." the man says sliding a hand along her stomach. "You have someone here who you can talk to and they won't repeat a word."

"And you say I'm not funny." Katie says patting the man on the cheek. "I'm coming with you. I will take it easy and I'm sure Felicity will make sure of it." Oliver let out a groan, but agreed.

When they arrived to the hide out, they found Felicity behind her computer, while John and Thea on the other side of the lair sparring. Katie seemed drawn to the fight, and walked over to observe for awhile, while Oliver went over to Felicity to see if everything was going according to plan. John currently had Thea in a headlock, to which the woman suddenly hooked her foot around the man's ankle, causing him to trip backwards, and allowing her to pull from his grasp and knock him on his back.

"Want to go again?" Thea asked holding out a hand to the man who let the woman help him to his feet.

"I think I've been beat up by a girl enough today." John replied before turning to see Katie. "Well if it isn't the future Mrs. Queen. Still pregnant I see."

"You're not funny, Mr. Diggle." Katie says before glancing over to Thea, who walked over as well. "I have to go, before Thea gets over here."

"I heard that!" Thea said rushing over to the woman before she could get away. "I called you earlier. I talked to the director at the Botanical Gardens, and they're all booked for the next six months, which I feel we could get around if you let me name drop my future sister in law."

"Still not happening. The last thing I want is for the whole world to be in attendance to our wedding." Katie says with a shake of her head. "Look maybe six months is fine. I talked to Oliver and told him I don't think I can do this speedy wedding."

"Seriously, why not?"

"You mean besides feeling miserable all the time." Katie says turning and walking away from the woman, and Thea only followed. "There's nothing wrong with just waiting."

"You have to be kidding me, and Ollie is alright with this?" Thea asked looking over to Oliver who looked over in confusion. Thea looked over to her brother. "You're alright with postponing the wedding?"

"Speedy, right now we need to be focusing on tonight and-"

"I'm sorry, what's happening?" Felicity asked standing as well. "Why are we postponing the wedding?" she looked between Oliver and Katie.

"Look right now, with the baby coming at any moment, we just think we should focus on one thing at a time." Katie says looking over to Oliver. "Right?" the man didn't say anything, but he gave a nod before turning and walking back over to the computer.

"We should suit up." Oliver said before looking out to Thea and John who gave a nod before going to grab their suits. Oliver turned back to Katie who still stood looking over to him, and so he walked over to her.

"I'm sorry, I can't pretend that I'm not disappointed about having to wait for the wedding. I don't know, I just-" he brought his hands to the woman's waist. "I can't wait until you're my wife."

"And I can't wait until you're my husband. But I want to be in the moment when that happens. Right now, my ankles are swollen and I can barely walk without having to stop and catch my breath, and I feel huge. I don't feel like a blushing bride right now."

"That's so weird, because you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen." Oliver replied placing a kiss to the woman's lips before going to change. Once they were gone, Katie found herself standing in front of the Guardian's suit.

"I always wonder why you're always staring at this suit." Felicity says appearing beside the woman. Katie shakes her head before turning to the woman.

"I thought this suit, that mask could make up for the sins of my past." Katie says, glancing back over to it. "But it was still me underneath it. Everything I've done, everything that was done to me, doesn't just go away and there's nothing I can do to change that."

"Where is this coming from?" Felicity asked and Katie sighed before walking back over to the computers. "Is this about the wedding?"

"I just thought I knew what I was supposed to be doing with my life." Katie says taking a seat behind the computer. Felicity walked over and took the seat beside her. "I thought I figured everything out and everyday I'm learning that I really have no clue who the hell I am."

"You're Dr. Katherine Robins MD, CEO of Robins Incorporated, future Mrs. Oliver Queen, and future mommy to baby Twiver." Felicity replies with a smile.

"I'm also the daughter of a man whose lied to me my entire life, and a woman I feel has lead a more interesting life that I can even imagine." Katie glanced over to the monitors, noting the team had arrived to the ARGUS warehouse. She also noticed the heat signatures inside, which verified her fears that Damien Darhk and his team were already inside.

"Oliver, I have half a dozen heat signatures coming from inside." Felicity informed. "There is a skylight on the east side of the building that you can use to get inside."

" _I see it_." Oliver's modulated voice spoke.

Felicity and Katie waited until the team had entered the building. The camera from Oliver's suit gave them a good look at Darhk and his henchman in front of the truck that held the chemical bomb. They were able to slip on top of the truck without being noticed.

"They could've at least tried to hide this chemical bomb." it was Darhk's voice, and the moment Katie heard it, she got a slight chill. _"Serves them right, it getting stolen and used against them."_ Suddenly Oliver shot an arrow behind Darhk and his men, and they all turned to it, before looking above the truck. _"You brought arrows to a gun fight."_

" _What guns?_ " Oliver asked, and with the press of a button, he activated the magnetic current on the arrow, pulling the guns from the henchmen's hands.

"Such a genius, Smoaks." Katie says giving the woman a high five. She continued to watch, trying not to feel anxious at the sight of all the fighting. Oliver suddenly appeared right in front of Darhk, and Katie's eyes seemed drawn to him. He lifted a hand to Oliver's chest, and Katie heard Oliver gasp for air.

"What's happening?" she asked looking over to Felicity who shook her head.

" _Ooh! You know, I got to be honest."_ Darhk taunted, and Katie suddenly began to feel a tingling under her fingers. There was another pained gasp from Oliver, and she had to stand to her feet and turn away. " _I really thought we'd be doing this dance a lot longer. Night-night."_

"Hey, are you alright?" Felicity asked standing to her feet and walking over to Katie, when she could actually hear the woman's heavy breathing. There was a weird sound that came from the monitor, and Felicity turned at the sound of a familiar voice. "Barry?" she smiled as she walked over to the computer. "Oliver's fine, Barry saved him." the blonde looked over to Katie who she noticed had already began rushing over to the bathroom. "Not good." Felicity went rushing after her.

Katie hurried into the bathroom, rushing over to grip the sink as her entire body began buzzing. She tightened her eyes closed, trying to breathe through it in hopes that it would pass.

"What's happening." she muttered, opening her eyes, only to see a white light emitting from her hands. "What-" there was a throaty chuckle, and Katie lifted her eyes back to the mirror to see the face of her uncle, who even death couldn't put an end to. "What's happening to me?"

 _"You're becoming who you truly are."_ he only continued to laugh, and Katie shook her head before looking back down to her hands, just as there was a knock at the door. She quickly lifted her head with wide eyes to the door.

"Katie, are you alright?" it was Felicity. Katie looked back down to her hands, and the light was still there.

"Go away!" she muttered quietly, knowing this is just something she wouldn't be able to explain. She began flicking her hands in hopes the the lights would go away.

"Twinkie?" suddenly the light is just gone, and Katie lets out a relieved sigh, before going over and opening the door. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I just—" Katie shook her head as she glanced down to her hands before looking back up to the woman. "Don't like seeing my boyfriend nearly dying."

"Well no one does." Felicity replied placing a hand to Katie's cheek. "You're looking kind of pale. Maybe you should lie down."

"Maybe I should." Katie replied with a nod, before turning and heading off to her room. The moment she was inside, she went straight to the bed, and laid down in hopes of calming her ramming heart. She took in a deep breath, before turning and looking up to the ceiling. "OK, stopping time, talking to the dead, and a weird light from my hands. How is this possible?" Katie closed her eyes, and suddenly she remembered something Darhk had said to her.

" _You know that's a trick I learned from your mother."_

"Mom." Katie mutters, before snagging her phone from her pocket and sitting up. Dialing a familiar number, Katie stood to her feet bringing the phone to her ear.

_"You're calling me? Why are you calling me?"_

"Hey Richie, how's life as Gotham's bird sidekick?" Katie asked and she heard the man laugh. "I'm calling, because I need to know where my mother's diaries are?" she thought she heard something break from the other end of the line. "What was that?"

_"N—nothing. Why do you want those diaries? I thought you could care less about what was in them?"_

"Yeah, well I'm starting to think there are answers in them that I have been searching for." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "I just know you became obsessed them for a while. Where did you put them?"

" _Um, I have them. Here. They're somewhere in the mansion."_

"Well could you find them and send them to me?"

" _Sure, I will start looking for them and send them as soon as I find them."_ the man replied, clearing his throat. _"Uh, I have to go. I will talk to you later I guess."_

"Yeah." she said and the man quickly ended the call. "That was weird."

The woman lifted her head at the sound of voices outside the room, and figured the others had returned. She began walking toward the door, stopping and looking back down to her hand before finally leaving. When she walked out, she nearly bumped into Oliver who seemed to heading to the room.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked bringing his arms around her. "Felicity said-"

"I'm fine." Katie says quickly, placing her hand hand the side of the man's face. "Are you alright? What did he do to you?" Oliver shook his head.

"I don't know, but I'm fine now." he replied and Katie continued to look at him, unsure if that was the truth before turning and spotting a familiar face across the room. 

"Barry!" the man turned to her and smiled, before walking over to hug the woman. "You don't call, don't visit, I mean you're like super fast. I should see you like everyday."

"Well Central City is keeping me busy." the man laughed, as he pulled from the hug before looking her over. "And I can see you've been busy yourself." he looked over to Oliver who shook his head. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm totally and completely happy. There's nothing more miraculous than bearing a child."

"So you're miserable?"

"Beyond miserable." Katie says before turning and spotting another familiar face, over by the computers, with a woman she didn't recognize. "Is that Mr. Ramon?"

"It is."

"This is completely wrong!" Cisco yells looking down to the row of computers. "Did you guys even look at the specs I sent over? This is a tragedy." the man shook his head as he looked over to Felicity. "I'm mourning for the death of engineering. Copper wiring to handle the processing speed from the Palmer Satellite, or else your system is gonna overload."

"Yeah, but that hasn't happened. I mean, it hasn't happened since last week." Felicity rambled nervously. "I mean, it didn't... It happened yesterday." Katie seemed to laugh at the man, before turning to Barry who she caught staring at her.

"What?"

"Oh-" he shook his head and turned away. "Nothing. Just-" he cleared his throat, before turning back to the woman. There was something in the way he looked at her, and Katie dropped her eyes to her stomach and just rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I know I'm a whale, but you don't have to stare." the woman replied before turning and walking over to Oliver, who brought an arm around her.

"I didn't mean-"

"Hi, I'm Felicity." the blonde says changing topics and turning to the woman beside Cisco.

"Hi, I'm Kendra Saunders." the woman spoke holding out a hand to Felicity who shook it. "I'm Cisco's-" the woman trailed off as if unsure how to describe their relationship.

"She's, uh, my, uh, new, beautiful friend who kisses me occasionally." Cisco adds a bit awkwardly, and everyone simply stared at the man in amusement.

"Um, right, well I'm Thea." Thea greeted. "That's John Diggle and my brother and his soon to be wife-"

"Oliver Queen and Dr. Katherine Robins, I know." the woman said with a smile as she looked between the couple. "I didn't know you two were engaged though."

"It's not public yet, and we're trying to keep it that way." Katie says, glancing over to Thea. "No matter how much anyone wants to make it front page news."

"All I'm saying is, think about the good publicity for the campaign and the company-"

"It's not happening Speedy." Oliver sighed for what felt like the one hundredth time.

"Wow, first I meet the Flash, and now the Green Arrow and-" Kendra said before turning to Katie. "Freakin Katherine Robins." she shook her head before turning back to Cisco. "Do you have any more surprises for me." The man gave a dry chuckle.

"Please no more surprises." he pleaded.

"Barry said that you need our help." Oliver says looking over to the woman let out a sigh, but nodded. "Somebody very dangerous is after you."

"Yeah, and I have no idea why."

"What does this guy even look like?" Thea asked hoping to figure out a starting point for finding this guy.

"Hold on." Barry says walking over to a nearby notepad and pencil. They watched as the man used his speediness to quickly sketch a picture of the man they were looking for.

"Yeah, see that's still not something I would even think of." John says, still not over how fast the man really is. Felicity walked over, taking the picture from his hand.

"Hey, kind of rocking that Dothraki look... hot." she headed back over to her computer. "Let's see if facial recognition can find a match." Most of the team followed after her, to see the results, while Oliver turned to Katie.

"It's late-"

"Yeah, and I don't have a curfew." Katie replied looking over to the man. "I'm just as curious about finding this guy as everyone else is. I'm staying." the truth was, she didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to think about the craziness happening to her, because if she thought about it, she'd probably go insane.

"Fine, then you sit." Oliver says taking the woman's hand and pulling her toward the others, grabbing a chair and moving it closer to her. He helped her to sit before placing a kiss on top of her head and heading over to where everyone stood crowded around Felicity's computer.

During the wait, Katie turned, her mind drifting back to the sight of the light from her hands and how impossible it seemed, and yet a part of her was just curious about it's purpose...if there was a purpose.

She placed her hand on the desk in front of her, and looked down to her hand and she doesn't know why, but she attempted to do it again. Just so she knows that it actually happened, and that she isn't completely crazy.

"That's him." Kendra says looking at the picture Felicity was able to pull up. She nodded, because it was a face she doesn't think she can even forget.

"Yeah, strange." Felicity replies with a quirked brow. "This picture's from 1975."

"Which would make him about 80 years old right now." Barry guessed with a shake of his head because that didn't uncomplicate this situation anymore. Katie turned glancing over to the picture on Felicity's screen, accidentally bumping into Cisco.

"Sorry." she said looking over to the man, who looked over to her with weird look. "What? That barely hurt you." Cisco opened his mouth to speak, but turned at the sound of Oliver's voice.

"Okay, what else can you tell us?" Oliver asked and all eyes turned to Kendra, and she shook her head, because she didn't know much.

"He said we've known each other for ages, but I've never met the man before."

"There has to be some kind of connection." Oliver insisted, and it made Kendra nervous.

"Not one I can think of. I just moved to Central City six months ago." she replied, still trying to rack her brain.

"Why'd you move there?" Oliver asked continuing his line of questioning.

"I just felt drawn to the city, I guess." Kendra answered honestly, but she could tell from the look on his face it wasn't a good enough answer.

"Kendra, there is a reason this guy's after you." Oliver pressed, with a slight agitation. "Think."

"Look, man, we just came out here to hide out for a bit until we figure things out, so you can just take it down..." Cisco said, clearly not liking Oliver's tone as he spoke to Kendra.

"You came here because you need our help. This is what my help looks like." Oliver bit back, and this time Katie stood to her feet, because it was getting clearer where Oliver's agitation was going to lead.

"Oliver, I just saved you guys from whatever the hell Flock of Seagulls was about to do. The least you can do is... "

"Barry, none of us have superpowers. You brought Kendra into our world without knowing who she is or what this dude that is after her is looking for. You made all of us unsafe." Oliver replied glancing over to Katie and shook his head before turning back to Barry. "So maybe you ask the questions."

"Or maybe no one asks the questions." Katie said placing a hand on Oliver's arm, in hopes of calming the man down. "I for one know what it's like to have people trying to kill you and have no idea why." she glanced over to Kendra who turned away slightly, and it was clear that she felt bad for not knowing more. Katie turned back to Oliver and gave the man a smile. "But we figured it out, just like we will do now. We just need to dig a little deeper, talk this out-" she looked over to Felicity hoping the woman had some ideas. Felicity stared for a moment before one hit her.

"Drinks!" Felicity said and everyone turned to her. "We can talk this out over drinks, and act like the friends we are." she said looking between Oliver and Barry. "We're all friends here, right?" Oliver simply nodded, but it was clear he was still a bit angry.

"Then it's a party." Katie replied, looking over to Oliver, placing a hand on his chest and the man turned to her. "And the best part is, there's no way Drunk Twinkie can make an appearance tonight."

The night’s frustrations seemed to float away as a group of friends hung out and had a couple of drinks. Everyone was in conversation, when Felicity stepped out of her kitchen with a plate of chocolate chip cookies. Barry was the first to walk over, but Felicity pulled the plate away.

"Sorry, Barry, but these aren't for you. These are for my friend who has to hang around a bunch of boozed up people." Felicity said glancing over to Katie who stood alone by the window that lead to the balcony. "I didn't really think the whole pregnant lady coming over for drinks plan through." Barry turned looking over to Katie. Felicity's phone rang, and she lifted it up, her eyes lighting up at the sight of Bruce's name. "It's Bruce, I have to-" she looked back up to Barry who gave a nod.

"You mind if I-" Barry nudged his head toward Katie, and Felicity nodded before handing him the plate and watching as he walked over to Katie. He expected her to notice him the moment he walked over, but her eyes stayed out the window. He watched her for a moment, how deep in thought she looked and he let out a quiet sigh because every time he saw her it only reminded him of the secret he was carrying that concerned her. He cleared his throat and she turned to him with a smile. "So Felicity felt bad that everyone here is able to drink and you can't, so she was going to bring you these cookies. She got a call from Bruce and kind of got-"

"All girly?" Katie asked and Barry laughed. "That happens a lot when you're in love." she replied taking the plate from the man's hand and grabbing a cookie. "You want one." Barry nodded before taking one as well before watching the woman place them on the table between Thea, Cisco and Kendra. She walked over to the window, and Barry continued to watch her. This time she felt his eyes on her. "You keep staring at me." she turned to him with a quirked brow. "Was there something you wanted to say?" there was something he wanted to say, but after a long conversation with Jacob Robins, and Bruce, he knew he couldn't.

"Uh, no." he said with a shake of his head before taking a bite from his cookie, and looking out the window as well. He glanced over to her once more. "You know you look happy."

"Happy." Katie replied with a smile, "There is that word again." she looked over to the man and sighed. She stared for a moment, and suddenly a question came to her. "How did you do it?" Barry seemed confused at first, and Katie knew she'd have to elaborate. "How did you handle suddenly becoming the fastest man alive? I mean that had to be-" she turned away unsure what she was even asking.

"Completely insane?" she laughed with a nod. "Well it was. It was terrifying and I felt like I wasn't me anymore-" Barry shook his head. Katie simply stared because she knew the feeling. "I was kind of scared."

"How did you get over it?"

"I guess you never really get over it." Barry says turning to the woman. "I accepted that this was who I was now. I learned what I could do and-" the man nodded. "I trusted other people with this secret. I think that helped me most of all because I don't think I could've handled all of this, grown the way I had if I didn't have people to lean on and who I can trust." Katie gave a nod, before turning back to look out the window, and Barry couldn't help but feel like there was more to the question and he thinks he knows what it is. "I know I already asked this question, but there's something I don't know-" she looked over to the man. "How are you doing? Like really doing?" Katie dropped her eyes slightly as if thinking about how to answer that question, but soon the moment was gone just as an arm snaked around her from behind and she looked over to see Oliver.

"Are you done in Felicity's kitchen, Iron Chef Liver?" he laughed placing a kiss to her head.

"You know she doesn't even know where her own pots are." Oliver chuckled with a shake of his head.

"So are you two ready for like a whole baby?" Barry asked and they turned to him. "It's just-" he shook his head. "Becoming a parent has to be completely scary, and nerve wrecking-"

"And beautiful, and miraculous." Oliver replied looking down to Katie. "And I think we're ready? What do you think?"

"I think it took six months to finally choose a crib." Katie said with a shake of her head, before turning to Barry. "He shoots arrows at people, and I pretend to know how to run a company. We're completely unprepared to deal with parent hood, but we're going to make it work."

"You know I have no doubt you will." Barry replied.

"Well if you will excuse me, I have to use the restroom." Katie says turning to Oliver and holding out her half eaten cookie. "Hold my cookie, and don't eat it."

"I'm not making any promises Twinkie." Oliver replied taking the cookie and Katie playfully pointed a warning finger to the man before turning and heading over to the bathroom.

She was just a few feet from the door, when Cisco hurried over to her.

"Oh, did you need to go because there's another bathroom upstairs-" she pointed toward the steps, turning back to Cisco who stared at her much like Barry had before, as if he had something to say. "Why is everyone staring at me?" Cisco slid a hand across his head, and Katie looked even more confusion. "You're nervous? Why are you nervous?"

"I—I'm not, I just-" he wasn't even sure why he was over here. "I—"

"Well when you figure it out, I'm going to be in the bathroom." Katie replied giving the man a pat on the shoulder, before hurrying inside the bathroom.

The moment her back was turned, Oliver slipped the rest of the cookie in his mouth.

"She's gonna murder you." Barry laughed. "So is marriage coming before the baby carriage?"

"I don't think so." Oliver says, still disappointed at the fact. "This last couple of weeks are really tiring her out. She says she's not up to planning a wedding and I get it. I just can't wait to marry her. I feel like it's been a long time coming."

"I think a lot of people feel that same way." Barry replies with a nod.

"It's just being with Twinkie, it's like I have this peace, I never thought I would find." Oliver replied with a small smile.

"Didn't you tell me that guys like us don't get the girl?" Barry asked and Oliver gave the man a nod .

"I did say that and I really believed it." Oliver shook his head because he almost lost her because of that thinking. "But I was wrong." Oliver glanced over to the bathroom, realizing how long Katie had been in there. Barry followed his eyes and gave a slight chuckle.

"I'm guessing you think you should go check on her?" Barry asked and Oliver turned to the man. "You know this is a different look on you as well."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." Oliver replied before walking over and giving a knock on the bathroom door. He wanted to be extra cautious, especially since her going into labor was now expected at any minute. "Hey, Twinkie, are you alright in there?"

Katie had lost herself in the image staring back to her from the mirror. Every day was proving how much she didn't know about herself. She didn't know she was crying until she tasted the saltiness of a tear on her lips. There was another knock at the door, and Katie turned.

"Twinkie?"

"I'm fine, just give me a minute." she replied grabbing some tissue and drying her eyes. She looked back to the mirror and pulled on a smile in hopes of hiding how scared she was right now. With a deep breath, she turned and pulled open the door, and as expected there was Oliver waiting for her.

"You sure you're alright?" Oliver asked, looking over the woman. He could see something was wrong, even through the smile on her face. "It's late, maybe I should take you home."

"There's no telling when I will ever go to a party again. You're not taking this moment from me Liver." the woman says walking around him. "I think I'm going to find some food." before Oliver could say a word, the woman was already headed for the kitchen.

There was half of a chicken in Felicity's fridge that Katie decided to give her full attention in hopes of forgetting how messed up her life seemed to become. She sat by herself in Felicity's kitchen, picking away pieces of the fowl.

"You know I was going to eat that later." Katie looked up to see Felicity, who took the seat across from her. "So what's going on with you?"

"Nothing." Katie looks back down to the chicken, picking away another piece and placing it in her mouth. "I'll buy you some more chicken."

"This isn't about the chicken. It's about whatever is bothering you." Felicity said, but Katie didn't say a word. "And I think whatever that is, it's why you want to hold off on the wedding." Katie shook her head about to stand, and leave the woman and this conversation. "You know more than anyone, that keeping stuff locked inside does not help you. It festers and it eats away at you."

"Smoaks, this is a party-"

"And you're in the kitchen alone, eating cold chicken. You have to let someone in." Katie turned back to the woman, just as Oliver walked in. Felicity looked over to him and sighed.

"I think I'm going to find those cookies." Katie said standing to her feet and leaving the kitchen.

Oliver turned to Felicity, and the woman just shook her head. He thought she'd be able to figure out what was going on with Katie, but obviously he was wrong.

It didn't take long for Thea appear at Katie's side, pull out her phone and show her pictures of different flowers. The last thing Katie wanted to do right now was think about the wedding, but she could see how important it was to Thea, and so she looked at every picture.

"I would like to propose a toast!" both women looked over to Oliver who grabbed a drink and a cookie before walking over to Katie. He handed her the cookie and the woman simply shook her head as they turned to everyone. "I wish it wasn't just the dark times bringing us together..." suddenly Barry sped across the room, grabbing Oliver's drink and turning to the others.

"But it is friends like you that make those dark times worth having." Barry said with a smile that made Oliver shake his head.

"What a guy." Oliver chuckles, taking his drink back from Barry. "Steals my drinks, steals my words-" he gave a shake of his head before holding up his drink. "As I was saying, it's good to see everyone."

"Cheers!" they all said, before taking a sip from their drinks, while Katie happily took a bite from her cookie.

Oliver slid an arm around Katie and the woman looked up, meeting his eyes with a smile.

"You know if I weren't already pregnant, that look would probably do it." she said as Oliver leaned into kiss her.

Cisco grabbed Barry's arm and pulled him away from the others. Barry assumed he knew what this was about, and tried to reassure his friend.

"Don't worry, we're going to keep her safe. I promise." Barry placed a hand on his shoulder and Cisco gave a nod.

"Yeah I know." Cisco looked over to Katie and Oliver before turning back to Barry. "There's just a couple of things."

"About what?"

"Well there's Kendra, and the fact that I may have forgot to mention something about her." Cisco said and Barry stared in confusion. "And then there is Katie who I think may be more than a mild mannered CEO doctor."

Felicity and Thea appeared in front of Oliver and Katie who didn't seem to notice the pair at first.

"You know the whole world gets you two are in love." Thea says and the couple turns to them. "We have a proposal."

"Why does that frighten me?" Oliver asked.

"Well it shouldn't. Me and Thea have been talking, and we think we can plan the entire wedding-" Felicity said, before she turned to Katie. "And you wouldn't have to lift a finger. No stress, no mess." the blonde smiled between the couple. "I along with the rest of the world believes this wedding should not be put off for longer than it needs. I'm thinking we find this vampire guy, or whatever he is, and get a few things in order. I mean in a couple of days we can get you two to be man and wife."

"So what do you say?" Thea asked. Oliver looked at them for a moment, actually liking the idea. He would like any idea that ended with them married quickly. He turned to Katie wanting to hear her answer.

"Look!" Kendra yelled, and almost suddenly the windows of Felicity's balcony shatter as a man flies in. It isn't until he's standing right there, that they realize the man they are looking for had found them.

"I will always find you, Chay-Ara!" he declared, his eyes on Kendra.

Oliver moved his body in front of Katie, pushing her back, and placing as much distance between them and the dangerous metahuman. Soon the entire team was on the other side of the room, until Barry suddenly sped away, and when he returned he was holding Oliver's bow and arrows he'd had in the car. Oliver quickly took them, before turning to John who gave a nod, and moved in front of Katie before Oliver rushed off.

"Don't move!" Oliver ordered.

"Then how will I kill you all" the man said.

It wasn't until Katie took a slight step to the side, that she saw as the man suddenly tossed blades in their direction. Her eyes went wide, and she doesn't even know why she does it, but she lifts a palm toward the blades.

"Stop!" she yells, and everything in the room freezes in place. Katie looks over to the man, before turning to her friends. That's when she sees Barry mid step, she figures in his attempt to catch the blades. She walks over to blade in front of Felicity and wraps her hand around the handle and pulling it with no trouble before dropping it to the ground. She was about to grab the next one, when she heard movement and she turned back to the man, seeing him make slow movements. "Shit." she muttered quickly grabbing the next blade, and then the next.

"What-" she turned to see the man no longer frozen. His eyes look over to the others before turning to Katie. "How-"

"Go." Katie mutters and suddenly the room is moving again, as Barry quickly rushes to grab the blades. He could've sworn there were more as he stops a few, but one eludes him and stabs him through the shoulder. Barry stumbles back a bit, but is able to catch his footing before another blade is thrown, this one he's able to catch.

"Yeah, I can do that too!" Barry, yells. The man take a step forward, but is suddenly stopped by one of his own blades piercing his side. His eyes go to Katie, and suddenly so does everyone else.

"You crashed the wrong party." she said and he reached for another blade, but Oliver had stepped forward, sending an arrow through his shoulder. He took another step, but didn't expect his sister to appear with her own bow and arrow, and release arrow after arrow at the man, causing him to stumble back and fall off the balcony.

"Thea, no!" Oliver yelled and his sister turned to him without an ounce of regret on her face. "What did you do?"

"I ended it." Thea practically growled, and Oliver could see the darkness in her eyes. He shook his head before he and Barry rushed over to the balcony to look over, only to find the man was no where in sight.

"This is why I ask questions!" Oliver snapped, looking over to Barry who was still looking for the man.

"Wait...where did he go?" Barry asked, turning back to Oliver who shook his head before rushing back inside. He quickly dropped the bow, and hurried over to Katie, placing his hands on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Oliver asked, he could feel her shaking under his touch. "Are you hurt?" Katie looked up to Oliver, speechless, not sure the events prior just happened. "Ok, we're going to the hospital-"

"Liver, no, I'm-" Katie shook her head before simply bringing her arms around the man, who did the same. "I'm fine."

"Is she ok?" Barry asked, and Oliver pulled from Katie's arms and turned a dark look to the man, before taking a step forward, but Katie grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Hey, I'm ok, I just didn't see this turning into a knife party." Katie replied letting out a deep breath.

"I'm taking you home." Oliver said and Katie shook her head.

"Liver, really I-"

"We don't know nearly enough about this guy to feel safe. Right now he wants Kendra, and that means as long as we're protecting her, then we're in danger too. The danger will not get to you again." Katie looked at the man for a moment before looking down to one of the blades on the floor. He was right. Of course he was right. This guy was dangerous, and she was slow and not able to move as quickly as the others, so the likelihood of her getting hurt was greater than the others. It made sense for her to rush home, but she didn't want to be alone. Not right now, not when she was moments away from completely freaking out. She turned, prepared to come up with any excuse, but Oliver was already grabbing her jacket and keys and was leading her toward the door.

During the drive home, Katie nervously bit her nails as she stared out the window. She couldn't stop seeing it, how she did something impossible.

"How did he find her?" Oliver suddenly spoke and Katie turned to the man who seemed to be thinking out loud. "I don't get it."

"Maybe there's a bigger connection between him and her, maybe even one she's not aware of." Katie replied, before shifting in her seat, letting out a slight groan.

"You ok?"

"Yeah, she's going nuts in here." Katie replies sliding a hand across her stomach. "I guess she wasn't a fan of the party crasher either."

"Well she won't be in the same room with that guy if I can help it." Oliver replies as he finally pulls into the driveway.

When they walked inside the house, Oliver followed behind Katie, closing the door behind him, but not venturing too far inside. He wanted to, wanted nothing more than to stay home with his future wife and forget the world around him. But there was a woman whose life was in danger, and he could help. Katie turned to see the man standing by the door, and knew what was going through his head.

"I'm angry." she said suddenly and Oliver looked confused, walking over to her, but she held up her hands to stop him. "Wait, let me finish." he stopped, but gave a nod. "I'm angry that this happens. That at a party, with my friends, and some crazy guy slams through the window, and then my fiance has to rush off to stop him, while I hang back-"

"Twinkie-"

"I get it. This is our lives, these things will happen and it was fine, when it was just-" she shook her head.

"Just us?" Katie turned back to him and nodded. "Twinkie, I promise I will make sure she's safe."

"You can't promise that, I can't promise that. It's our lives." she shook her head, letting out a heavy sigh. "And the last thing I want right now is for you to leave." Oliver sighed, bringing his arms around the woman. "If I told you to stay, would you?" Oliver dropped his forehead to hers.

"Absolutely." he replied, before placing a kiss to her forehead. Katie sighed, before wrapping her arms around the man, and dropping her head to his chest.

"I want to tell you to stay." she sighed against his chest. "But I'm not going to. I'm going to tell you to be safe, to stop the bad guy, be safe, and kiss me." she lifted her head, and looked up to the man's eyes. Oliver stared down to the woman for a few moments, a small smile on his lips before leaning forward to capture the woman's lips. In those few moments, the craziness of this day just disappeared, and there was nothing left but the two and half people in this room right now. Naturally they needed to breathe, and so they pulled back, their arms still wrapped around each other.

"I love you." Oliver said smiling down to the woman, placing a final kiss to her lips.

"Well if you love me so much, you should marry me."

"That's a good idea." Oliver laughed, placing another kiss along her cheek. "Will you marry me?"

"I'll think about it." she joked, pulling away from the man. "You should go."

"Did you need help up the stairs?" Oliver asked and Katie scoffed, but turned to the stairs and sighed with a nod.

"My greatest enemy are those stairs and I will beat them one day." Katie replied, as Oliver walked around her, and scooped the woman into his arm.

"Until then, you get to be my damsel." Oliver said and Katie simply shook her head as she let the man carry her upstairs.

Oliver gently lowered the woman to the bed, and took the seat beside her.

"Are you sure you don't want to tell me to stay?" Oliver asked and Katie lightly laughed placing a hand on his cheek. "I really don't want to leave my nine month pregnant fiance home alone."

"Don't worry, I won't have her without you." Katie attempted to make him feel better.

"You can't promise that." Oliver replied before placing a hand on her stomach. "But I can promise that the moment I get the call you're in labor, I will drop everything and make my way to you." he brought his lips to hers before placing a kiss to her stomach. "Just stay in there until I get back, ok?" he gave Katie one final kiss before standing to his feet and leaving.

Katie closed her eyes, dropping her head back against the headboard, and let out a sigh.

" _Well, well, well."_ came the taunting voice of her uncle. She opened her eyes and turned her head to see him lying beside her on the bed. " _Are you ready to face this now?"_

"Face what? That somehow, I have these abilities-" she shook her head. "I was no where near that explosion in Central City, so that's not how it happened."

" _Who said it did?"_ he asked and Katie looked over to him. _"Who says this hasn't been inside of you this entire time?"_

"Why are you here? Where is my mother? I would rather her here, than you."

" _Ah, my Minnah would love to be here right now, but she can't_."Ra's replied as he looked over to her. " _You see, she can not come to light in darkness, and as the darkness slowly grows within you-"_

"What are you talking about?" Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Katie turned away at the sound. "Who could that be?"

 _"I wouldn't answer."_ Ra's said and she turned back to him. " _You don't need more distractions."_ the doorbell rang once again, and this time Katie pulled herself to her feet and began heading down the halls.

She hoped whoever was at the door was important, because she would hate to have to climb down so many stairs for no reason. The doorbell rang once more the moment she was standing in front of the door, and she quirked a brow.

"Yes!" she called.

"Hey, it's me, Arianna!" a voice called from the other side, and Katie furrowed her brow in confusion before reaching forward and pulling open the door. Her eyes go wide at the sight of the young girl, whose curly red hair is pulled into a pony tail on top of her head. "What took you so long?" she scoffed before stalking inside the house, past Katie. Katie turned, still surprised to see the girl. Ms. Sandburg had shown her pictures, but it was quite different to see this girl up close, still wearing her navy and white uniform, and sneakers. "You live here?" the question seemed like more of an insult than anything.

"Ok." Katie says closing the door and turning to the young girl. "You're here, like right here, why?" Ari continued walking through the house, making little disgusted noises as she did. "I thought you weren't coming until after exams around Christmas break."

"We were given the chance to take exams early. I did and passed." she replied turning back to Katie. "You seriously live here. It's all weird and small." Katie looked at the girl in confusion, because this house was anything but small, but she figures compared to her parent's mansion, maybe it is.

"Ari, focus, ok. Where is Ms. Sandburg? Why didn't anyone tell me you were coming today in the middle of the night?"

"Well Ms. Stick up her butt doesn't know I'm here, and it really doesn't matter because I'm not staying." Ari replied before digging in her bag. "I'm spending the rest of break in Central City with a friend of mines, but I figured I should stop by here to give you these." Ari handed Katie a thick packet of papers. Katie took them and looked them over. "They're everything you need to sign for my tuition." Katie looked over to the girl. "All those papers need to be completed and a check needs to be mailed before the deadline, or I don't get to attend next semester." Katie looked back down to the papers still lost. "Hey!" the girl clapped her hands and Katie jumped a bit looking back up to her. "I need you to listen and listen good, you're going to fill out those papers, you're going to write a check for my tuition for the next three years and then you and me will never have to lay eyes on each other. We need to do this now because my friend is waiting for me, so grab a pen and start writing." the girl shook her head before turning and spotting the door to the kitchen, walking off leaving Katie in a mild state of shock.

No one really said much once they returned back to the hideout and waited for Oliver to arrive. They were all still a bit shaken, and confused by the attack. Felicity sat behind her computer, trying to see if any of the surrounding surveillance cameras could've seen where the man had disappeared to. She glanced over to John who was standing off to himself, and she could tell there was something on his mind.

"Hey." she called and he turned to her. "You alright?" John gave a nod, glancing over to the others who were on the other side of the lair, before he walked over to her. "What's up?"

"I don't know. Back at your place, when the weird, old guy attacked, Barry gave Oliver his bow and then Oliver looked at me, wanting me to keep Katie safe, so I moved in front of her."

"And she didn't get hurt, there's nothing for you to feel bad about." Felicity replied, giving the man a pat on the shoulder.

"That's not it. It's just I remember standing in front of her, and then the next minute she's on the other side of the room." John said looking over to Felicity who just stared in confusion.

"I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"Neither do I." John said with a shake of his head.

Cisco watched as Kendra walked over to the bathroom, before glancing over to Barry who stood looking up to one of the suits. It wasn't until he walked over did he see which suit he was looking at. Barry glanced over to his friend for a moment before shaking his head.

"Do you want to talk about this now?"

"Not particularly." Barry replied. "I just feel we have bigger issues at the moment. Like someone trying to kill your girlfriend." he turned back to Cisco who shook his head. "Cisco, I know what you saw, but I need you to trust me when I say drop it." Barry turned and walked off, and Cisco stared after him, before following and grabbing his arm. Barry turned, glancing around to make sure no one had noticed the man. "Cisco, what-"

"You already knew, didn't you?" he asked and Barry just shook his head. "You did know, and you didn't say anything."

"Say anything to who?" Barry asked. "That's not my secret to tell, and it's not yours, so you're going to say nothing to no one." Barry was about to walk away, but for the life of him he just had to know. "What did you see exactly?" Cisco took a slight step forward.

"There was this light coming from her hand, and she was standing beside this guy with blonde hair. She wasn't pregnant though, and she seemed different."

"Different how?"

"Like bad, different." Cisco replied still getting chills from what he saw. "Like something happened to her." he shook his head turning back to Barry. "We should say something, right? I just get the feeling if we don't something bad will happen."

"Today's problem is protecting Kendra from whoever this guy is. I'll figure out what to do with this Katie thing." Barry lifted his eyes as the elevator doors opened and out walked Oliver. Cisco followed his eyes and shuttered a bit.

"He doesn't look happy, does he?"

"Well I don't think leaving his pregnant fiance is something he wants to be doing right now." Barry said before walking over to the man who headed over to Felicity. "Hey Ollie, I have to apologize again, putting Katie and the baby in any kind of danger was not my intention when we brought Kendra here." Oliver simply gave the man a nod before turning to Felicity.

"I spoke with Lance, he's going to keep us in the loop if there's any sighting of whoever this guy is." Felicity said looking over to everyone, before hearing a slight beeping from her computer. She turned back with a growl, typing away.

"What's going on?" Oliver asked and Felicity turned to the man nervously. "What?"

"Well it's kind of unrelated to the case at hand, but it's something you will want to know." Felicity replied, and Oliver stared, waiting for her to continue. "There was an electrician working in your neighborhood this morning, and I believe he had absolutely no idea what he was doing." Felicity turned back to her computer and just shook her head. "There have been power outages in the neighborhood for most of the day."

"What does that mean?"

"It means all security at the house is down." she turned back to the cold glare of Oliver, and instantly regretted spilling the beans on this, but she knew she had to. "At least until someone can fix it."

"Which is when?"

"According to the SC Electric, someone should be out in the morning." Felicity replied with a slight smile.

Oliver folded his arms over his chest and took a slight step back. The only comfort he got in leaving Katie was knowing there were eyes on her when he wasn't around, and now he was told that he wouldn't have that tonight.

"I've tried everything to get the system back up, but the issue must be on-site with the wiring."

"And are we sure this was done by the electric company?" Oliver asked turning to the woman who nodded.

"From what I can tell, yes." Felicity said looking back to her monitor. "Oliver, I'm sure Twinkie will be alright for one night without big brother watching her every move." she looked back up to the man, and she just knew he held a different opinion. "Or I could call Bruce. He should be back now, and the only thing he's taking care of is fixing our window." she grabbed her phone. "Maybe he can swing by to make sure everything is still quiet." she looked back up to Oliver who looked like he wanted to just run right back out the door. "Don't worry." Oliver sighed, before looking over to the others.

"Has there been any new information on this guy?" Oliver asked, looking over to Cisco, and Kendra.

"I know where we can get some info." Barry says, his eyes looking over to Cisco who let out a sigh, before turning to Kendra.

"Kendra, I have powers." Cisco says, and the whole room goes quiet.

Katie wasn't sure why the sight of a teenage girl, rummaging around her refrigerator was so odd, but it was. It was unexpected.

"I called Ms. Sandburg." Katie said, and she heard the girl groan. "She said she talked the school, and although yes you did finish your exams early, they said you couldn't actually leave without parental permission. So instead you snuck away with your friend."

"What's the big deal?" Ari replied closing the refrigerator, and simply grabbing a banana from the basket on the counter. "You should really get a move on those papers. I really don't want to have to be here longer than I need to." Katie looked over to her confused.

"You know I thought Ms. Sandburg said you were alright with me becoming your guardian." Katie said and the girl rolled her eyes and that's when it hit her. "Or more like you were alright with the money I could provide for your tuition." she looked down to the papers in her hand and just shook her head.

"Don't look so offended." the girl replied and Katie looked over to her with a quirked brow. "In what world would I ever be alright with living with the woman who killed my father and sent my mother to prison? Look this solves everyone's problem. I get to go to school with my friends, and you get to focus on your little spawn in there, and everyone's happy."

"Look, what happened with your dad-"

"Please don't. I'm not here for closure. I know who my father was, know what he did. It was all over the news, so me along with all of my friends saw it." Ari shook her head, before looking around the kitchen. "This is the house where it happened." she looked back over to Katie. "Where's the spot?" Katie looked over to her in confusion. "Where he died. Where's the spot?" Katie dropped her head, swallowing the lump in her throat. "Sign the papers. If you want to soothe your guilty conscious, then sign papers, give me the check, and just stay the hell out of my life." Arianna's phone buzzed, and she pulled it from her pocket and cursed under her breath. "Look I have to go. I will text you an address where you can send the forms and the check." the girl was already headed for the door.

"Wait, Ms. Sandburg said that you should stay here until morning when she would come sort everything out." Katie said, following after the girl.

"There's nothing to sort out." the girl stopped at the door, and turned back to Katie, looking her over once more with a shake of her head before turning and opening the door. The girl didn't expect to practically bump into someone.

"Whoa, sorry." the man said before looking over to Katie. "You have a guest this late, Robins?"

"Bruce, this is Arianna, my cousin." Katie says walking over to the girl. "Arianna, this is-"

"Bruce Wayne, I know." the girl muttered looking down to her phone once again before rushing out to the awaiting car. Katie stepped outside to see Arianna, slide into the passenger side of the car, and kiss the teenage driver. Katie tilted her head slightly, because the guy in the driver's seat looked way too old to be in high school She wanted to say something, but before she knew it, the car was speeding off. She seriously didn't know what she was supposed to do in this moment, and so she turned around and walked back into the house with low growl.

"Ok, I'll bite. What the hell was that?" Bruce asked following behind the woman in to the kitchen. "I thought Felicity said baby cousin wouldn't be arriving until for another week."

"That's what I thought too." Katie turned back to the man looking down to the papers. "She got out early and decided to drop these off."

"What are those?"

"My only purpose to her." Katie said with a shake of her head. "She only wants money to pay for school." she looks over to Bruce. "I mean she hates me, that's pretty obvious, but I didn't know how cold she would be." Katie dropped her head and sighed. "But I should've. After everything I did-"

"Hey Robins, trust me when I say that what happened to her parents-"

"I killed her father."

"Yeah, after he robbed your company, and then came to your home and tried to kill you and your friend."

"Her mom is in jail because of me."

"Yeah, because her and her idiot of a brother thought taking a restaurant full of people hostage, and threatening to kill them to get the world to see you as a murderer, somehow was justice for Jeremy's death. Jeremy and Heather made their own choices and those choices lead them to where they are today." Katie shook her head, looking down to the papers.

"What are you even doing here, Bruce?"

"Oh, I was taking care of that window after that rager of party when Felicity called and mentioned the power outages in your neighborhood." Bruce said and Katie looked over to him confused. "Which you didn't know about."

"No." Katie says looking around the, and seeing everything working properly. "Is she sure because everything seems to be working fine."

"Everything except your surveillance." Bruce replied and Katie turned to him. "You know I have a better idea, I'm sure Oliver and Felicity are going to be tied up with this knife guy for a while, why don't we got to some fancy hotel, with lots of cameras and security."

"That's just what me and Oliver need right now. The paparazzi catching a shot of me and Bruce Wayne walking into a hotel together." she shook her head. "Maybe the surveillance is just an electrical problem, and either way I'm sure it will be fixed in the morning." Katie eyes looked back down to the papers. "How old do you think that guy was?" she looked back to Bruce who seemed confused by question. "The guy from the car, with Ari? He seemed old, right?"

"I wasn't really paying attention." Bruce said honestly, still watching the woman who looked conflicted about something. "Hey, I know this whole Ari thing threw you for a loop, but-"

"She's my responsibility." Katie said suddenly placing the papers back on the counter and leaving the kitchen, and Bruce quickly followed her to see her slip on a pair shoes and grab her jacket.

"Hey, wait, where are you going?" Katie stopped and turned to him.

"Uh-" she closed her eyes trying to remember where Ari said her friend was. "Central City." Katie replied with a nod, looking back over to Bruce. "Arianna says she's staying with a friend until next semester, so I'm going to go there."

"Ok, why?" Bruce asked and Katie shrugged with a shake of her head.

"Because I don't know this friend, that guy from the car makes me nervous, and she's my responsibility, so I should feel comfortable when I can't see her and right now I don't feel comfortable, so I'm going to-"

"Where in Central City is this friend?" Bruce asked and Katie shook her head.

"I don't-" she growled. "You're being really negative right now."

"And you're acting like a crazy person."

"Well this isn't an act!" she snapped before turning back to the door about to leave.

"And what about your fiance?!" Bruce called after her, causing her to pause once again. "Maybe we should tell him about this little trip to Central City." Katie turned a glare to Bruce who held up his hands. "I need you to stop thinking like-"

"A mother?" Katie asked, but Bruce didn't say anything. "I don't think I can do that right now." she slid a hand through her hair. "That girl is sad, and she's angry, and I know what that's like. You know what that's like and you don't leave a kid like that alone without knowing she's not alone."

"Alright, how about in the morning we find her, and then you and Oliver can decide what to do next. Does that sound like a plan?"

"It's a plan, not one I like, but I guess it will have to do." she replied before pulling off her jacket and heading into the living room and dropping to the couch.

"You didn't want to head up to bed?" Bruce asked and Katie shook her head before grabbing the remote.

"Way too much on my mind to sleep." she replied flicking on the television. "And too many steps."

"Well do you want to talk about it?" he asked taking a seat in the chair beside her. "Richie told me you called him." Katie looked over to him and just shrugged.

"Yeah, he has my mother's diaries, and I wanted them back. Has he found them yet?"

"Uh, no, because he doesn't have them." Bruce replied. Katie turned her attention to him fully, waiting for him to explain. "They were taken?"

"By who exactly?"

"Amanda Waller." Bruce replied honestly, and that was yet another name Katie thought she would never have to hear.

"Ok." Katie reached forward, and turned off the television, before looking back to Bruce. "Explain, right now."

"Not much of an explanation. She was looking to get dirt on Jacob, so she took the journals."

"How did she even know about them?"

"That I don't know. Look there wasn't much in those journals anyway, I'm sure whatever you were looking for, it wasn't in there." Katie looked over to the man, and sighed before turning away. "What were you looking for?"

"I don't even know anymore."

It was ridiculously late when Oliver walked through the door. The good thing was they'd gotten more answers about this guy after Kendra. With a bit of help from Malcolm Merlyn of all people, they even got his name. Vandal Savage. He paid another visit tonight, but they weren't able to stop him. But they left last night with more knowledge about Kendra, and the connection she has with Savage. And a new player, named Carter Hall who along with Kendra had special abilities. One of them being, having wings and being able fly. Though Kendra hasn't gotten that far yet. What they do know is that Vandal is after a staff and if he gets his hands on it, then bad things would happen and they were pretty sure they'd find this staff in Central City. That meant Oliver leaving Star City, and his fiance who could go in to labor at any moment.

When he walked inside, he saw the glow of the television, and walked inside to see Katie asleep lying on the couch. He looked down to her in confusion, before hearing footsteps from behind him, and when he turned he met the barrel of Bruce's gun.

"You know you should announce yourself when you come in here." Bruce whispers holstering his gun.

"Yeah, I'll get right on that." Oliver says looking over to Katie. "Why is she lying on the couch?" he turned to Bruce who shrugged.

"She was watching television and just fell asleep."

"Well she shouldn't sleep on the couch. It's not comfortable and she's gonna wake up achy." the man said before walking around the couch, and gently sliding his arms underneath her and hiking her up into his arms. Katie's head turned, nuzzling Oliver's neck.

"You're back." she muttered, still not completely awake. But she was awake enough to know whose arms she was in right now. "Did we catch the bad guy?"

"Not yet, but we think we know where he's going." Oliver replied as he carefully climbed the steps. He looked away and sighed. "I may have to leave for a little bit." those words were enough to stir the woman awake, as she lifted her head and looked over to him.

"Leave? As in the city?"

"We think Savage is headed to Central City and-"

"Wait, who is Savage? Is that our very old guy's name?"

"Yeah, Vandal Savage. We've gotten a lot of information about him, and I'll tell you about it later, it's just me and Barry have to find this guy and stop him before he causes more trouble. Look I've talked with John and he says you can stay with Lyla and baby Sara while we're gone." Oliver laid the woman in the bed, and he could see this was not something she wanted to hear. "Twinkie, if there were any other way-"

"But there are." she said turning back to him. "Lots of ways, It's just since you're you, you're most likely to succeed. Which is good for catching the bad guys, just not so good for-" she looked around the room with a shake of her head. "This whole life we have here, with the baby on the way."

"Twinkie-" Oliver placed his hands in hers and she turned back to him. "Do you want to tell me to stay?" she let out a sigh, and shook her head.

"I will have the same answer to that question, every time it's asked." Katie said looking back up to the man. "I want every minute with you. Even more now since this kid is literally on a ticking clock at this point." she placed a hand on his cheek. "I wish I was selfish, but I have a conscious and you have a bad guy to stop."

Oliver looked down placing a hand over her stomach and letting out a sigh.

"This is crazy." he said looking back to the woman. "This is—this is more important and if I leave and miss meeting her, I will never forgive myself." Katie turned away slightly, and Oliver could tell she was thinking. "What?"

"Wait, you said Central City, right?" Oliver gave a nod, and a wide smile broke out on Katie's face that confused the hell out of the man. "I think I know a way to solve your distant issue and my Ari issue."

"Wait, what Ari issue?" Oliver asked


	10. The Lies We Tell

**Chapter 10**

**The Lies We Tell**

_"At the heart of any terror is the fear of losing what we find meaningful."_

_-Mark Z. Danielewski_

* * *

Oliver didn't expect his entire world to be shaken at just the simple sight of a little boy and his mother. But it was who that mother was, and who that little boy could be that seemed to cause his heart ram faster in his chest.

At the moment he stood outside of a hotel room door, terrified to go inside. Afraid of the woman who usually could tell when something wasn't right, or when he was hiding something. Hell he was afraid she wouldn't see anything, and he'd have to decide if he'd want it to stay that way. He took in a deep breath, before waving his key card along the lock, and pushing the door open. The room was big. Not by choice really. The moment they arrived, the hotel manager insisted they stayed in the best room they had. They didn't want to make a big deal about it, so they agreed. The big room only meant he'd have to really look for the woman when he walked inside.

Oliver heard her voice before he actually saw her. She was on the phone talking to someone who didn't seem to be making her happy.

"And I completely understand you protecting the confidential information of your students, but I am the guardian of this child and I have no idea where to even begin looking for her." she said, the agitation dripping from her voice. "And I assumed you being the headmaster-" whoever she was speaking to cut her off, and she scoffed. "No, I don't think I'm above any rules because of who I am, I'm just worried and I assumed you would be too." Katie ended the call, and threw the phone to the bed with a growl before turning and seeing Oliver. "I have been on the phone all morning with people from this stupid boarding school and they're all too far up their own asses to tell me anything."

"Hey, calm down." Oliver replied walking over to the woman and bringing his arms around her. "We don't even know if anything is even wrong."

"Yeah, and we don't know if anything is right either." she replied dropping her head to his chest. "I don't know what it is, but I can't shake the feeling she's in too bad a place to just be lost somewhere." she pulled back with a sigh, before looking up to the man, who looked back to her. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously. Because he knew this moment could happen. She narrowed her eyes at the man before placing a hand on his cheek.

"Where are my donuts?" she asked and the man visibly deflated. "You told me you were meeting Barry at CC Jitters, I asked you to bring me one or a few of their donuts and you agreed. I've actually been looking forward to it." Oliver looked guilty and she just shook her head. "You forgot, didn't you?"

"Twinkie, I'm sorry, I-" she pulled out of his grasp and stalked away, leaving Oliver unsure if he's relieved right now or not. He turned, and followed after her to find her in the closet sifting through her clothes. "I can go back and get you all the donuts you want." she simply ignored the man and he let out a sigh. "Twinkie, I really am sorry, I guess I got a little distracted."

"By this bad guy of the week?" she asked and she was partly right.

"Yeah, the others should be arriving soon. Now that he has this staff or whatever and is much more powerful than before, we're going to have to figure out how to take it away from him."

"So what you're saying is you were too busy trying to figure out how to save the world, to remember my donuts?" she asked looking over her shoulder to the man. He gave a small smile, and nodded. "You know that should be a great excuse, but in the end, I'm still without a single donut." she turned back to her closet and let out a loud dramatic sigh. "You have to go, don't you?"

"Not before I figure out where you're going so I can talk you out of it." she rolled her eyes at the man before heading toward the bathroom. "Twinkie-"

"I was going to go to the CCPD, talk to Detective West, see if he could help me find Ari." she replied.

"How could he help you? You have no idea where she is, or even who this friend is she's staying with, if she's even in Central City." Oliver stated and Katie turned to him in annoyance. "Honey, I know you're worried about her, but we have to figure out some more details before we actually do that. Which we will, once we beat Savage, and everyone is safe. We will focus on finding Ari." he placed his hands on her shoulder. "But for now, maybe you could just stay here and relax and not go into labor until we can stop this guy."

"And coming with you to the safe house-"

"Is dangerous. This guy has this connection to Kendra and Carter, and if he decides to make another appearance, I don't want you there."

"So how does this work then?" Katie asked in confusion. "You go there, do the whole team heroes thing, and then come back or do you stay in the event of another attack." Oliver didn't know how to answer that question, because he hadn't thought that far ahead. "This is the tough part, right? Because you're trying to find this balance between being the Green Arrow, and stopping the bad guy, and being the future husband to the hot mess that is I."

"Twinkie, you're not-" he brought his arms around her and pulled her close. "I'm really trying to be everything for everyone, so yeah it's tough."

"Well of course it is, because it's also impossible." Katie replied before leaning forward and placing a kiss to his lips. "You can't be everything to everyone, so just be who you are to anyone you can." with that she turned and headed for the bathroom, but stopped before turning back to the man. "Honey?"

"You know it just slipped out." Oliver said with a laugh. "What do you think?"

"I don't hate it." she replied with a shake of her head before disappearing into the bathroom to take her bath. Oliver stood there for a moment, letting out another sigh. The guilt of not telling her right now was eating away at him, but another part of him was scared that this bomb could shatter everything they've built. At the moment Oliver's justification was that he really didn't know anything, and he wouldn't know anything until he spoke to Samantha. His phone buzzed and he looked down to see the message from Felicity that they will be arriving soon. He slipped the phone back into his pocket before walking into the bathroom to find Katie, soaking in the bathtub.

"Hey, Felicity just sent a text. I'm going to meet them at the airfield." Oliver said walking over, and crouch beside her. "Just so I'm aware of how your day is going to go..."

"I'm going to stay here, make a couple of more phone calls, probably stalk Ari's facebook page." the woman sighed, dropping her head back on the towel behind her. "I really think she's here somewhere. I just have to dig a little deeper."

"I'm going to help you with this, you know?" Katie turned her head to him. "I just-"

"I know, honey." she said and the man smiled. "You were right, we don't know if anything is wrong, where as we do know that there is a crazy guy with a magic stick roaming around somewhere."

"I love you." he said, bringing his lips to hers.

"Just don't love me enough to bring me a donut, I guess." she muttered against his lips and he laughed.

"You know what I'm going to bring you all the donuts in this city." the man replied, and with one more kiss he stood to his feet to leave.

"What would Dr. Francis say?!" she called after him, smiling at the sound of his distant laughter.

Once Katie was finished with her bath, she parked herself in her bed, laptop in her lap attempting to figure out where Arianna was. The hotel phone suddenly rang, and Katie turned in confusion before answering.

"Hello?"

" _Hi, yes Dr. Robins, so sorry to disturb you, but we have someone at the front desk, claiming that he is your doctor, and that you called him because you were in labor. We don't usually do this sort of thing, and he actually doesn't know I'm calling you right now, but in the event that he was telling the truth-"_

"What's his name?"

" _A doctor Ethan Mills."_ the desk clerk replied. Katie heard yelling from the other end. " _Sir, I need you to calm down."_

" _No you calm down, my Kit needs me and I will be damned if you try to stop me!"_

Katie dropped her face to her palm and shook her head.

"You can send him up and no I'm not in labor." Katie replied before hanging up the phone. She shook her head, and just continued her search. When she heard the knock at the door, she rolled her eyes before standing to her feet, and slowly making her way to the door. The moment she opened the door, Ethan tossed his arms around her in a hug.

"Thanks for saving me Kit!" the man exclaimed before pulling away. "Now what the hell are you doing in Central City?"

"What are you doing in Central City?" Katie asked, stepping aside to let the man inside.

"Oliver rounded the team, and that included my girlfriend and... this room is huge." Ethan let his eyes scan the tall ceiling and the very fancy furniture. "Like this room is bigger than my apartment doubled." He turned back to Katie, who shook her head before walking away from him and of course he followed. "Like I was saying Laurel's here, and I heard you were here and I came to lecture about once again getting on an airplane at 39 weeks." Katie grabbed her laptop and climbed back into bed, and Ethan decided to kick off his shoes and slide beside her.

"Keep your lecture Ethan, I'm busy right now." Katie replied, and Ethan looked over to the screen in confusion.

"Why are you stalking teenagers on Facebook? That's probably illegal or something." Ethan replied shaking his head at some of the pictures. "And that is not how you do a keg stand. He probably cracked his skull after taking that picture." Katie growled in frustration before slamming closed her laptop. "Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he lived happily ever after."

"Or maybe he died." Katie huffed before standing to her feet and walking out to the balcony. Ethan let out a sigh, before sliding out of bed and following after her. "Stop!" Ethan's feet stopped before he could even get close to the doors of the balcony. "The last thing any of us need right now is for me and some mysterious guy showing up on the front page of some magazine, with the headline, "Future Mayor's baby mama, or hussy?" or something ridiculous like that."

"First off, no one says hussy and second, what's going on with you?"

"Arianna, showed up at the house, and then disappeared."

"She was kidnapped?" Ethan asked and Katie shook her head as she looked out to the bustling city.

"No, she says she's spending her vacation with a friend. Only problem is, I don't know this friend, or where this friend lives and that just worries me."

"Have you tried the cops. I mean she is a minor, and legally you are her guardian, so she isn't supposed to just disappear with a friend." Ethan replied and Katie turned to him.

"I don't want it to get that far if I'm just overreacting, which Oliver seems to think I am."

"Nah, those motherly instincts are just kicking in." Ethan said with a smile. "And mama bear protects her cubs, so lets find her."

"Well that's the problem. I don't know where she is, or who she's with. It's like trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat with no rabbit or a hat."

"You know, I know someone who has such skill." Ethan said, with a sly smile and Katie rolled her eyes before walking over to him.

"You mean Felicity."

"I do mean Felicity." he replied proudly.

"She's busy trying to stop villain of the week at the superhero club house, and I wasn't invited." the woman walked back over to the bed to lie down.

"Since when do you care about invitations?" Ethan asked and Katie glanced over to him for a moment.

"You want to go spy on Laurel, don't you?"

"More like surprise her, since she doesn't know I'm here." Ethan replied and Katie shook her head at the man. "Look we just pop over, let Felicity do her magic, I kiss my girlfriend, and then we go find your duckling and by the end of the day we can come back here, order tons of spicy foods since you're not leaving Central City until this baby is born."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, did you miss the part where I'm not letting you get back on an airplane?" Ethan asked before grabbing his shoes and slipping them back on. "Well FYI..."

"You know you're not the boss of me either." Katie replied tossing a pillow at the man.

"So are you really not curious about what they're doing over there?" Katie turned away for a moment, but sighed, because she knew he was right. "C'mon, lets get you some comfortable shoes Momzilla."

"I don't like that nickname Ethan." the woman complained, before once again standing from the bed.

Neither Katie, nor Ethan realized how out of the city this safe house was until they were driving, and not seeing a single building.

"This is Texas Chainsaw territory here." Ethan muttered, glancing over to see someone driving a tractor. "Definitely some sister cousins and their brother dad out here somewhere." Katie chuckled, before swatting the man's arm. Soon they were on a long stretch of road, with not single person, or animal in sight.

"Where the hell is this place?" Katie said, when Ethan finally made a turn on a single road. That road lead to a large farmhouse, that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. When Ethan stopped the car, neither moved, still unsure if they were in the right place. Without a word, Katie stepped out of the car, and Ethan quickly followed her.

"Hey, you do know our friends our trigger happy people, right?" Ethan asked looking around for someone. "I'm actually surprised we're not under attack right now."

"They just got here, so I'm assuming they're still setting up some kind of surveillance around the area." Katie spotted Kendra across the farm, along with a man she'd never met before. "Go, ring the doorbell or something, I'm going to go say hi." with that the woman headed over to Kendra, while Ethan let out a sigh and turned back to the house.

When the doctor walked onto the porch, he noticed the door was open behind the screen. He heard voices from inside though, and so because he wanted to really surprise Laurel he pulled open the screen and walked inside, not expecting the gun on him the moment he walked inside. He lifted his hands and didn't move a muscle.

"Ethan?" the doctor turned to see John who had already pulled back his gun and placed it back in his waistband. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I was in the neighborhood and needed some sugar and-"

"Ethan?" this time it was Laurel confused voice that pulled his attention. Ethan turned to see Laurel and Thea who also looked shocked to see him. "How did you-" she shook her head before walking over to the man. "When did you get here?"

"To little house on the prairie, just now. I actually got into the city an hour ago. I went to check on Kit." Ethan replied before pointing toward the door. "She's actually outside talking to some girl and a guy out there."

"Oliver said he didn't want her here." John sighs before heading out the door.

"Is this supposed to be some kind of romantic gesture?" Laurel asked and Ethan shook his head. "Because I thought I made it clear that this trip wasn't a vacation. We're trying to find a really bad, dangerous guy."

"I know, and I get it. Like I said, I came to check on Kit." Ethan replied before walking around the woman to snoop around the house.

"You know I don't think I would be able to tear myself away from a hot doctor." Thea commented, and Laurel turned to her with a quirked brow.

"Did you just call my boyfriend hot?" Laurel asked and Thea shrugged.

"I mean, I'm not blind. I can also see that he's here because he cares about you. So when you go off to fight really bad, dangerous guys, he wants to be there with you."

Kendra spotted Katie first. Her eyes went wide, not expecting to see the woman here. She heard Oliver mention that she was in the city, but her being near the farm could be too dangerous.

"What are you doing here?" Kendra asked going over to the woman. "You can't be here. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something bad happened to you because you were here."

"Don't worry, I won't be here long. I just needed to talk to Felicity and-" she glanced over to the man behind Kendra, suddenly struck with how familiar he seemed. "Do I know you?" Kendra glanced back to the man who walked over as well.

"Uh, Katie this is Carter Hall, he's my-" Kendra shook her head unable to find a way to describe the man. "It's a long story." Kendra looked over to Carter who seemed to stare at Katie in the same way. "Do you two know each other?"

"In another life, maybe." Carter says before holding out a hand to Katie who reached out to shake it, only to stop at sound of her name.

"Katie!" the doctor turned to see John, who looked way too serious for this interaction to be anything but pleasant. "What are you doing here? Oliver said-"

"You know I keep hearing what Oliver said, but here I am, perfectly fine, and perfectly healthy." Katie said turning to the man, who folded his arms and Katie shook her head because she knew that was his serious stance. "Fine, I just need to talk to Felicity and I will get as far away from this place as possible."

"Wait, you can't." Carter's protest seemed to confused everyone. They all turned to him in, waiting for an explanation. "I just assumed with trying to defeat Savage, we would need all the help that we could get."

"Not from her." John replied firmly before turning to Katie. "Let's go see Felicity." Katie rolled her eyes at the man before following him inside the house.

Once they were gone, Kendra turned to Carter who shook his head slightly before turning to her as well.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"You didn't feel that?" Carter asked and Kendra looked at the man as if he were crazy. "Well she won't be any safer back in the city, than here if Vandal felt what I felt."

Katie followed John inside the house, and noticed how homey it seemed. This would actually be a nice place to raise a family if she actually liked taking care of animals. They walked to a dining room where Felicity, Cisco and Caitlin all sat behind their respective laptops, totally engrossed in whatever they were doing. None of them even looked up when she and John walked inside.

"I see the brains behind the operation are hard at work." Katie whispered over to John. The sound of her voice caused them all to finally tear their attention away.

"Twinkie?" Felicity said standing to her feet and hurrying over. "Hi." she brought her arms around the woman in a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I needed your help with something, but now that I'm here and I see-" she looked over to the others. "You're busy, and what I need isn't important." she turned back to Felicity and just shook her head.

"Are you sure, because I'm sure Caitlin and Cisco would be fine if I stepped away for a moment." Felicity said looking back to the pair.

"Sure, we pretty much got the gist of what we're doing. We just have to pan out the numbers and start the design process." Caitlin says with a wave of her hand. "Take all the time you need."

"Great." Felicity said turning back to Katie. "So what's up?"

"How good are you at stalking someone?" Katie asked and Felicity quirked a brow.

"Why, what have you heard, because it's probably not true." the blonde replied a bit defensive.

"Well I'm kind of a boss at social media stalking." Cisco says raising his hand and they all turn to the man who isn't ashamed of the fact. "Plus I'm kind of interested who you're looking for."

"Do we really have time for stalking?" John asked and they all turned to him. The man simply rose his hands. "Fine, whatever, but you're back in a car in fifteen minutes." with that the man turned, and left the room.

"Fifteen minutes." Caitlin said. "We can work with that."

Oliver held a strand of hair in his hand, and that single strand of hair scared him to death. He'd just had a very awkward conversation with Samantha Clayton. A woman he thought he'd never see again. But then he saw her in the coffee shop this morning with her son, and one of his darkest secrets just crept up at the worse possible moment. The moment he saw the boy, he saw a possibility that the child could be his. It's why he came here today. To find out the truth once and for all, and when he asked her, she denied it.

If he were a smart man, he'd take her at her word and forget all about this and just live a nice happy life with his future wife and their baby. But Oliver had that voice in his head. That voice that sounded like his Twinkie, who always said the things he knew he needed to hear even though never wanted to. So when Samantha dropped William's hat, he quickly picked it up, brushing the dirt off and slyly pulling for any loose hairs in the process. Once she was back in her car and driving away, he looked down to the strand once more, and once again imagined the possibilities it held for his life. His phone rang, and he quickly pulled it from his jacket pocket, glancing to the number and letting out a sigh before answering.

"Now's not a good time, Malcolm."

"I've arranged a meeting with Vandal Savage. You, me, and the speedster." Oliver seemed confused by all this.

"What? Wait, why-"

"Because negotiation is the only way out of this situation, Oliver. Savage is going to decimate Central City to get what he wants. If your child were here, you would understand."

"Wait, she-" Oliver turned, already heading back toward the car. "Katie is in Central City."

"You're joking." Malcolm sighed with a shake of his head. "Is there any chance you can get her far away from this city?"

"Why exactly?"

"Because Vandal and her uncle weren't the best of friends, and I get the feeling once he finds out she is a child of the demon-"

"She's not-"

"Oliver, save your breath. I didn't call to argue what is and what is not. Her here is dangerous for a lot of reasons. Get her on a plane home. Now, suit up, I've already spoke with fleet feet, he's on his way." and without another word, Malcolm simply ended the call. Oliver groaned in annoyance, before rushing to his car.

True to his word, John appeared at the door of the dining room, and Katie glanced over to him from her spot beside Cisco and Caitlin behind Felicity who sat at her computer.

"Before you even say it, I have what I need." Katie say walking over and grabbing the papers from the small printer. "I will be on my way and-" she stopped and looked over to John. "I'm just now realizing my over protective fiance isn't the one hounding me right now. Where is he?"

"He and Barry went to the city, they wanted to see if the CCPD picked up anything on Savage." John replied and Katie nodded. "You and Ethan should be heading out before it gets too late."

"You know John, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you really didn't want me here." Katie stated walking over to the man and poking him in the chest with her finger. "You're ticking me off old man." she brushed past him out the door, and John chuckled as he followed behind her. Katie walked toward the door, glancing outside to see the setting sun. She looked around not spotting Ethan at all. "Do you know where he is?"

"Oh Dr. McLovin, and the Canary have retired for the evening." Thea said, and Katie grimaced before turning back to John. "He wasn't supposed to be going back to the city with you, was he?"

"It was a plan, but I figured once he was within arms length of Laurel, that would probably just go out the window." Katie replies with a shake of her head. "It's fine, I can drive myself." John and Thea shared a look before turning to Katie with a shake of their head.

"That's a long drive, and I don't feel comfortable with you on some country road alone, and pregnant." Thea said. "Look I'll drive you—"

"Then you'll be alone on a country road coming back, and I wouldn't feel comfortable." John added with a nod. "I'll drive her back."

"But then team protect Kendra will be one man short in the event of an attack by Randy Savage-"

"Uh, Vandal Savage." Thea corrected.

"Both names are ridiculous. But what I'm saying is I don't need round the clock supervision, and I can drive myself back to my hotel."

"And we know that driving is just one of the many capabilities that you possess," came Felicity's voice, who'd slipped in in time to hear the conversation. "But you're about an hour away from the city, away from a hospital, and probably cell service. You're not getting in that car alone." Felicity walked over to Katie and folded her arms and Katie stood tall and did the same. "You're staying here."

"Felicity-" John took a step forward, intending to protest.

"I know what you're going to say John, but right now the only logical option is for Katie stay here. If Savage attacks, then we will protect her." Katie smiled at the blonde, who emphasized the "we" in the sentence, even though she's not a fighter.

"Oliver is going to throw a fit." Thea groaned before looking over to Katie. "You hungry? There's like take out Barry brought before rushing off."

"Offering a pregnant lady food, I may never leave." Katie replied following after the woman. Felicity looked over to John, who she could tell wasn't too pleased with the decision.

"You know better than I do that, if you left and there was an attack, Thea and Laurel wouldn't be able to fight alone. So we're damned if we do and we're damned if we don't."

"Yeah, we're just damned." John replied, heading over to the window. "I'm going to do a sweep outside." Felicity gave the man a nod before heading back to Cisco and Caitlin.

It was late that night when Katie was able to sneak onto the porch with her bowl of popcorn. She was sure at least one person inside the house was watching her, but she didn't care as long as she had her moment of solitude. She pulled the folded paper from her pocket. Felicity was able to hack Arianna's school's database and locate the only student who lives in Central City and took the final exam early. Katie finally had a starting point and hopefully in the morning she can finally put this worry to rest.

There was a whistling sound in the distance, and Katie looked up as Barry, in the full on Flash suit, sped up to the porch and pulled off his mask.

"Hey." he said with a wave before climbing the steps and taking the seat beside her. "So Oliver's on his way here. He got John's text about you being here, and pair that with the not so nice meeting with our bad guy, and I'm going to say he's going to be a bit grumpy when he gets here."

"You know I figured as much." Katie replied plucking another kernel of popcorn into her mouth, before looking up to the stars. "You know I'm not an outdoorsy person, but this is nice."

"Yeah," Barry glanced up as well, before clearing his throat. "You know, you never answered my question from before." Katie turned to the man with a furrowed brow. "How are you doing?" Katie let out a sigh, before turning away and looking back up to the stars. "You know if there's something going on with you, I'm a good listener." Katie looked back over to the man who gave a small smile and she dropped her eyes from his. "Hey,-"

"Something is-" she glanced back to the house to make sure there weren't any listening ears. She turned back to Barry. "Something is happening. To me-" she shook her head head. "I'm freaking out, and I don't know what to do and I've wanted to tell someone who-" she looked back over to Barry. "Who would get it." she shrugged. " I want to tell Oliver, I want to just tell him everything, but I'm scared." she looked back over to Barry who still sat silently. "I don't want him to think I'm a freak or something."

"You know I don't think there is anything you can tell Oliver that he would ever think that." Barry replied. "He's crazy about you." Katie gave a nod before looking back up to the stars. "You want to tell me what this something happening to you is?"

"Not sure how I could put it into words." Katie replied dropping her head. "Maybe I could show you." she put down her bowl of popcorn and brought her hand in front of her, palm facing up. "I'm not even sure this will work, but here goes nothing." Barry and Katie looked down to her hand for a few moments. At first nothing happened, but then there was a slight glow that began illuminating from her fingers. Barry's eyes went wide at how the light seemed to get brighter. "This one, I have no idea what it does."

"This one?" Barry asked turning back to her. "There's more?" Katie gave a nod before reaching over and grabbing the bowl of popcorn. He watched as she suddenly tossed the bowl in the air.

"Stop." she whispered, holding out her hand and the bowl and the spillt popcorn froze mid air. She turned to Barry who seemed to also be frozen. She looked over to to him for a moment, before placing a hand on his shoulder and suddenly he was unfrozen. He looked over to Katie, before turning to the bowl, his eyes going wide as he stands to his feet and looks over the bowl that just hangs in the air. He moves a hand above and underneath it, verifying that there aren't any wires or strings.

"You can freeze things?" Barry asked turning to Katie nodded.

"More than just things." Katie replied. "Look at your watch." Barry glanced down to his watch, to see the hands not moving at all.

"You can freeze time?" Barry asked looking back to he woman before looking around to see other things not as well.

"Sometimes. I mean sometimes it's a whole room, some times it's just an object. It doesn't seem to last long. I did it back at Felicity's place when Hansel Savage-"

"Vandal Savage." Barry corrected.

"His name is weird, just not the point of my story. We were at Felicity's place and I saw him throw the knives and I stopped them, but he was able to break through somehow. Maybe he really is strong."

"Or maybe you're not strong enough." Barry replied walking back over to take a seat beside the woman. "You have to tell Oliver." Katie sighed, with a shake of her head. "I know you're scared and this is overwhelming, but you need to tell Oliver, and we need to teach you how to control this."

"Control it for what? When am I ever going to need to use any of these-" she shook her head. "I don't even know why this is happening to me. I was fine one day and the next day, I'm stopping things and talking to dead people-"

"Wait, talking to dead people?" Barry asked, and Katie shook her head. "Look I know running from this seems like the best option, but you can't run from this. It's who you are."

"How do you know this is who I am?" Katie asked with a shake of her head before turning and looking up to the bowl. She waved a hand and it fell to the ground with a thud. "This could all be some sort of manipulation. Maybe someone is doing this to me."

"You don't believe that, do you?"

"Well you don't know enough about this, not to consider it a possibility." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "Neither one of us does, and until I know I'm not just going to suddenly self destruct, I'm not saying anything."

"You know you can't do that." Barry said and Katie turned to him. "You know you won't actually do that. You're scared, and I'm telling you that Oliver will stand by you."

"Why are you pressing me to tell Oliver so badly?"

"Because this-" he looked down to the bowl and shook his head. "We may actually be able to use this to stop Savage." he turned back to Katie. "If you're able to freeze him for long enough we can grab the staff and-"

"And at what point in this scenario do you convince Oliver of putting me in a room with a dangerous immortal being?" Katie asked and Barry turned away because that is a conversation he doesn't think he would win. "I'm sorry Barry, but I can't be the rabbit in a hat on this. You're going to have to figure out how to stop this guy some other way."

"Well you're still going to have to figure out a way to come clean with Oliver." Katie lifted her eyes back to the stars. "I hear it's not healthy to go into a marriage with secrets under the bed." Katie let out a sigh. "That's why you don't want to get married right away." they heard the distant sound of an engine and turned to see Oliver's pull up on his bike, and the man jump off and rushed over. He stopped at the base of the porch and looked up to Katie, letting out a sigh. He pushed the hood from his head, and pulled off his mask.

"I'm taking you back to the hotel." Oliver declared.

"Oliver, it's kind of late." Barry commented and Oliver turned a glare to the man who simply rose his hands before standing to his feet. "I'm just going to-" Barry pointed to the door, before glancing over to Katie once.

"Good idea." Oliver said, watching as the man went into the house. He turned back to Katie before looking down to the bowl on the ground.

"I thought I saw a bug." Katie said and the man brought his eyes back to her.

"You know I actually believed you when you said you would stay put."Oliver said and Katie could see the tension in the way he stood. He definitely was not happy, but he was trying to hold it down. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought maybe Felicity could help with my search for Ari and-"

"Ari." Oliver sighed with a shake of his head. "Twinkie, Ari is fine. She's with her friends, and we have no reason to believe she's in any kind of danger."

"Oliver, it's not about danger, it's about me just knowing where she is, and who she's with." Katie replied attempting to hold in her own frustrations. "Look, you won't have to worry about this at all, Felicity gave me an address, and tomorrow I-"

"Tomorrow you're getting back on a plane home." Oliver said and Katie had to fight herself to say the things she wanted to say. So she remained silent and hoped he could explain. "I spoke with Malcolm-"

"Malcolm of course, because he's a beacon for good decision making."

"Twinkie, he said that Vandal Savage and your uncle were enemies, and he could come after you if he realizes your relation to him."

"And how would he find that out?"

"No idea, but it's not a risk I'm willing to take when it comes to you and our baby's safety." Oliver replied. Katie rolled her eyes, because she felt he used that excuse to make he do the things he wanted her to do. "Look I promise once we've stopped Savage, I will check out this address and make sure Arianna is alright." Katie didn't say anything as she simply lifted her eyes back to stars. "Twinkie,-"

"Tomorrow morning, I will check in with Ari, and then I will bunk down at the hotel-"

"Twinkie-"

"Ethan isn't letting me back on a plane, and he's right. She's coming soon, I can feel it, so I'm staying until this kid is born." Katie replied before standing to her feet and looking down to the man, waiting for another counterargument. "So are you going to change, so we can go, or what?"

It was the middle of the night when Oliver awaken to an empty side of the bed. He sat up a bit to see the glow of the television from the other room. He groggily stood to his feet and walked out to find Katie sitting up on the couch asleep. Oliver let out a sigh, hoping he didn't upset her so much that she would choose to sleep on the couch instead of in the bed with him. He walked around the couch, and knelt in front of her, gently sliding a hand along her cheek. She stirred instantly, her eyes opening to see him.

"Hi." she said, letting out a tired sigh as she sat up. "What time is it?"

"Really early. What are you doing out here?" he asked and Katie rubbed her tired eyes.

"It's just heartburn. I think the takeout I ate earlier was probably not the best choice." she said reaching over to grab the remote, before flicking it off. " It's not as bad when I'm sitting up." Katie ran a hand across her eyes before turning back to the man who was still watching her. "You can go back to bed. I'm fine, really."

"Yeah, but I don't think I would be if I went back to bed, and you weren't there." Oliver said before standing up. "Scoot over." the man slid beside the woman, bringing an arm around her. Katie was still a bit upset with the man, but she was too tired to fight the comfort of his arms right now. And so she laid her head on his chest and snuggled closer in his arms.

"You can't sleep like this." she muttered against his chest, her eyes fluttering closed. "You can't shoot an arrow with sore muscles."

"I've shot arrows in worse conditions." Oliver replied, resting his head in hair. "Go to sleep. I'm not going anywhere."

The next morning, Oliver stood on the balcony attempting to massage his aching neck as he held his phone to his ear.

"Just give me a call when it's done Barry." he said before ending the call. There was a knock at the door, and Oliver came back inside, glancing over to the bathroom door where Katie had been in for a while. The knocking continued, and so he hurried to the door, pulling it open and sighed at the man who stood in front of him.

"Before you start, I want you to know I fully intended to bring Kit back-" Ethan's excuse was cut short by the door slamming shut in his face. Oliver simply shook his head before heading back to the bedroom, where he found Katie. She looked up to him, and pointed to her back before turning around.

"Could you-" she started, but Oliver was already hurrying over and zipping up her dress.

"You're wearing a dress." Oliver stated a bit surprised. Katie gave a snort before turning to the man, who leaned in closer to her face. "And you're wearing make up."

"All things I've done before this moment, so stop acting like a weirdo." she said lightly shoving the man back. She walked over to the mirror, smoothing out the blue and white polka dot sundress and letting out a sigh. "I just need to look like an adult."

"Because you usually don't look like an adult?" Oliver asked and Katie rolled her eyes before turning back to the man.

"I'm about to meet parents who've raised a child from a baby to a teenager. I don't want to seem-" she shook her head before turning back to the mirror. "Like I have no idea what I've gotten myself into."

"But you don't know what-" she turned a glare toward the man and he stopped talking.

"Who was at the door?" she asked turning back to the mirror, tugging and smoothing out the dress.

"Oh, that was Ethan."

"You didn't hit him, did you?" she stopped and turned back to Oliver who shook his head.

"I was tempted, but I settled for leaving him in the hall. Why is he here?"

"Because he's my chauffeur for the day. He's taking to see Ari, and then back here to try every trick in the book to get this baby out of me." Katie replied walking over to grab her purse from the bed. She looked over to Oliver who stood silently, with a look she knew meant he wanted to say something. "What?"

"I want to say something, and I don't want you to get upset." Oliver said and Katie scoffed before tossing her purse back to the bed and folding her arms over her chest.

"It's kind of late in the game for that request, but I'll bite. What would like to say?"

"I need you to reconsider getting out of Central City, Maybe even taking Arianna with you." Katie sighed with a shake of her head, before grabbing her purse and heading for the door. "See this is one of those moments where I feel like you don't actually hear what I'm saying."

"Liver, I hear you." Katie says spinning back around to the man. "You want me out of this city, but I told you, I'm too far along to get back on a plane. In all reality, I probably shouldn't have gotten on the plane to come here, but we can't change it, and I'm here now. She's coming, I know she's coming, and I assumed when that happened, you wouldn't want to be a couple of cities away."

"I don't, its just this Vandal Savage-"

"No, because the only reason you would want me leave is if you believed you couldn't beat this guy and I know you haven't gotten that point. You still have hope, so this-" she shook her head. "You wanting me to leave is something else. What is it?"

And there it was. She asked the one question he was afraid would be asked from the woman. The question he wasn't ready to answer.

"I just worry about your safety. About the safety of our daughter." that was the truth. It wasn't the whole truth, but at the moment even he didn't have the whole truth and if he were going to change their lives dramatically, then he was going to bring her everything. "I do have hope that we can beat this guy, but in the event that we can't-" Katie suddenly placed a hand over Oliver's mouth, stopping his words.

"Well that's your first problem. You can't fight to win, thinking there's a chance you could lose." she moved her hand from his mouth, and placed it on his chest. "I'm not going anywhere, so losing is not an option." she turned once again, but Oliver caught her arm and pulled her back to him, bringing his arms around her.

"You're so frustrating." Oliver declared and Katie couldn't help but smile.

"Well it's sort of my job." she replied, lifting her head at the knocking at the door. "I should—" Oliver leaned in to kiss her, but Katie pulled back. "This isn't fixed."

"I didn't know anything was broken." he said and Katie gave a nod.

"Well that I believe." she pulled out of his grasp, before pointing a finger at the man. "There's something going on with you-" Oliver opened his mouth to speak, but Katie continued. "And you're going to say that this Handle Savage-"

"Vandal Savage, and if I seem preoccupied, it's because someone threatening to destroy the city is too close to my future wife and unborn daughter. I'm sorry-"

"That's not it. Not completely." Katie said and she watched as Oliver dropped his head and sighed. "And there it is." he looked back over to her. "What's going on?"

"I uh-" the man cleared his throat, suddenly nervous. He took a deep breath, before meeting the woman's eyes. "There's something I have to figure out, and once I do, I will tell you." Katie stared a him for a moment, and he wanted her to say something.

"Ok." she replied with a nod, and for some reason that surprised him. He assumed the vague response would give him a lot more questions.

There was more knocking and Katie turned to get the door, but stopped and turned back to the man. She wanted to ask more questions, she wanted to know what was going on his head, but then that would make her hypocrite. Because here she was, holding onto something she couldn't fully explain from the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with. The man she was too scared to tell the truth because she was afraid that once he knew who she truly was, he would finally wise up and run for the hills. The knocking continued and she shook her head before turning and grabbing the door.

"You know that wasn't funny." Ethan says stalking inside, searching for Oliver. "I apologized and-"

"Ethan, shut up." Oliver said stalking past him to Katie. "Is there anything I can say to you, that will get you to stay here and wait to check on Arianna?"

"I would give it up Oliver." Ethan said and Oliver turned a glare toward the man.

"Ethan, this is one of those moments where you butt out of a conversation between me and my fiance." Oliver said, turning back to Katie.

"Well I think it's one of those moments where I help you get a clue." Ethan replied and Oliver turned to the man fully.

"Hey, none of that." Katie says walking to stand between the men. "Let's just cool off and not look so aggressive right now." She looked between the two men, who simply took a step back. "Good, now I have to go to the bathroom, and I need you both to promise you won't kill each other." she looked both men in the eye with a stern look. "I'm serious." the woman turned and hurried to the bathroom. Oliver kept an eye on the woman, until she disappeared into the bathroom, and the moment she did, he turned back to Ethan.

"We should talk." Oliver says taking a step closer to the man in a way he knows should be intimidating. But he knows the man in front of him would never show it. It's actually one of the few qualities he likes about him. "You're-"

"Shouldn't you be leaving?" Ethan asked walking around the man and grabbing an apple from the table before turning back to Oliver. "Saving the world and all that jazz."

"You're particularly annoying today." Oliver said walking over to the man. "You want to tell me why?"

"Because you don't have it yet, and at this point, you should." Ethan says taking a bite from the apple before turning to look out the window.

"Have what? What are you talking about?"

"You can't see why she can't just sit here and wonder if Ari is alright." Ethan said turning to the man. "She's a mother—-"

"I know that, I also know there is a lunatic out there and-"

"And that won't stop her from being a mother and caring about the children in her care. That includes Arianna-"

"I know that too, I just-"

"Arianna is also going to be in your care, since you're like marrying her guardian."

"Well she was my guardian first!" Oliver snapped and Ethan looked at the man with a furrow brow. "I didn't mean-"

"Are you jealous of Arianna?"

"Of course not, I just would like Katie to not roam the streets of Central City right now, but since I can't stop her, I am just going to tell you that if anything happens to her-"

"Insert threat to my life." Ethan replies taking another bite to his apple. "I got it. We find the kid, make sure she's safe and angsty and then project kickstart labor begins."

"Could you not try to induce labor, not until-"

"You save the world. I'm sorry Oliver, but Kit's my patient. And a late baby could have just as many health problems as an early baby. So you worry about the world, I'll worry about my patient and her baby."

"Our baby-"

"Really? You know I wouldn't have even guessed that." Ethan replied, and Oliver took a dangerous step closer.

"Alright!" Katie appeared back in the room and Oliver stopped walking. "Ethan, lets go." Ethan gave a smile to Oliver, taking another bite from his apple before heading for the door. Katie walked over to Oliver who let out a heavy sigh. "I go, and then I come back. I'm not deviating from that plan."

"I don't like this." Oliver says placing a hand on Katie's waist. "Like I really don't like this."

"I know, but we're gonna do this. You're going to find the evil villain guy, and I'm going find my new headache of a cousin." she gave a nod, turning, the grasp Oliver had on her waist never loosened. "You're not letting me go."

"I'm not letting you go." Oliver repeated and Katie sighed.

"You have to let me go." Katie replied looking up to the man's eyes. "You have to-" her words were suddenly cut off by Oliver's lips on hers. The woman's eyes fluttered closed as his lips landed on hers and pulled them from the moment. After a few moments, when air was necessary, they pulled back, and Oliver looked down to the woman whose eyes were still closed. "You kiss stealer." she opened her eyes to see the smile on the man's face. "You feel better now?"

"I do." he replied placing another kiss to her head. "You go, and then you come back, no deviating."

"No deviating." Katie said, finally able to pull from his grasp. "And you be safe, and if you get a call, make sure you answer, because there's a good chance someone's calling you to tell you, your daughter coming."

"Just try really hard not to get into any trouble today." Oliver said walking toward her.

"Ok, I'll try." she replied before turning and walking out the door. Oliver stood at the door, watching the pair walk toward the elevator, seriously weighing the pros and cons of carrying her back into the room and handcuffing her to the bed, just so he knows she's safe. Before he knows it, the choice is gone when they step onto the elevator.

It was during the drive, did Katie decide to swat the Ethan's arm, causing him to jump in surprise.

"Hey, don't hit me while I'm driving, especially when we're on the road with maniac drivers." Ethan said, glancing over to her for a moment before turning back to the road. "What was that for?"

"Trying to pick a fight with Liver." she replied glaring over to the man. "I know you care-"

"I do care, so when he starts acting like some insensitive jerk, I seriously want to punch him." Ethan replied with a shake of his head. "I mean who wouldn't be worried about a missing kid?"

"Well he's worried about this guy trying to destroy the city because he can't have one woman." Katie sighed turning to look out the window. "Plus he's not Ari's father—"

"And you're not her mother, Kit, and yet here we are." Ethan replied and the woman turned to him. "You met the kid for a half an hour and you're already worried about her, already wanting to know she's safe."

"Yeah, and whose to say I would've felt that way if I didn't meet her. Oliver just can't develop this connection with Ari when he's never met her."

"Well I've never met her. All I know is that there's this girl, in this big city, and her guardian doesn't know where she is." Ethan replied turning back to the woman. "I don't have the parental gene right now, but at least I care."

"He's cares, he just-" Katie shook her head. "He has to find a balance in his life. I think he's still trying to figure that out."

"Where work comes before family." Ethan replied and Katie simply hit his arm again.

Soon they were driving down the neighborhood of some pretty big mansions, attempting to spot the address Felicity had given them.

"I think you made a wrong turn, I don't see it." Katie said, her eyes scanning the houses.

"Well if I made a wrong turn, it's because of your horrible navigation skills." Ethan replied looking on the other side of the block. "Wait, I think that's it." he began slowing down the car, both turning to the house with wide eyes.

"You mean that house with all the teenagers roaming around in swim suits?" Katie asked, with a slight shake of her head at the sight. "She wouldn't be in there, she's a smart kid."

"Well smart kids get roped into pool parties." Ethan said before turning to Katie. "So how do you want to proceed, doc?" Katie still stared at the house before turning to Ethan. "We're going inside, aren't we?"

"We are." she replied before stepping out of the car, and Ethan did the same. There was a gate that they're sure is usually closed along the driveway, but at the moment it was wide open. The pair walked inside the yard, passing teens who acted as if the sight of some pregnant lady and some guy was no big deal at all. Katie stopped in front of one of them before, talking the can from her hand..

"Hey, lady, what are you doing?!"

"This is beer. How old are you?" Katie asked.

"I'm nineteen and my parents let me drink all the time, now give it-" the girl reached for the beer. Katie simply glanced around at the sight of lots of people who looked older than fifteen with some kind of alcohol in their hand. "Lady-" Katie turned back to the girl and just shook her head before dropping the can to the ground.

"I'm going to give you some advice. Beer is disgusting." with that, Katie simply turned and headed inside the house where the door was just wide open and filled with even more people. "Ari can't be here." she passed more people, all much older holding beer, or smoking as loud music blared from somewhere.

"I hope to hell she isn't either. But on a positive note, these kids are the reason I will still have a job." Ethan said, with a shake of his head.

"I'm sure this is a blast from the past for you, huh?"

"In college, sure, I went to the occasional party, but you met my mother. She was a ninja and she was everywhere when I was in high school." Ethan let his eyes scan over the crowd as they found themselves in the back of the house where people were diving into the pool. "So we've been walking for a while and haven't seen her."

"Wait, isn't that-" Katie pulled a piece of paper from her purse, unfolding it open to show the picture they'd printed from Facebook. "That's Sophie I think." they both looked over to the blonde teenager, lounging by the pool. "She's the friend Ari left school with. C'mon, lets go chat." Katie walked over to the girl who was talking to some guy, but stopped and looked up in confusion to Katie.

"Who are you? This party has an age limit, and I specifically said no pregnant chicks." the girl's British voice spoke and Ethan actually snickered from beside Katie who, nudged his arm.

"Hi, Sophie, I will be glad to leave all of this, I'm just looking for someone. Her name is Arianna Locke, she's-"

"Wait, I know you." Sophie says her eyes suddenly going wide as she stood to her feet. "You're Katherine Robins, you-" the teenager seemed to break out with a big smile. "There's this program that lets high schoolers intern for a semester. I've been trying to get in for months, but the wait list is crazy. This is-" the girl squealed before taking a step toward Katie. "Ok, I have my entire resume in my room, if you could just-" the girl was about to rush off, but Katie grabbed her arm.

"Before you do that, I need to find Arianna." Katie glanced around the party. "Do you know where she is or could point me in the direction."

"She's uh—" the girl looked around the party with a slight shake of her head. "She's here somewhere." she turned back to Katie with a smile. "I will be right back!" and with that the blonde went rushing off. Katie growled in annoyance, before turning to Ethan.

"Look you heard her, she's here somewhere. We just have to-" he looked over the many faces all dancing, or swimming in the pool. "Find her."

"There's way too many people at this party to-" Katie spotted a familiar face over by the pool, before she stalked over.

"Wait, where are you-" Ethan turned, rushing after the woman who made his very nervous walking along the slippery side of the pool. "Kit, would you slow down, you could-"

"Hey!" she called and a bunch of teenagers sitting on the side of the pool, turned to her. "You, guy with the-" she tilted her head slightly. "Is that a tattoo of tiger-" she shook her head before stopping in front of the young man. "I remember you. You picked up Arianna from my house before sucking off her face. Where is she?"

"Gone I guess." the boy said before taking a sip from his cup. "She was being a spazz, and just-"

"A what, what the hell-" Katie let out a sigh, before taking a deep breath. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen, why?"

"Oh, so legally you're an adult." Katie said, before turning to Ethan. "Did you hear that Ethan, this legally adult eighteen year old was making out with my fifteen year old cousin."

"You know I did hear that-" Ethan says moving around the woman, to stand behind the man, before grabbing his arm and pulling him to his feet.

"Hey!" the young man tried to pull from Ethan's grasp, but Ethan gripped him tightly. "Where is Arianna, or I start messing up that pretty, ruggedly handsome face you have."

"Look, I don't know where she is. Sophie told her about the party, but she wasn't into it, so she left."

"Where would she go?" Katie asked and the young man shrugged. "Ok, now you can hit him, I'll meet you at the car." with that Katie turned, almost bumping into Sophie once again.

"Oh, hey, here is my resume, now it's mostly academic groups but-"

"Sophie, I really can't stay, I need to find Ari,-"

"Why? She's lame and she left hours ago." Sophie says with a shake of her head, before holding up her resume once again. "Now if you look here-"

"Wait, you knew she was gone, why did you tell me-" Katie stopped, letting out a heavy sigh. "I thought you were her friend."

"She's the daughter of a thief and an insane woman, she was only here because-"

"Because you found out she was related to me, isn't it?" Katie dropped her head and let out a deep sigh. There was a sudden scream, and they both turned to see Ethan standing above a bloody nosed teenager.

"Are you kidding me, you can't-"

"You're a minor, this is your house and you're serving alcohol to probably a few other minors here." Katie says turning to the young girl. "That's not the kind of people I employ. And you should probably start cleaning up." Katie walked around the girl.

"Why?!"

"Because the police will probably be here soon, kid." Ethan says, shaking his now sore hand as he followed behind Katie.

Katie and Ethan found themselves sitting inside the buzzing squad room of the Central City Police department. Ethan held an ice pack over his knuckles as he looked over to Katie who sat with her face in her palms.

"Kit, we're going to find her." Ethan tries comforting her and Katie lifts her head. "I mean she's somewhere-"

"She's a kid, in this big city," Katie says with a shake of her head. "If something happens to her-"

"Hey, nothing is going to happen to her. We just gotta have hope." the man replied looking down to his hand. "You should worry more about my beautiful hand now being bruised because of that jackass and his rock face."

"Did you break it?" she asked looking over to the man's hand.

"No, just hurts like a bitch, but I don't regret it." he chuckled before looking over to the detective who walked over.

"Alright." Detective West said walking over and taking a seat in front of the pair. "I got Arianna's photo out, and my guys are searching for her. We're going to do everything we can to locate her."

"Thanks so much for this. I know missing kids isn't at the top of your priorities right now, but I really appreciate you helping."

"Well it's nice to handle a case that doesn't have to deal with people with weird abilities." Joe replied. "Just try to keep your phone lines open. I'll give you a call when we find something." Katie gave the man a nod before standing to her feet. Ethan, brought an arm around Katie, who only by chance spotted a familiar face walk across the room. Ethan followed her eyes, and furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Did you tell Oliver you were here?"

"I didn't." Katie says before turning to Ethan. "I think he's headed to Barry's office. I'm going to go fill him in and then we can leave."

"Alright, well I'll be here." Ethan says, watching the woman as she headed off.

Katie hadn't actually been to Barry's lab, but she was able to navigate from the signs along the hall. When she finally found Barry's office, she found Barry alone reading something on a sheet of paper. He heard the footsteps, and turned, his eyes going wide before turning and ridiculously quick, sliding the paper he'd just read into his pocket.

"Oh, hey," Barry says, spinning back to Katie with smile. "Funny running into you here. Everything's alright, right?"

"I sort of lost a teenager. What did you just super-speed into you pocket?" Katie asked walking over to the man who just shook his head.

"Oh-um, it was nothing." Barry replied, still looking nervous. "Just something Oliver wanted me to track down. About Damian Darhk."

"Oh really, well let me see it." Katie asked and Barry shook his head.

"Why?"

"Because you don't want me to see it, Barry. You need to learn how to control your emotions because you become an open book."she held out her hand.

"Uh, well Oliver specifically asked me not to-" Katie glare seemed to harden, and Barry got a sudden chill. "You know you have that whole mom look down." Barry slipped the paper from his pocket before handing it to Katie. The woman flipped it open, and her eyes read over the paper. "I don't know what the big deal is. It's just a DNA test." Katie looked over to Barry, and just gave a nod before turning and stalking out for the door. "Katie-"

"Barry, the next time someone tells you to lie to me, just don't." she said, not even sparing the man a glance.

The moment Ethan saw the woman stalking toward him, he knew something was wrong. He usually couldn't read her emotions, but in this moment she looked a bit sad.

"Hey." he said, walking over to her. "What's wrong? Did you talk to Oliver?"

"No, um-" she cleared her throat and shook her head as she slipped a piece of paper into her purse. "He was gone before I got there." she nudged her head toward the elevator. "I want to drive around a bit to look for her before we go back to the hotel." Ethan gave a nod before following after the woman.

Oliver's head was all over the place, but he knew the next logical step was to once again try to talk to Samantha. He'd shown up, told her he knew the truth, that William was his son, and then she told him why she never told him and he couldn't believe it.

"My mother was a complicated person, but she would never do that." Oliver replied, when the woman said it was his mother who tried to pay her off to pretend as if she's miscarried.

"Wait here." Samantha said and Oliver took a step further into the house as the woman walked off. His eyes trailed across the pictures of William and Samantha, and even though he'd gotten the results and was standing right here, he just still couldn't believe it. He turned when Samantha came back, and held out a check. He took it, and his eyes went wide. It was his mother's handwriting and her signature on the front.

"I never cashed it." Samantha said, and Oliver once again met her eyes. "I didn't need her money to know I didn't want her anywhere near my child."

"Or me anywhere near him."

"So what, he can be just like his dad? Punching out paparazzi and getting young girls knocked up?" Samantha said with a shake of her head. Oliver placed the check down and let out a sigh.

"Samantha, I'm not that person anymore."

"I know, I know. You're-you're running for mayor, your mother was killed." she sighed. "Your friend Tommy, you're a different person now. But can you really tell me that your life is any less crazy?" it was the question that Oliver didn't want to answer, because he knew the answer didn't help his case. "Can you honestly say that William isn't better off with your world kept away from his?" Oliver dropped his head because he knew she was right.

"No, you're right, I'm being selfish. But I want an opportunity to get to know my son, and I think that a young boy deserves the opportunity to get to know his father." he said firmly, honestly believing that. Samantha turned away, letting out another sigh as she slides her fingers through her hair before turning back to the man.

"He's happy. He's-he's well-adjusted. I don't want to run the risk of him getting sucked into your orbit. That can't happen. Which means... That he can't know that you're his father. And nobody else can." Oliver shook his head, but Samantha wasn't backing down. "I don't care if that sounds harsh. I'm his mother, and I will do whatever- whatever I feel I have to do to protect him."

"Samantha, there is someone in my life-" Oliver dropped his head, suddenly thinking about Katie, and how telling her was the first thing he planned to do the moment he left this house. "I'm getting married, and-" he looked back up to the woman. "Please, don't make me keep this from her."

"Oliver, you will if you want a relationship with my son. These are my conditions." the woman replied firmly and Oliver closed his eyes, hating that she was asking him to do this. Hating that she was telling him that he couldn't tell the woman he loved that he has son. "You've already asked the world of me, I'm just asking for the same in return." Oliver looked back to the woman, and knew this decision, this tough decision could go one of two ways. And he didn't want the way that didn't have his son in his life. So he made the choice that could destroy his entire world if Katie found out. "Oliver?"

Oliver looked the woman in the eyes and gave her a nod.

"Ok. I won't say anything."

Ethan's eyes looked out the window as he drove, hoping to just spot the girl. He glanced over to Katie whose eyes were out the window, but didn't seem as if she were staring at anything in particular.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked and Katie turned to him and gave him a nod.

"Yeah." she turned back to the window and shook her head. "This city is too big, she could be anywhere. Just take me back to the hotel and I can try to work up the courage to call Ari's social worker and tell her how I've screwed up in only twenty four hours."

"This isn't your fault Kit." Ethan says, but the woman doesn't reply. Ethan lets out a sigh, before making a turn to head back to the motel.

"Wait." Katie says and Ethan glances over to her. "Take me to the hideout."

"You know I thought everyone trying to beat me up yesterday for bringing you there would be reason enough for us to stay clear of that place." Ethan said, as they stopped at a red light. "What's going on?"

"I need to talk to Oliver."

"And it's not something you can do over the phone?" Ethan asked and Katie looked over to him and just shook her head, and that's when he saw it again. That flash of sadness behind her eyes. "What's going on?"

"I just need to talk to Oliver."

"Ok." Ethan simply replied, and when the light changed, he turned left instead of right.

The sun was setting when Ethan pulled up. He turned off the car, about to step out, but turned to Katie who didn't move.

"Are you going in?" he asked and she shook her head.

"He's not here yet." she replied, keeping her eyes out the window. "I need to wait for him out here. You can go inside."

"Alright, you're freaking me out. What the hell happened?" Ethan asked turning to the woman who let out a sigh before turning to her friend.

"Ethan, I need you to go in the house, and I will get you when I'm ready to go." Katie replied with a small smile. "I just need to talk-"

"Talk to Oliver, I know you keep saying that." He sighed before turning away. "But this is one of those times where it's none of my business."

"Exactly." Katie replied and Ethan gave a nod, looking over to her once more before stepping out of the car and heading inside the house. It wasn't until she was alone, did Katie finally step out of the car.

She began walking, sliding a hand through her hair. She shook her head before reaching into her purse and pulling out the paper once more just to read it again. Katie eyes read every word, every number, over and over again hoping that she was wrong, that this was some sort of misunderstanding. She growled under her breath, stuffing it back into her purse as she begins to pace back and forth.

"Hey." it was Felicity who came out onto the porch, hurrying over to Katie. "You're pacing, you're not supposed to be pacing. You're actually supposed to be resting and-" Felicity saw the look on Katie's face and was instantly concerned. "Ethan told us about Arianna, how she's missing. Is that why you're upset?" Katie didn't say a word as she continued to pace. "Katie-" Felicity moved to block the woman who simply shook her head. "What's happening?"

"Go back in the house Felicity. I need to talk to Oliver." Katie replied turning away from the woman, and continuing her pace.

"I'm not-" Felicity quickly moved to block the woman once again. "I'm not going to go back into the house until you tell me what's wrong."

"Fine, it's Ari. I screwed up and I lost her, and now I just want to be alone while I wait for Oliver." Katie says glancing over to the woman. "Right now everything twisted inside of me, has to go to him, so could you please just-" she heard the engine of Oliver's bike and stopped pacing. "Go in the house Felicity." she looked over to the woman and gave her a reassuring nod. "Please." Felicity seemed unsure, but gave a nod before turning and heading back into the house.

Katie stood completely still, as she waited for Oliver to appear. The moment he did, he instantly stopped the moment his eyes saw her. The sun was gone, and the yard was was illuminated by a couple of lights, but she could see his face. The nervousness and guilt that instantly took over his features and how in the blink of an eye, he put on a mask, attempting to hide it before walking over to her.

"Twinkie, what-" he shook his head slightly. "What are you doing here? I was going to come by the hotel later. You can't-" he placed his hands on her shoulders. "You can't be here. It's still too dangerous-" he looked up to the house. "Did Ethan bring you?" the man started walking toward the house. "I will have him take you-" he looked behind him to see Katie hadn't moved from her spot. "Twinkie?" he walked back over to her, her eyes not meeting his as they look to his chest. "Twinkie, what's wrong?"

"I'm waiting." she says looking up to meet his eyes. "And I shouldn't. I shouldn't be angry, or want to hit you right now because of this act you're doing-"

"Act? What are you talking about?" Oliver asked and Katie shook her head, turning away from the man. "Tell me what's going on?"

"I had to go to the police station today." Katie said turning back to the man. "I found Ari's friend, who is a terrible person, and she told me Ari wasn't there, that she'd left."

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know. That's why I went to the police station. Talked to Detective West, and now the police are looking for her."

"Oh, Twinkie, I'm so sorry, I-" he tried placing his hands on her waist, but she inched out of his grasp.

"Twinkie, what-"

"I saw you. You were headed to Barry's office." Katie says looking up to the man's eyes and he hesitated for a moment before speaking

"Right, I uh, was having him check something out for me. I thought Dhark had people in Central City, and I wanted him to-"

"No." Katie says with a shake of her head before turning away from him.

"Twinkie-" he took another step forward, but she turned to him with a pointed finger.

"Five minutes!" she said taking another step back. "We've been talking for five minutes, and you just told lie number one."

"Twinkie, I don't know what you're talking about-" Katie reached into her bag and pulled out the crumpled paper and held it up so he could see it, and the color drained from his face the moment he did. "Twinkie-"

"Barry didn't know what he was giving me. He didn't think it was a big deal, it 's just a paternity test." Katie says. "He doesn't know I know your blood, that I know your DNA sequence like the back of my hand."

"Twinkie-"

"Stop talking, because I swear to you, lie number two will get you a kick to your balls." she said angrily before looking down to the paper.

"It's more complicated than you know." Oliver finally said and Katie looked over to him with a roll of her eyes. "It's-"

"It's the truth Oliver. The truth isn't complicated. It can be a bitch, but it's not complicated. You just made the conscious decision to keep it from me." her eyes looked back down to the test and she groaned angrily because here she was completely livid, angry at Oliver for keeping something so big from her and she was doing the same thing. "This isn't right-" she shook her head before looking back up to the man. "You have a child." she closed her eyes with a shake of her head. He once again tried to touch her, but she pushed him away. "I'm not even upset about that. I'm angry that you kept the fact that you have a child from me." she turned away sliding her hands over her face. "I'm not supposed to be angry. How can I be angry when-" she looked back over to the man and just shook her head. "This isn't right. Something is wrong here. With us, because we're too scared to share all truths with each other."

"Twinkie-" Oliver closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Do you know my world just exploded?" he looked back over to her. "I think I'm entitled to at least one minute to just process how my life just changed forever by myself."

"Well you didn't keep it yourself, you went to the CCPD and talk to-" Katie turned away. "You talked to Barry." she shook her head before turning back to the man. "Ok, you need one minute, and I could use several, so I'm going to go-" she turned and headed toward the car.

"Twinkie, wait!" Oliver hurried over to her, standing in front of the driver's door before she could open it. "Just wait, just stay here and-"

"We shouldn't have come back." she said, her voice suddenly trembled. "We were happy, and everything was perfect and now-"

"Twinkie-"

"Everything is not perfect. And it's not just you whose to blame. It's not just your fault." Katie closed her eyes before reaching down and slipping the engagement ring from her finger.

"No, Katie, no, just-" he placed his hand around hers, before dropping his forehead to hers. "This isn't it. This can't-"

"We thought everything would just work out because we had her. We thought she erased how screwed up we really are, but she can't. She's a baby and a baby can't hide the fact that we have problems. That we find it's easier to lie to each other, than to tell the truth."

"I can't lose you." Oliver pleaded and Katie felt the need to cry, but she also felt the need to stay strong. "You can't leave me."

"Oliver you need to stop a bad guy who wants to hurt a lot of people. Me and your daughter, and your secret child are included in that." she pulled back and looked up to the man's eyes. "Just focus on that right now, and-"

"Kit?" The couple didn't say a word when they heard Ethan's voice. "I think we should go."

"We should." Katie says moving around Oliver, to get back into the passenger's seat. Oliver followed after her, but Ethan quickened his step and pushed him back. Oliver took a step forward, to tear the man apart.

"She's upset, and that can't happen." Ethan said angrily, before pushing the man once again, and Oliver suddenly felt even more guilty. "I don't know what the hell you did, but you need to stay away from her until she calms down." Ethan didn't wait for a response, before walking around the man and slipping in the driver's seat.

Oliver was unable to do anything as he stood there, and watched the car get farther and farther away.

Ethan wished he was the type of friend who just didn't get involved, but with the woman beside him, he just knew that wouldn't happen.

"Alright, I need you to take some deep breaths for me." Ethan says looking over to Katie, before grabbing her wrist, and mentally cursing at how fast her pulse was. "Yeah, you need to calm down, and just breathe."

"It's over." she said pulling her wrist back. "It's just over, and it's for the best." she looked back over to Ethan and nodded. "It's for the best."

"That's fine, just keep breathing. Nice deep breaths, get your heart rate down for me." Ethan turned back to the road, his eyes going wide. "What the hell is that?" Katie followed his eyes, letting out a gasp.

"Ethan, stop the car."

"Kit, what-"

"Just stop the car Ethan!" Katie yells angrily, and Ethan suddenly puts his foot on the breaks, stopping instantly. Ethan and Katie keep their eyes outside the car, not daring to move.

"Is this villain of the week?" Ethan asked, looking over to Katie who simply nods. "So running away-"

"Pointless." Katie says, her eyes on Savage who doesn't move from his spot in front of the car. "I'm going to get out."

"The hell you are!" Ethan snaps with a shake of his head. "We don't know what this guy wants, and you will not be the one to find out." Ethan turns back to the man and takes a deep breath. "I'll go. I'll distract him and when you get the chance, turn this car around and-"

"It won't work," Katie says and Ethan looks back over to her, just as she opens the door and steps out of the car.

"Kit!" Ethan snaps, stepping out of the car as well, and both turn back to the man who stands tall, staff in his hand.

"I can't believe I found it." Vandal said, with a throaty chuckle. He starts walking toward Katie and Ethan takes a step forward, and the moment he does Vandal stops and begins to point his staff toward the doctor.

"Wait!" Katie says and he turns to her. "What do you want?" the man once again laughs and Katie only stares back in confusion.

"I want the carrier of Heka." he says walking over and placing himself in front of her.

"Hey!" Ethan says taking another step forward, and with a swift sweep of his arm, Vandal sends the doctor practically flying down the dirt road, his body hitting the ground with a thud.

"Ethan!" Katie calls, about to go to him, but a hand suddenly wraps around her throat. Her eyes turn back to Vandal who growls as she tries to pry his hands off of her neck.

"Give it to me." Katie doesn't speak, as the air slowly leaves her lungs. "Give it to me!" she looks up meeting his eyes.

"I don't have anything!" she growls breathlessly. He tilts his head before rolling his eyes and releasing her, and she coughs trying to back away from him.

"You do not know what you possess foolish woman." he says with a shake of his head. "But you will." he grabs her arm and pulls her with him.

Consciousness seemed to hit Ethan ferociously, and he jilted up. Pain was the first sensation he felt, all of it seeming to settle on his head. He lift his hand, gently sliding his fingers across the back of his head and instantly feeling the blood. He turned his head, closing his eyes trying to come back to the moment, and breathing through his disorientation, and suddenly he remembers.

"Kit!" he says jumping to his feet, instantly knowing it was a bad idea the moment he began stumbling. Ethan spun around, hoping to catch sight of the woman, but she was nowhere in sight. "No." he turned and hurried over to the car, slipping inside, hoping he was lucid enough to make the trip back to the safe house.

At the moment, the safe house was silent, as a room of heroes wore sour expressions after being told by Oliver, that the next attack on Savage would only include he, Barry, Kendra and Carter.

"This is bullshit!" Thea snapped angrily once again. John stood by the window, silently looking out, not even flinching at the woman's outburst. "We came here together, we're a team."

"Thea-" Laurel started but Thea simply shook her head.

"He said he can't risk losing one of us tonight, but is he even thinking about himself right now. What losing him could do to us, or his future wife, or I don't know, his daughter." they turned at the sound of footsteps, to see Oliver now changed into his hood, his quiver on his shoulder. The room fell silent and he looked to his friends who didn't look happy.

"Guys, I wish you understood why this is the right decision."

"No it's a decision." John said looking over to Oliver. "A choice you made. We won't know whether it was right until you come home, or we start planning your funeral." Barry, sped inside now dressed as well.

"Uh, Kendra and Carter are out back, ready to go." he informed and Oliver nodded about to turn, when the sudden headlights of a car shined into the house. John turned, squinting his eyes when he saw someone stumble out of the car.

"What the hell?" he muttered before turning back to the others. "It's Ethan." Oliver turned in confusion, but then to worry because the last he'd seen Ethan, he was with Katie and if they were back, then something had to be wrong. Oliver hurried for the door, running down the steps, his eyes on a bloodied Ethan who seemed like he could barely walk. The archer turned back to the car, but he didn't see her.

"Ethan!" Laurel called, rushing down the stairs, and bringing her arms around him. "What happened?"

"Where's Katie?" Oliver asked moving around to stand in front of the man. "Ethan, look at me-" Ethan lifted his head, knowing at any moment he was going to pass out again. "Tell me where she is."

"He took her." Ethan closed his eyes and groaned.

"Who-" Oliver grabbed Ethan's shirt and shook the man a bit. "Who took her?!"

"Oliver, back off!" Laurel snapped pushing the man away. "Can't you see he's hurt?"

"I can see he's hurt Laurel, but I can't see my-" he turned back to Ethan, fear now starting to creep underneath his skin. "Ethan, who took her."

"I don't know." Ethan muttered with a shake of his head, his head getting more fuzzy with every passing second. "Guy with a big stick." Oliver’s blood went cold.

"Savage has her." Barry said, stating the fact everyone had figured out at this point. His eyes turned to Oliver, who stood unmoving for a few moments, not saying a word. "Ollie-" it seemed something in the archer just switched, and he was moving. He turned, and ran to his bike.

"Barry go." Felicity said, practically shaking at the news. Barry gave a nod, before rushing off to Kendra and Carter, and following behind Oliver.

"We need to get him in the house!" Caitlin called and John gave a nod before hurrying over to help Laurel carry Ethan inside the house.

This moment was not supposed be happening. Katherine Robins was nine months pregnant, and she was not supposed to be held hostage by some ancient meta-human. And yet here she sat, in some old warehouse, sitting on a very uncomfortable chair as the man continued to yell at her.

"I will kill you and your child if you do not give me your powers!" he snapped angrily, his voice rough, and practically shaking the walls, but Katie kept her eyes on him. Not flinching, even though her heart raced in her chest with fear.

"I have the feeling that you need me alive to get what I have, or I would be dead already." Katie replied and to her surprise, his anger seemed to morph into amusement as he let out a throaty cackle.

"Right you are, but believe me that in all my centuries on this planet, I have learned quite a few ways to inflict pain." he walked over, towering over her. "This you may be able to handle, but I doubt a small child would be able to."

Katie dropped her head to her palm, and the man tilted his head, hoping he was actually getting to her.

"Give it to me."

"You know I can't really focus." Katie says lifting her eyes to the man. "And I should be focused right now, but you keep threatening my child's life, and it's only making me more angry."

There was a suddenly whooshing sound, and both turned to see Barry, no longer a Criminal Forensic Scientist, but the Flash.

"Get the hell away from her!" Barry snapped angrily, and soon Oliver, Kendra and Carter all ran in as well. Vandal chuckled as he looked over to Kendra and Carter who dawned their Hawkman and Hawkgirl suits, their wrists cuffed.

"You brought them. And dressed for the occasion, I see." the Vandal turned to Oliver, whose eyes were on the woman sitting behind him. Vandal followed his eyes and once again chuckled, taking a few steps back, so he stood behind a still seated Katie. "She is yours, I assume."

"Let her go, this has nothing to do with her." Oliver said looking from Katie to Vandal, his heart still racing.

"And yet here she is." Vandal slid his fingers through her hair, and Katie jerked away from his touch. "Them-" he looked over to Kendra and Carter. "I find in every reincarnation, but I was never been able to find the keeper of Heka's power." he placed a hand on Katie's shoulder, and she tried to pull away, but he forcefully pulled her back in place, not missing the growl that escaped Oliver's lips. "I felt it. Like the distant smell of bread baking, but you can never find where it's coming from."

"Look, whoever you think she is, you're wrong, just-" he looked down to Katie, whose chest was visibly heaving. "Let her go. They're here."

"Don't you dare trade their lives for mine!" Katie snapped, only for Savage to once again shove her back in the chair, with a chuckle before walking over to Kendra and Carter.

"It has been a lifetime. Still wearing those ridiculous outfits, I see." Savage chuckled as he looked them over. " he looked over to Barry, then to Oliver. "You don't need to be here for this. The culling has a tendency to be... Unsightly." he turned to the glare on Carter's face and chuckled once again. "Your new friends betrayed you."

"Just do what you're going to do." Carter seethed, and it only amused the man. Oliver glanced over to Katie, who met his eyes. He gave her a subtle nod, and she returned it, bracing the side of the chair and pushing herself to her feet. Oliver's eyes turned back to Savage, who pulled a blade from his waist and inched closer to Kendra.

"Chay-Ara... Parting is such sweet sorrow." Savage lifted the blade about to stab Kendra, but Oliver quickly grabbed his wrist.

"Katie get out of here, now!" he yelled and Katie stood there for a few moments as the fight erupted. She should be running, probably not very fast, but as fast as her feet could take her, because Katherine Robins was nine months pregnant, and standing in the middle of such a battle just shouldn't happen, and yet her feet didn't move. That voice in her head that tells her to run away from the danger, wasn't there. It was replaced with something else, something darker. Something even fear was afraid of. Her eyes dropped to her hands, both illuminating.

"Carter!" she lifted her eyes, catching the exact moment Savage tosses his blades, piercing Carter's gut, and he falls to the floor dead. It stirs something inside of Katie, and yet she doesn't move. She stands there and watches as Kendra angrily bolts toward Savage, who meets her with a knife to the stomach as well. This time Katie sees the woman's life force flowing from her body to the man holding the blade inside of her. An arrow flies toward him that misses, and Katie turned to Oliver who stares in disbelief. Oliver doesn't miss, especially not when he is as close as he is now.

At some point the staff was knocked from Vandal's hand, and Barry races over to grab and points it toward the monster who'd just killed their friends. The moment it's in his hands, a beam of light shoots from the staff into Savage, who is pushed back.

"The gauntlets aren't working!" Barry yells and that's when Katie notices the gloves he's wearing. Suddenly Oliver tosses down his bow and runs over to hold the staff as well, hoping to keep it steady enough to finally end this guy. Katie looked down to her hands once again, the light seeming to get brighter, and she doesn't even know she's moving until she finds herself standing behind Oliver and Barry.

"You have to let go, Barry!" Oliver yelled, turning to Barry, and only then noticing Katie's standing there. "Katie, what-" before he can even form a question her hand grabs the staff, and he stares in confusion as the beam of light from the staff seems to get brighter, and more powerful.

"You have to go." Katie suddenly speaks, her voice different, deeper. She turns to Barry, and his eyes go wide still too engulfed in this moment of craziness to comprehend anything happening right now, and then suddenly everything just stops moving. He turns to the light from the staff, just frozen in place as it still covers Savage. He turns back to Oliver, whose eyes look down to Katie's hands still around the staff, before turning to Katie.

"What-"

"This won't work." Katie says turning back to the staff before turning to Barry. "I'm not strong enough to hold this, and when it finally breaks, we're going to die." she turned, and looked over to Oliver, tears suddenly pooling in her eyes as the realization hits her. "Everything will die." she looked down to her stomach, and felt a sudden kick from her baby, and a smile crept to her lips before turning back to Barry who still stared in bewilderment. "I'm not your rabbit in a hat. You are." they heard a sudden cracking sound, before a slight groan from Savage. "It's gonna break." she looked back to Barry. "And you're going to have to fix it." And in a blink of an eye everything is once again moving, and staff in their hands, drops to the floor, knocking them all off their feet "Barry go!"

Barry's eyes looked quickly from Vandal who ran to grab the staff, before turning to Oliver, who brought his arms around Katie in one final attempt to get her out of here, but Barry could see it would be pointless. And so he jumped to his feet, and Barry ran faster than he's ever ran in his life. He had to fight the urge of turning back at the explosion behind him, and the two people drowned in it's destruction.

Katie had just dug her hand in her bowl of popcorn, when she heard a whistling sound that seemed to get louder. Suddenly, Barry was standing in front of her, a wide smile on his face as he stared at her.

"You look happy. Did you stop the bad guy, and now I no longer have to worry about some crazy guy wiping out the city before this kid gets out of me?" Barry let out a heavy sigh, before skipping up the steps and pulling the woman into a hug. "You're freaking me out with the random affection Barry. What's going on?"

"Right-" Barry said pulling back from the woman and taking a deep breath, "Sorry, I just-" he shook his head and just smiled at the sight of the woman. "We need to have a conversation. A conversation that still needs to happen."

"What are you talking about?" Katie asked and Barry dropped his head, letting out a deep breath before looking back to the woman.

"Before at Felicity's, I asked you if everything was alright, and you never gave me an answer." the man said and Katie turned away. "You know if there's something going on with you, I'm a good listener." Katie looked back over to the man who gave a small smile and she dropped her eyes from his. "Hey,-"

"Something is-" she glanced back to the house to make sure there weren't any listening ears. She turned back to Barry. "Something is happening. To me..."

Something felt weird. Katie couldn't put her finger on it, but ever since Barry appeared in front of her, and she just totally spills her guts about everything happening with her, and these abilities that she doesn't understand. Then Oliver shows up and Barry actually suggests that she stay here for the night. Katie stares in confusion as she looks between the two men, because she had no doubt that when Oliver arrived he would be hauling her back to the city, and far away from Kendra and Carter. She expected a longer, even more aggressive argument with Barry, but a look was exchanged, and Oliver simply sighed before turning back to Katie.

"That's it?" she asked, already seeing the agreement. "Barry gives a look, and you just agree with with him. You argue longer with me when I eat pizza."

"When you try to eat a whole pizza, and that's-" Oliver shook his head before turning back to Barry. "Barry's right. Trying to split my attention between being here, and protecting Kendra with being in the city, and protecting you isn't-"

"Isn't smart tactically." Barry chimed in and both Katie and Oliver look over to him. "Sorry, I should-" he pointed to the house about to turn, but stopped and looked back over to Katie. "And don't worry about your cousin, I will handle it."

"Handle it?" Katie shook her head as she looked between the two men. "What-" she turned back to Oliver with narrowed eyes. "What's going on? Why do I feel like I'm in some type of weird alternate reality where you're not acting like you and he-" she turns to Barry. "He's acting weirder than usual."

"Hey, just trust me." Oliver says bringing an arm around the woman, and leads her to the porch. He points a final glance to Barry, that the speedster knows means he better know what he's doing.

Katie awakened the next morning to the sound of Oliver's whispered voice, as he spoke to the only other person in the room and a smile pulled at her lips.

"I'm sorry, I'm putting you in the middle of all of this." she felt his hand slide across the bare skin of her stomach, and the baby seemed to kick in response. "I promise that once you're out here, I will do a better job of keeping you and your mommy out of danger." his lips touched her belly button in a soft kiss, and she bit back the moan, that threatened to slip from her throat. "You and your mommy mean the world to me." Katie smiled, as she lifted a hand, and slid it through his hair revealing to the man that she was awake. He slid back up, dropping his head to the pillow beside her, so their faces were only inches apart.

"Good morning, Mr. Queen." Katie's voice was still rough from sleep, as she placed a hand on the man's cheek. "What time is it?"

"It doesn't matter, doctor." Oliver replied before leaning in to capture her lips. "You are to stay in this bed, and watch whatever is on that television."

"But Ari-"

"Barry is taking care of the Ari situation." Oliver said shooting down the argument before it's even made. "Right now your only care in the world is keeping this little girl inside of your belly until I catch a mad man."

"I believe Ethan has different plans."

"I will take care of Ethan. You're going to rest and I'm going to make you breakfast."

"I'm supposed to just hide away in here?" she asked pulling back. "I get it. Me being here is dangerous, but I kind of figured since I spent the night here, you'd gotten over that fear and wouldn't mind me wandering around this place."

"I do kind of mind. No wandering, Twinkie. Just stay here." he placed a kiss on top of her head before sliding out of bed. "I'm going to change and see where everyone is with Savage, then I'm going to make you breakfast."

"Just don't forget this time." Katie says sitting up in the bed. "You can't promise me food and then just not bring it. That's mean and-"

"I will bring you your food, and God help me, I'm going to find a damn donut, just to make you happy." Oliver said and Katie couldn't help but laugh as the man headed into the bathroom. Once he was out of sight, Katie stood to her feet with a groan as she always did when she stood lately. She stood for a few moments, before walking over to the window. She looked out to see Kendra and Carter, in what looked like a serious argument. The sound of her ringing phone tore her away. She walked over about to pick it up, but the moment she saw the number she just froze. She heard the sound of the bathroom door open behind her, but she didn't turn.

"Are you going to answer it?" Oliver asked walking over to the woman.

"No, it's Ms. Sandburg." Katie sighed. "I don't even know what I would say to her." the ringing finally stopped and Katie let out a sigh before turning to the man. "I lost a whole person in twenty four hours. Who just loses a person?"

"Twinkie, I'm sure Arianna is fine. She's probably with friends enjoying her break from school. I will talk to Barry, see what he's found out." he brought an arm around her waist, and pulled her back toward the bed. "Until then, you and this bed are going to be best buddies." Katie let out a dramatic sigh as she slid back into bed, and let Oliver pull the blankets back over her. He placed another kiss to her head, before turning and heading for the door. Katie doesn't know why the moment hits her. The moment she feels she can't keep this secret from him any longer and so before she can talk herself out of it, she calls out his name.

"Liver-" he stops and turns back to her with a smile. "I uh, I have something to say." she clears her throat and her nerves finally kick in and she regrets this moment. "I have been-" there was a sudden knock at the door, and Katie stops unsure if she's relieved or annoyed at the interruption. Oliver lets out a frustrated sigh before turning to open the door, only for Barry to attempt to walk in. Oliver shot up a hand to stop him before he could.

"Can we help you?" Oliver asked, and Barry could hear the annoyance in the man's voice and so he simply stepped back, before glancing over to Katie with a wave.

"Hey Katie, how are you feeling?"

"Like a hostage." Katie replied with a smile. "But Oliver promised me food, so I will accept my new life of incarnation. What's up Barry?"

"I uh, actually needed to talk to Oliver." Barry said turning to the man who still just looked annoyed. "Cisco has started construction on the gauntlet and Felicity and Caitlin-"

"Barry is there a reason you couldn't wait until I came downstairs to fill me in on what's going on?" Oliver asked only to hear Katie scoff, before a pillow hits the back of his head. He turns back to the woman who shakes her head.

"Try that again Mr. Queen, this time less rude." Katie replied and Oliver sighed before turning back to Barry with a tight smile.

"I mean thanks Barry, was that all?"

"Actually no, uh-" Barry glanced over to Katie before turning back to Oliver who soon realized Barry needed to tell him something he didn't want Katie to hear.

"Twinkie, I'm going to head down stairs, but I will be back with your food." he glanced back to Katie who gave a nod, before lying back in the bed. Oliver followed Barry out into the hall, closing the door behind him. "What's going on Barry?"

"So I followed up with that friend of Ari's and she's not there."

"What do you mean, she's not there. Where is she?"

"No idea. I talked to Joe and he has a missing person report out, so at least the CCPD is out looking for her." Barry replied, glancing back to the bedroom door. "I just wasn't sure I should tell her, since before when she found out, she kind of freaked and pair that with finding out about your kid and-" Barry stopped talking, noting the glare Oliver had settled on him. "Right now she doesn't need to worry."

"Right. Just let me know if Joe finds something. I've been telling her that Ari is fine, now I find out she's in Central City alone." Oliver shook his head before looking back to the bedroom door and sighed before heading downstairs.

Katie lied back in the bed, her eyes to the ceiling, smiling at the feeling of the slight kicks coming from her belly.

"Your time is running out kid." she lowered her eyes to her belly. "I'm getting you out of me, one way or another." she let out a sigh, her eyes going back to the ceiling. She wished she wasn't tired, but for some reason she just couldn't keep her eyes open. Soon sleep took over and she found herself in a place she would rather not be.

_Katie was going crazy in the small room, with the tiny window with bars that only let in a slight stream of sunlight. Her eyes were closed as she paced the small confines of her room, trying her damnedest to remember something...anything. Suddenly the door opened, and in walked the only person she trusted._

_"Hello Katherine." Dr. Quinzel greeted, walking in and watching the woman who didn't stop her pace. "How are you doing today?"_

_"I don't belong here." Katie said suddenly stopping and turning to the doctor. "I've been in this room for days, I see no other doctor but you. You come in and you chat, you give me pills and then you leave. Nothing about this place feels familiar, so I would have to guess that I don't belong here."_

_"Katherine, I understand-"_

_"That's just it, you don't understand!" Katie snapped angrily. "You don't understand that I don't know who my parents are, but I can tell from your fingernails that you suffer from onychophagia-" Katie looked down to the woman's hand. "You bite your fingernails, and a normal person wouldn't notice that, but I did—"_

_"You're observant, that's a good thing. But Katherine, it's not uncommon to be impatient with getting your memories back, it's why I-" there was a knock at the door and the doctor smiled as she turned. "I asked for some help from a co-worker of mine." the doctor pulled open the door, and in walked a man, carrying a medical bad. Dr. Quinzel closed the door behind him, before watching as he walked over to Katie. "Katherine, this is Dr. Jonathan Crane, he will be assisting with your care."_

_"Hello Katherine-" the man held out a hand to Katie. Katie glanced from his eyes, back to his hand, for some reason not liking the tone of his soft, soothing voice for some reason. "I have heard so much about you."_

_"Have you?" Katie says folding her arms over her chest and the man dropped his hand to his side. "What are my parents names? Where am I from? Was I born in Gotham? Do I have a husband, kids maybe?! Dr. Crane, what exactly have you heard about me?!" the man chuckled as he looked over to Dr. Quinzel who glanced over to Katie for a moment._

_"Jacob Robins." Dr. Crane said turning back to Katie. "Jacob Robins, he's your father. He is the CEO of a company called Robins Incorporated. One of the top companies in the world actually. But as it turns out, your father isn't just a CEO. We're not completely sure who he really is, or who he works for, but we will."_

_"What the hell are you talking about?"_

_"Your father stole something from my boss. A flash drive, and I need to know where it is." the man placed the bag on the table beside him. "I wanted to ease into this, but you're a talker and I've had a bad day with an annoying bat person." Katie watched as the man opened the bag and pulled out a syringe and then a weird looking scarecrow mask._

_"Dr. Quinzel, who is this guy and what-" he lifts his arm and something sprays in her face. Katie slaps her hands to her face, turning away, and hunching over as her insides felt as if they were burning._

_Soon she heard a familiar chuckle, that only belonged to one person. Katie turned around, not expecting to see the demon standing right there. But his face seem to flicker between his own and a scarecrow. She stumbled back, but he caught her arms and slammed her to the bed._

_"Dr. Crane!" Dr. Quinzel urged taking a step forward, but he turned to her, and the sight of him wearing the mask was still unsettling, and she simply shut her mouth and watched._

_Katie looked up to the man, his face flickering, and she felt everything slipping away. For the first time, she felt like she really did need to be in a psychiatric hospital._

_"The flash." the thing pinning her to the bed growled, his voice deep, inhuman. "Where is it?" Katie closed her eyes, and she squirmed underneath him trying to pull herself free. "The flash, where is it?!" she opened her eyes that were now a slight shade of red. "I expected you to scream."_

_"And I expected you to restrain my legs." and with a swift jerk of her leg, Katie kneed the man in the groin, causing him to grimace in pain. She used the distraction to roll from the bed, hitting the floor with a thud._

_"Grab her!" Crane yelled and Dr. Quinzel attempted to grab Katie’s arm, but she slipped from the woman’s reach and crawled to the door. Katie clumsily stood to her feet, her head still spinning. She saw the doorknob and she attempted to open the door, but it was locked. A hand grabbed her shoulder and forced her around before shoving her back against the door, forcing her eyes back on the scarecrow. She saw the mask when he pulled it out of the bag, and it didn't look like it did now. Now it looked like a real face, that moved and contorted. The longer she looked at it, the more uneasy she felt. In this moment she felt her sanity slipping away. Her body began shaking uncontrollably, and Dr. Crane finally released the grasp he had on the woman, who dropped to the floor, curling into a ball._

_"You said she would talk." Katie heard Dr. Quinzel's voice, but for some reason it sounded so far away._

_"Yeah, well she is unexpected." Dr. Crane replied walking over and crouching in front of Katie, moving stray hairs from her face. "We will simply try again."_

The sound of deep laughter, caused Katie to wake up. Her eyes snapped open, instantly feeling someone lying beside her. She turned, only to be struck with the sight of Ethan Mills reading a magazine. He turned to her with a smile.

"Hey there sleepy head, you've been asleep all morning. How are you feeling?" he stood from the bed and walked around to her side of the bed. He took a seat on the edge of the bed as Katie sat up.

"Where's Oliver?" she asked glancing over to the window, and seeing the sun still out.

"He's somewhere downstairs. Seriously how are you feeling?"

"Ethan I'm fine, I guess I just needed a little more sleep this morning. Has there been any word on Ari?" Katie asked and Ethan turned away slightly. "Mills?" he hated when she called him by only his last name because it meant he better say something or she would hit him.

"Barry knows what's going on. You can ask him."

"Fine, move." Katie said shoving the man off the bed, before standing to her feet.

"What are you doing?" Ethan asked as he watched the woman grab her bathrobe and slip it on before turning to him. "I thought I made it clear that your excitement is only going to be limited to this bedroom and not in the good way either."

"Oliver was supposed to bring me breakfast." Katie said with a shake of her head. "I think he forgot." she glanced back over to Ethan. "He forgot to feed me, and you're trying to stop me from making him feel guilty about it?"

Oliver walked from the barn to see Cisco as he was talking to Kendra. He hoped the man could get through to the woman, and finally help her get a handle on her abilities. Oliver turned at the sound of raised voices and turned hoping to find the source. When he finally found the source, he spotted Barry and Carter in what looked like a heated argument.

"Hey!" Oliver snapped, rushing over to the man. "What the hell is going on here?"

"It's nothing." Barry replies looking over to Oliver. "We should head back to the house." he turned to go back to the house, but Oliver moved to block him. "Ollie, it's nothing."

"Yeah, nothing." Carter snipped before turning and stalking away from the men.

"Barry-"

"I needed to know if there was a reason he took her." Barry said turning to Oliver. Oliver remembers Barry’s story about a time that hasn't happened yet that included his death along with Katie's because of Savage. It's why they were doing things differently now in hopes for a better outcome. "I just asked Carter if he knew why Savage would take Katie, other than trying to mess with us."

"Well what other reason could there be?" Oliver asked and Barry sighed, because he was afraid it had something to do with the woman's abilities, but he wasn't completely sure.

"I don't know, I'm just trying to figure it out."

"It doesn't matter now, because he's not coming anywhere near her." Oliver replied before turning and heading for the house as well.

When he walked inside, he didn't expect to see Katie sitting at the kitchen table while Ethan stood at the stove burning something.

"What the hell are you doing?" Oliver asked walking over to Ethan and shaking his head before grabbing the pan of what he assumed were supposed to be eggs, and dropping them into the garbage disposal.

"Well Ethan thought he would make me food, since this guy who put this kid in me, just totally forgot." Katie replied just as Felicity and Caitlin came into the kitchen, each taking a seat at the table as well.

"I'm sorry, but you're not eating whatever that was." Oliver replied before looking over to Ethan. "You had one job." he turned back to Katie. "I will make you breakfast and then-"

"We needed to go over plan for tonight." Felicity said and Oliver looked over to her.

"And I needed to explain how the gauntlet works so no one blows themselves up." Caitlin added. Oliver looked between the three women, who simply stared back to him. "He's taking too long to make a decision, what does that mean?" Caitlin asked looking over to Katie.

"It means he's trying to decide which is more important at the moment." Katie replied before standing to her feet. "Chill out Liver, we're just messing with you. You're going to talk to Caitlin first, and then Felicity, and then you're going to give a roaring speech to the team, before you all go out and put your life on the line to beat some guy with a magic stick and a ridiculous name. I will be upstairs." she turned to leave, but Oliver's voice stopped her.

"No, I was actually trying to decide if I should make you pancakes or french toast." Oliver said and Katie turned back to him. "I'm sorry I forgot to bring you your breakfast." Katie gave the man a smile before walking over and placing a kiss to his cheek.

"I think I would like french toast."

After Katie ate her breakfast, she did return to her room and back to her bed, where she stared at her phone, hoping for news about Arianna. The day slipped by quickly until the sun was gone, and there was still no word.

"Hey, Kit, she's fine." Ethan said, still at Katie's side, where he'd been for the entire day. The bedroom door opened and in walked Oliver, who was no longer Oliver, but the Green Arrow.

"You know I've had fantasies that begin like this. The Green Arrow walks into my bedroom and has his way with me."

"Oooh, kay. I think that's way more information than I needed to know, so I'm going to leave the room now." Ethan says before standing and leaving the couple.

"Let me guess, it's time for you to leave?" Katie asked as Oliver walked over and took a seat beside her.

"Ethan made me a list." Oliver said and Katie tilted her head in confusion. "This whole list of remedies to get you to go into labor. We are going to start that list tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Katie said with a wide smile. "You're planning for tomorrow, which means you've already decided that you're gonna beat this guy tonight." the man leaned in to capture the woman's lips.

"I think I'm also gonna want to know more about these fantasies you're having." Oliver muttered against her lips causing her to laugh.

"Well then make sure you come back, and I'll give you all the details." she replied placing a hand on his cheek. "Lots and lots of details." the man groaned before stealing another kiss.

"I love you, future wife."

"I love you too, future husband. So do that thing I like where you go out and kick ass and then come back alive." the man gave a smile before placing a hand on her stomach. Letting out one final sigh, he stands to his feet.

"Felicity will be keeping an eye on surveillance, Ethan will be here, and so will Caitlin. Everyone knows the quickest routes to the hospital. I'm pretty sure everyone is armed and-"

"You worried about me?" Katie asked and Oliver sighed. "And I'm worried about you."

"We're going to be fine."

"We are." Katie agreed. Oliver stood there for a moment, trying to find the will power to turn around and leave the woman lying in that bed, because at the moment it seemed like the hardest thing in the world. "Go-" she nudged her head. "Do that thing I like." the man gave a final smile before finally turning to leave.

Katie stared at the door, trying and failing to rid herself of her nervousness. She slid a hand across her stomach.

"Alright!" Ethan's voice called as he entered the bedroom. "I say we check out whatever crappy movie is on this television."

One battle, seven heroes, ended with a pile of dust on the floor. It was done. Vandal Savage was finally gone, and that meant life could go back to the way things were.

The next morning Katie stood folding her clothes into her suit case. It was the day. Today, Katie was going to have a baby. The thing is, no one knew it but her. Contractions started earlier in the morning. They weren't strong, and there wasn't as much pain as she expected, but they were there and they were far apart. She knew it would take time before the baby actually came, which is why she hadn't told anyone yet. At the moment she was packing, hoping that focusing on something that wasn't her missing cousin, or the child about to be torn from her body would ease her nerves.

"I thought you guys were staying until the baby was born." Felicity said walking into the room and taking a seat on the bed. "It's why I just got myself a room in this ridiculously awesome hotel."

"Don't you have to get back to work?" Katie asked looking over to the woman.

"Well I kind of took off a couple of days. You get to do that when you're the boss." Felicity replied with a satisfied smile. "And I'm the boss."

"That's right, you're the—" a contraction hit her right in that moment, and the woman turned with a slight groan.

"Hey-" Felicity jumped from the bed, and hurried over to the woman, placing her hands on Katie's arms. "Are you alright?" Katie lifted her eyes to Felicity and simply nodded before turning back to the suit case.

"I'm fine, that was just a-" she grabbed another shirt and folded it into the suitcase. She couldn't even think of a lie in the moment, so she muttered something as she cleared her throat. Felicity walked over to the woman, snagging the t shirt from her hand and Katie closed her eyes with a sigh.

"You forget I speak crazy." Felicity says pulling out her cell phone and dialing Ethan's number. "Hey, stop making out with your girlfriend, we have a baby coming."

Oliver and Barry walked into CC Jitters, their eyes instantly scanning over the faces of the patrons.

"Are you sure she's here?" Oliver asked looking over to Barry, who shrugged.

"Iris called me this morning and told me she saw the picture Joe had of Ari that he was going to use for the missing child posters, and that she'd recognized her. She said she'd come in everyday the last couple of days." Barry took out his phone, and opened the picture he had of Arianna. Oliver glanced down to the phone before once again letting his eyes move over the many people, until he spotted her.

"There." Oliver said pointing to a young girl sitting alone in the far corner of the cafe. Barry lifted his eyes to the girl. Neither moved right away though.

"Should we go over there?" Barry asked, but Oliver shook his head.

"No, I think I should do this alone." Oliver replied and Barry stood there as the man walked over.

It wasn't until Oliver was closer, that he noticed the dollar bill and a couple of coins on the table that the girl seemed to be counting. He heard her curse under her breath, before lifting her eyes to him.

"Uh, hi, I'm-"

"You're Oliver Queen." Ari, said, before digging in her purse in search of more money.

"Right, I'm-"

"You're my co-guardian." Ari once again interrupted, before letting out a heavy sigh and looking back to the man. "Do you have money? I have like none to pay for this coffee."

"Uh, sure." Oliver replied.

"Awesome." with that the girl stood to her feet, bringing her bag over her shoulder about to leave, but Oliver took a step to stop her. "What are you doing?"

"Where are you going?" Oliver asked and the girl scoffed before trying to move around him.

"Look, I don't know you all that well to give you that kind of information, now if you wouldn't mind-"

"You disappeared. You left and we had no idea where you were, so Katie, who you may know is nine month's pregnant, got on an airplane and came to Central City to make sure you were alright."

"Why?" the girl asked in confusion.

"Because she cares about you. Because you're important enough to her to come to another city, and run around just to find you." Oliver said, and girl simply folded her arms over her chest and shrugged as if none of it was even a big deal.

"Ok." was her reply, and Oliver dropped his head for a moment, and let out a deep breath. He was getting highly annoyed, and was trying very hard not to yell. After the couple of days he'd just had, the last thing he wanted to be dealing with right now was a rude teenager. But he would keep his cool. She was just a kid after all. "I didn't ask her, or you to come look for me. I'm not a kid, I can take care of myself."

"Well in the eyes of the law, you're a child, and as your guardians it's our responsibility to know where you are at all times, so right now, you're going to come with me."

"The hell I am." Ari snapped, taking a step away from the man. "You're not my father, and that monster who killed my father and put my mother in prison is definitely not my mother. So I am not going anywhere with you." with that the girl walked around Oliver, for the door. The waitress walked over to her, but Arianna simply pointed to Oliver.

"He's paying." she replied, before leaving. The waitress walked over to Oliver, who pulled out a couple a bills and handed it to the woman. Barry walked over to him with a nervous smile.

"Good talk?" Barry asked and Oliver turned a glare to him, before hurrying out the door. Both men looked down both ends of the side walk, before seeing girl walking in the distance. Oliver turned and went after her, Barry at his side. "You didn't do that thing where you ordered her to do something, did you?" Oliver glanced over to the man. "Teenagers don't really like being told to do anything."

"Don't worry, when I catch up to her, I won't ask her anything. I'm going to put her in that car, and she's going back to Star City." Oliver replied, as they sifted through the crowded sidewalk. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he pulled it out to see Felicity's number. He'd only greeted the woman, before she squealed in his ear. "Felicity, what—" he pulled the phone back from his ear, before bringing it back. "I can't understand anything you're—" Oliver stopped walking, she repeated three words clearly. "Katie's in labor?" he looked over to Barry who smiled widely. "Alright, I will meet you at the hospital." Oliver ended the call about to leave, but stopped and turned to Barry.

"Don't worry, I'll try to talk to the ansty teenager. Go—" Barry lightly shoved Oliver. "Go meet your daughter."

"Thanks Barry." Oliver turned, and full on ran back to his car.


	11. The Arrival: Part One

**Chapter 11**

**The Arrival: Part One**

_"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end."_

_-Seneca_

* * *

Damien Darhk was a man who loved a good drink. He'd traveled the world, tasted some of the finest alcoholic beverages, and yet nothing ever compared to a good scotch. He looked down to the drink in his hand and gave a small smile before bringing it to his lips.

"Sir-" the glass had only touched his lips, and the moment was ruined. He turned an annoyed look to one of his soldiers. "We just got confirmation, it is happening." Darhk gave a nod. He didn't actually need a verbal confirmation, because he knew what was happening. It was as if he could feel it. It's why he was on an airplane at this moment on his way to Central City. He doesn't know why he was on an airplane, but he was.

"Do we have an ETA?" Darhk asked and his soldier gave a nod.

"We should be landing in thirty minutes." he replied, and Darhk simply gave a nod before waving the man off.

Darhk turned to look out the window, always feeling strangely comforted by the clouds surrounding him. A smile came to his lips, before once again lifting his glass and taking a sip

In all of Barry Allen's life, he never in a million years believed that one day he would be following a teenage girl around Central City. He was sure anybody watching him would think he was a pervert or something. He'd tried guessing where she was going, but she would turn down a random street or walk around a block and that just made the guessing harder. For a moment he thought she knew he was following her, and that's why this trip seemed so unpredictable. It wasn't until they reached one of the public parks did she finally stop and take a seat on bench. Barry stopped a few feet away before taking a deep breath and walking over as well. He took a seat on the bench beside her, trying to keep as much distance between them so he wouldn't scare her or anything.

He took out his cell phone in an effort to look as if he didn't even know she was there. It wasn't until he heard a sniffle from beside him, did he finally turn to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked and she glanced over to him, wiping her eyes with her hand.

"I'm fine. Just realizing how much people suck." she shook her head before turning away from him. "Stupid fake friends who use you for an internship, or parents who are so completely dysfunctional and screw up your entire existence." Arianna let out a shaky breath as she looked out to the a couple of joggers who passed by. There was a rumble of thunder from above them, and they lifted their eyes to the gray clouds. "And stupid rain." Barry let out a sigh, before looking over to the girl.

"Arianna-" the girl whipped her head to him with wide eyes. "You're probably wondering how I know your name and-" she jumped to her feet and just ran. "I should've seen that coming." Barry stood to his feet as well, glancing around to make sure the coast was clear before speeding after her.

Oliver was lost. The one thing Oliver knew for sure right now was that he couldn't be lost. His future wife, mother of his child was in labor, and at this moment he just couldn't be lost. He walked into the doors of the massive hospital and clearly asked the first nurse he saw how he could get to the labor and delivery floor. She gave him directions that included several elevators, a skywalk, a left at the elevator and then a right. At the moment he understood, but then he started walking and after a left he thinks he should've went right, and never seeing a skywalk, Oliver just knew he was lost.

"Ollie!" a voice called, and Oliver turned to see his sister with a bouquet of balloons, and large stuffed teddy bear. "What are you doing down here?"

"Trying to find Twinkie's room." he glanced around the hall before turning back to his sister. "Tell me you know where she is."

"I do. Follow me." Thea said, continuing down the hall, and Oliver quickly followed.

It was on the elevator did Thea watch her brother whose hand nervously twitched at his side, as he stared at the increasing numbers.

"Ollie, you need to breathe." she said and Oliver glanced over to her and took a deep breath. "Good. Now have you spoken to anyone since Felicity called?"

"No, why? Is everything alright?" Thea simply laughed, just as the doors opened. "Thea, what's-" Both turned to see Laurel talking with John who turned to them as well.

"Thea, did you buy all the balloons in the gift shop?" Laurel asked looking at the things in the woman's hands. She looked over to Oliver who didn't even stop to greet them as he headed over to the nurses station.

"Oh, my brother is big ball of nerves right now." Thea chuckled before watching a nurse lead Oliver toward the patient rooms.

"Does he know?"John asked and Thea laughed with a shake of her head.

Oliver followed the nurse down the hall before spotting Ethan who was speaking to another doctor. Ethan turned spotting Oliver, and quickly went over to meet him.

"So, you excited?" Ethan asked giving the man playful punch to the shoulder.

"So this is real? Not a false alarm like before?" Oliver asked and Ethan shook his head.

"Nope. This is the day my friend. You're going to be meeting your daughter at some point today...maybe tomorrow." Oliver looked at Ethan in confusion. "We've had contractions, and she's actually dilated one centimeter at this point. But her water hasn't broken, and I told her about the possibility of this being a longer labor and she's not happy."

"Which room?"Oliver asked and Ethan pointed a thumb to the room behind him and Oliver gave a nod before heading over. He took one final deep breath before stepping inside the room, not expecting to find Katie slowly pacing back and forth as Felicity held on to her arm and walked with her. Both stopped when Oliver walked in, instantly walking over to Katie.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Oliver asked and Katie looked up to the man with a hard glare. He looked over to Felicity who shook her head.

"We don't ask that question in this room Oliver." Felicity replied looking over to Katie. "Do you want to lie down?" Katie shook her head, and Felicity looked back to Oliver. "She's been walking around hoping the moving speeds along the labor process."

"Which I could've done in a very nice hotel room, or at a park. But no, everyone just had to get me to the hospital, even when I told them that we didn't need to leave right away, that I could wait before I actually needed to be trapped in a hospital room, but did they listen?" Katie shook her head before pulling from Felicity's grasp and continuing to pace.

"Such a scary mommy right now." Felicity whispered over to Oliver. "With her elevated blood pressure throughout her pregnancy, Ethan wanted to bring her in just to keep an eye on her vitals. He called Charlotte, she's on a plane as we speak and should be here soon." Oliver gave a nod before pulling off his jacket. "I'm going to go call Bruce, but Ethan said to stick close to her as she walks, in case she has another contraction or loses her balance." Felicity gave the man a pat on the arm. "He also said not to get offended by anything that comes out of her mouth right now." the blonde cast one final glance toward Katie before leaving the couple.

Oliver stood there for a moment unsure how he could be helping in this moment. Katie looked over to him and rolled her eyes.

"Are you going to stand there like an idiot or are you going to hold my hand?" Katie asked and Oliver shook his head before walking over and taking her hand as they walked. "This kid is never going to come out."

"Twinkie, it's just going to take some time, you just have to-" she squeezed his hand in that moment and stopped walking. He heard her groan, and he brought his arms around her. "Contraction?"

"Mmhm." she muttered as she laid her head on his chest and waited for the contraction to pass.

"Alright, just breathe through it." Oliver soothed, his hands rubbing her back. "That's it. It's almost over." soon the grasp she had around him loosened, and he knew it was over. He pulled back, needing to meet her eyes. "Are you alright?" the question was more for him, because in that moment his nervousness seemed to double. He stayed calm though, didn't show it because he knew in this moment she needed him to be the one to keep her together.

"I think I want to lie down now." Katie said and Oliver simply nodded before helping her over to the bed. "Did you bring me a donut this time?" Oliver had been pulling the blankets over her when she asked the question. "You said you were headed to CC Jitters again, and I asked you to bring me a donut and I specifically told you not to forget this time."

"I'm sorry Twinkie, but I-" he let out a heavy sigh before taking the seat beside the bed. "I wasn't completely honest with you this morning."

"What, you didn't go to CC Jitters?"

"I did, but not for coffee. Barry called while you were sleeping. He'd gotten a tip that someone matching Arianna's description had been stopping into the cafe for the past couple of days, so I thought I would stop in just see if was her."

"Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Katie says sitting up in the bed. "You don't know her, and she doesn't know you, if it was her-"

"It was and-" the man shook his head. "I talked to her. Told her that you were worried about her. Worried enough to fly all the way here to find her and she said she didn't ask you to and then she ran off."

"So she's still missing, that's just-" Katie dropped her face to her hands and let out deep breath. "This kid doesn't want to come out of me, because she knows how horrible a mother I am."

"Twinkie, hey-" Oliver grabbed her hand and she looked over to him. "Barry is following Arianna right now, so she's not still missing. And everything you've done for her, coming here, looking for her, only proves how great a mother you're going to be. She's just angry. Teenagers are angry, I guess."

"Are you sure Barry can handle an angry teenager?" Katie asked and Oliver simply nodded. "You're such a liar." the woman laid back on the bed and let out another deep breath. "So no donut, huh?"

She looked over to the man who smiled before placing a kiss to her lips.

"You know I think you would like some ice chips better." he replied standing to his feet, placing another kiss to her forehead.

"You know I doubt that very much." Katie replied watching the man who left the room.

The moment Oliver stepped outside of the room, he slid his hand over his face, letting out a deep breath.

"Hey." he looked up to see Ethan walking over to him. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Oliver said with a nod. "I've just been trying to prepare for this moment, and now that it's here and she's having contractions, it's kind of-"

"Scary right?" Ethan asked and Oliver nodded. "You're a tough guy. You can handle this. You have to handle this, because believe it or not my Kit is going to go nuts when it starts getting closer to the pushing part of this whole thing, and you need to be the strong one, ok?"

"Right, I came to get ice chips." Oliver said and Ethan nodded before turning to a passing nurse.

"Ice chips for thirteen?" the nurse simply nodded and Ethan turned back to Oliver with a smile.

"What?" Oliver asked.

"Well I have a gift for you." Ethan replies folding his arms over his chest. "Both of you actually." Ethan looked over to the clock. "Alright I think I can have you missing for like five minutes before she will notice." he turned back to Oliver and nudged his head for him to follow. With a furrowed brow, Oliver followed Ethan back out to the waiting room.

"Did you tell him?" Laurel asked walking over with a smile.

"Tell me what?" Oliver asked.

"Ethan did something that was kind of stupid." John says with a shake of his head.

"But also genius." Ethan replied turning back to Oliver.

"The thing is, you two want to get married before the baby is born and Ethan may have figured out a way to help with that." Laurel said nudging Ethan's arm.

"Wait, I have to capture this moment on camera." Thea said walking over and holding up her phone. "Ok, tell him this idea everyone is so sure he's going to agree to." Oliver glanced from his sister to Ethan who pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to him. Oliver unfolded the paper, reading in confusion.

"Why am I holding a certificate saying that you're officially ordained as a mister by the Universal Life Church?" Oliver asked looking back up to Ethan who was smiling stupidly. "You want to marry me and Katie?"

"Ok, so I know how this plan sounds." Felicity said stepping forward. "And I thought it was the stupidest thing I ever heard when he said he did it, but then I thought about it. Oliver right now you and Katie can be husband and wife, and still plan for this big grand wedding later. All you have to do is ignore the fact that it will be Ethan standing between you two." Oliver turned back to Ethan, who was still smiling.

"Does Twinkie know about this?" Oliver asked, but no one said a word. "Of course not, because you all were hoping I could ask her."

"Ethan just figured you guys could do this before all the screaming started." Laurel said. "I mean Ollie, you and Katie could be married in like the next ten minutes." Oliver looked back down to the paper.

"And this is legit?" Oliver asked looking back up to the doctor who nodded.

"Absolutely. I did my research. You and Kit already have a marriage license, and so my marrying you will be totally legal in the eyes of the law. What do you say?"

Oliver stood there for a moment letting all of this sink in, and they all watched him, waiting for an answer.

"I need to talk to Twinkie first about this." Oliver replied and Ethan simply nodded. "You're going to be there to tell her how real this is." Ethan simply nodded before turning and heading back toward the room. Oliver stopped and turned to see everyone was following them. "You guys have to wait out here."

"Fine, but no one better get married without me present in that room!" Thea ordered looking at her brother. "Or I promise you, you're not getting the awesome middle for my niece." Oliver simply shook his head before he and Ethan headed back to Katie's room.

For a man who was supposed to be dead, Jacob Robins sure did like to be outside, in the public, surrounded by people. He was smart though. Wore a brimmed hat that hid his face, sunglasses that hid his eyes. His whole life he was trained to be a ghost in plain sight, and it was something that came in handy. Jacob stood in the Central City Aquarium, watching the various aquatic creatures swim in front of him. There was a presence beside him, and he turned his head to see Martin, who wore a small smile.

"She's in labor, isn't she?" Jacob asked and Martin gave a nod, and a smile pulled at Jacob's lips as he turned back to the fish. "I'm going to be a grandpa." he shook his head, the idea still hard to believe at this point. "Is the hospital secure?" Martin didn't say anything right away, and Jacob turned to him. "Martin?"

"We have men patrolling both the inside and the outside of the hospital." Martin informed, but there was something else, and Jacob could see it. "We've just gotten word of a possible Darhk sighting in Central City." Jacob let out a heavy sigh, turning back to creatures. "We have no actual proof that he's here because of the baby."

"He has eyes on her, eyes that I can't see." Jacob replied with a shake of his head. "This entire time I thought that I could protect her from him, and yet-"

"Nothing has happened." Martin said in an attempt to reassure his boss. "Right now your daughter is safe, and so is your granddaughter and we don't even know if he's here because of her."

"He is." Jacob said with certainty. "He's seen her face to face, and the moment that happened, a connection was created between them. One neither understand right now, but I get the feeling Darhk is going to try to figure it out." Jacob turns to Martin. "Any threat to my daughter's life or my granddaughter is to be eliminated without hesitation. Keep a strong perimeter around the hospital. The moment Darhk makes an appearance, let me know." Jacob silently nodded before looking back to see a shark swim by. "I think it's time I ended this once and for all."

The last place Barry expected Arianna to run was to the police station. It only verified that he really did scare her and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He'd only walked through the doors of the station when he spotted Arianna talking with an officer Barry had never met. She turned, her eyes going wide at the sight of him.

"There he is!" she screamed pointing toward Barry, and moving to stand behind the officer. "He's like some kind of stalker pedophile, who preys on fifteen year olds-"

"Sir, I'm going to need you to stop walking and put your hands behind your head." the officer ordered, his hand now hovering above his gun. Barry sighed, before lifting his hands to the back of his head.

"My name is Barry Allen, I actually work here. I'm a forensic specialist and I was following her, only because a friend of mine, Katherine Robins, is her guardian and she ran away. I was just trying to get her to talk to me so we can get her back home." The elevator doors opened and it is was only by luck that Joe had been walking off. He looked from Barry to the officer, before holding out his hands.

"Joe, thank god, could you tell this officer that I'm not a stalker-"

"Stalker pedophile!" Ari called out and Barry turned a glare toward her.

"I'm not-" he took a deep breath figuring he needed to keep his cool since the officer still held his hand over his gun. "Joe, please."

"It's alright." Joe says stepping over to the officer, before glancing over to Arianna. "You must be Arianna Locke." he looked over to the officer. "I can handle this." the officer simply nodded before heading out the door. Arianna looked from Joe to Barry.

"Look I don't know what's going on, but I just want to leave and-"

"Go where?" Joe asked. "From what I hear, you came to Central City with a friend, and then you left that friend, and now who are you here with?" Ari crossed her arms and turned away. "You may not see it, but this city is very dangerous, especially for girls your age." she rolled her eyes and the man looked over to Barry. "Does Ms. Robins know she's here?" Joe asked and Barry shrugged.

"Uh Oliver does and I'm sure he's going to tell her, but she's kind of in labor right now. I told him I would keep an eye on her, so she doesn't disappear again." Barry replied looking over to the girl. There was another roar of thunder, and they turned to the windows to see the rain begin to fall.

"How about we go upstairs and wait out this rain, before we return you back with your guardian." Joe said and Arianna shook her head.

"That woman is nothing to me." she replied. Joe and Barry shared a look before walking the girl toward the elevator.

When Oliver and Ethan walked back into Katie's room neither one of them said anything right away. She looked over to the two men, wondering if something was happening.

"Is something wrong with the baby?" she asked and Ethan took a step forward, with a shake of his head. "Then why are you two just standing there looking weird?" she glanced over to Oliver who walked over to the other side of the bed and took her hand.

"Ethan had an idea." Oliver said, and it was a phrase Katie never thought she would hear from the man. "And it's not a bad idea." Katie looked in confusion from Oliver to Ethan. "Ethan went online and got himself ordained as a minister." Ethan shrugged with a smile. "We can get married right now." Katie turned with wide eyes to Oliver, not sure how to respond. "I know you wanted to wait until after the baby to actually plan a wedding you would like, and you can still do that, but this way, we won't have to wait to be husband and wife."

"What do you think, Kit?" Ethan asked and Katie turned away, still unable to form a cohesive thought. "Kit, I know what you're thinking, but-"

"Ethan, leave the room." Katie said suddenly turning to the man. "Right now, I need you to leave the room." Ethan glanced over to Oliver who gave a nod before turning and leaving the couple.

"Look Twinkie, if you don't want to do this now I understand, I just thought-"

"Oliver you can't marry me." Katie said suddenly, and Oliver wasn't sure how to respond to that. "You can't-" she shook her head and turned away from his eyes. "You have no idea what marrying me would mean. I mean you're already stuck with me because of this baby, but marriage, you don't have to-"

"Twinkie, what are you talking about?" Oliver asked, but Katie refused to turn to him. "I'm not stuck with you. I love you, and I want to spend my life with you, and-"

"And that would be a mistake." Katie replied turning back to the man. "I'm not someone who you should marry, I'm-" she turned away, emotions taking over her body. "I'm damaged, I'm-"

"Hey." Oliver placed a hand on her cheek and she turned back to him. "Where is this coming from?" Katie didn't say anything and Oliver took a deep breath. "Is this because of Ra's? Because you see him, because Twinkie, we can get you help and-"

"I can't be helped." she replied with a dry chuckle. She turned away from his eyes. "The truth, I can't tell you the truth because the moment you find out, you'll realize how big of a mistake all of this was."

"Alright, you're scaring me now." Oliver said taking a seat on the edge of the bed, and placed a hand on her belly. "What's going on?" Katie pursed her lips, not wanting the words to actually come out of her mouth. She was afraid he couldn't handle it, that he would look at her and see something else. The one thing she knew was that she couldn't marry him, couldn't tie herself to him forever without at least letting him know the truth before he took on that promise. "I need you to talk to me." Katie turned to him, the fear in her eyes now obvious to him. "Twinkie-"

"Something-" she turned away from his eyes, because she didn't want to see the moment she became something different in his eyes. "Something...I don't even know how to begin this conversation." she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She decided to start from the beginning. "I see my uncle. I see Ra's Al Ghul."

"Twinkie, I know it's scary but we can figure out why-

"He's dead." she continued with a shake of her head. "And yet somehow I can see him. I'm not sure how it's possible, but I see him and I've seen my mother and I've seen Jeremy-" she placed a hand over her eyes. "I even saw David once, and Tommy." she dropped her head and felt tears suddenly on her cheeks. Oliver reached forward, drying her eyes with his thumb. She smiled and turned to the concern in his eyes on her. "They're not hallucinations. They're real." that's when she saw it. The confusion, mixed with concern. She could see he was trying to find the right words for this moment. "You think I'm crazy."

"I don't think-" Oliver took Katie's hands in his. "I think you've been through a lot in your life, terrible things have happened to you and seeing things that aren't real—" she turned away from him and just shook her head. "Twinkie, I-"

"I see dead people." She continued hoping he would finally see that she was serious, and that this wasn't fear or PTSD talking. "I'm not sure how, but I believe it may have been something passed to me from my mother, along with a couple of other things."

"What do you mean other things?" Oliver asked and Katie glanced over to him, before turning away and looking around and spotting the cup of ice chips. She grabbed it and looked inside of the cup, before tossing the ice up in the air, before lifting a hand.

"Stop." just as she expected they stopped in mid air. Her eyes went to the clock across from her to see the hands still ticking. She shook her head before turning to Oliver who wasn't moving either. Katie lifted a hand to touch him, but hesitated for a moment, because this would be it. The moment she could lose him forever. She turned her eyes back to the ice chips and realized she had no choice right now. He deserved to know who she was and so she placed a hand on his arm, and he looked over to her, before his eyes saw the ice just frozen there in the air.

"Did you-" he looked over to Katie who turned to him and nodded. His eyes went back to the ice, still unsure if what he was seeing was even real. He leaned in closer, reaching forward and plucking one of the ice chips and looking down to it in his palm, and he didn't know it when it happened, but he took a step back. A step away from her. She saw it, saw that look in his eyes and she had to turn away from him.

Oliver knew he should say something, knew this moment couldn't just be filled with silence, but for the life of him, he couldn't speak. Katie suddenly lifted a hand, and with a slight wave, the ice chips just fell to the floor.

"Then there's this weird light that comes out of my hands. I don't know what it does, but it's freaky." she said drying more fallen tears. "So that's it." she looked over to Oliver who still wore a look of bewilderment. He turned to her, for a second and she could've sworn she saw fear pass over his eyes and she had to turn away from him once again. She placed a hand on her chest, because she felt like she couldn't breathe.

"You need to take a minute." Katie said not daring to look over to the man. "Yeah, this is a lot. You impregnated the weird lady who can move things with her mind. You're going to need a minute." there was no movement, and so she forced herself to turn to him. "Oliver, you need to take a minute. Just go, think about what this moment means and if you want to be tied to it for the rest of your life." Right now she really wanted him to turn to her and tell her that he didn't need time. That he didn't need to step away and that he would stay with her. After a moment, he turned back to her. "You don't get to just stand there and not say anything. You need a minute so take it now." he turned away, and gave a nod before heading for the door.

Katie felt her heart breaking with every step the man took. She was shaking and she couldn't even control it. And then he went out the door, and a sob escaped her that she didn't even recognize came from her. And because she had the worst luck in the world, another contraction chose that moment to hit her.

This one was far more painful than the others, and she seemed to feel it over her entire body. She tried to breathe through it, to not think about the pain, and then she looked down to her hand, and realized no one was here to hold it. No one was here to tell her that she could do this. Katie clenched her eyes closed, and turned and grabbed the railing on the side of the bed and did the only thing she could do.

"Just breathe." she grit through her teeth.

When Oliver walked back out to the waiting room, his friends turned to him and rushed over.

"So do we have a wedding?" Felicity asked, but Oliver just sift past them and headed for the elevator that was luckily opening as he walked over. He was able to slip on avoiding any more questions from his friends. "Ok, what was that about?"

"No idea, but it's unacceptable." Ethan said walking over and pressing the button of the elevator, hoping the doors would open. Suddenly his pager went off, and he plucked it from his pants and cursed at the message. "Son of a-"

"Ethan what's wrong?" Laurel asked and Ethan looked over to her, and the others whose eyes were on him and he just shook his head before running back toward the patient rooms.

Oliver paced the small confines of the elevator, his brain unable to not see ice chips floating in the air, unable to truly grasp that it was Katie...his Twinkie that somehow did it. The doors opened and Oliver rushed off. He wasn't sure where he was going. There was a door that lead to the outside, and he headed for it, but stopped just as the doors opened and in ran Barry who was soaking wet.

Barry shook off the water from his hair, and glanced up, surprised to see Oliver standing there.

"Ollie, what are you-" he walked over to the man with a smile. "Did she have the baby?" Oliver looked over to the man still speechless, but he was able to shake his head to answer the question. "Did something happen? Is Katie alright? Is the baby alright?"

"She's-" Oliver still searched for a coherent thought, and Barry stared in worry. Oliver glanced over to Barry before turning away.

"Ollie, what-" Barry noticed the look on Oliver's face, the look of shock and he just knew what this moment was. "She told you." Oliver turned back to Barry. "She told you about-" Barry glanced around seeing that they were in an area this conversation couldn't happen. Barry turned back to Oliver who just shook his head. "She told you, and you left." Barry didn't expect her to tell him so soon, but when she did, he expected Oliver to be...Oliver. He expected him to be accepting, and calm and not run away. "Wait, your fiance is in labor, right now and you walked out on her?" Barry asked and Oliver shook his head before moving around the man out the door.

Oliver still didn't know where he was going, or even why he was getting further away from the woman about to deliver their daughter. The rain was heavy, but it was as if he didn't even feel it.

"Oliver!" Barry called after the man. "Look I respect you and I admire you, but I promise you that if you take another step I will beat the crap out of you!" Oliver stopped walking and turned back the man. "You were supposed to be surprised, supposed to not know what to say, you do not walk out on her, because despite what you believe, she didn't choose any of this. She was actually scared to death of this, of what this meant and I know for a fact the last thing she wanted to do was tell you, so if she did I have to believe she only did it because she needed to believe that you would still be there when she did."

"Barry, could you just-"

"No!" Barry snapped angrily, stalking toward the man. "You put a ring on her finger, and you got her pregnant and you were headed down an aisle to promise to stick with her for better or for worse, and now-" Barry shook his head and looked up to the sky. "Now you're standing outside in the rain, instead of holding her hand and telling her that she is going to be ok when I'm sure she's scared to death right now." Oliver looked back up to the hospital, and really thought on the man's words and he couldn't believe what he was doing. He dropped his head for a moment before turning and walking back to the hospital. The moment he walked though the doors, he saw Laurel and John running off the elevator. They rushed over to him the moment they spotted him.

"Ollie-"

"I'm sorry, I just-" Oliver shook his head. "I'm going back upstairs, I'm going back to her." he looked over to John, whose face showed an emotion he didn't want to see right now. "What's wrong?" he turned back to Laurel who he now noticed looked just as sad and scared and Oliver felt the drumming of his heart and moved around the pair onto the elevator.

The moment he stepped off the elevator, he rushed toward Katie's room, nervous at the sight of nurses swarming inside of Katie's room. He hurried over to her door, but stopped at the sight of the woman hunched over, seemingly struggling to breathe as she held an oxygen mask to her nose and mouth. Felicity and Thea stood at Katie's side, looking on helplessly, while Ethan stood on the other side of the bed.

"Hey, Kit, that's good. Breathe in and out." Ethan says rubbing the woman's back trying to calm her.

"What happened?" Oliver asked, and they turned to him. The moment Katie's eyes looked over to Oliver, one of the machines began beeping like crazy. Ethan's eyes went from the monitor, before following the woman's eyes and the moment he saw Oliver, his eyes darkened. "Twinkie-" Oliver took another step inside, and this time Ethan stepped forward to block him.

"You need to leave the room."

"Ethan, look I just need-"

"Oliver, my voice is calm right now, because yelling will only spike her blood pressure even more and cause more distress to her and the baby." Ethan glanced around at the nurses moving around the room attempting to tend to Katie. "Actually, right now I think everyone should leave." he gave a nod. "Right now this room needs to stop spinning for her, so everyone who doesn't need to be here should leave."

"I'm not leaving." Felicity stated from Katie's bedside. Ethan glanced over to her to see a look as if daring him to say otherwise.

"Neither am I." Thea replied before glancing over to her brother who still stood at the door. "No matter how much I want to kick my brother's ass right now."

"Fine, you two can stay, just keep her calm. Hold her hand." Ethan says before walking back over to Katie and leaning in closer to her. "You need to breathe. Whatever happened, I need you to remember to breathe. Remember you are a fighter and remember that this kid is counting on you to just breathe, ok?" Katie looked over to him and simply nodded. Ethan placed a kiss to her to her forehead before turning and heading for the door. He stopped in front of Oliver and gestured for him to leave. Oliver let out a huff, his eyes looking over to Katie once more before turning and stalking out of the room. Ethan followed behind him, closing the door as they left.

"Look, Ethan I get what you're trying to do-"

"We're still too close to her door." Ethan interrupted before pointing toward a room across the hall. Ethan walked around the man, who let out a frustrated groan before turning and following the man into the empty room.

"Ethan, what happened, I was just there and she was-"

"She had a panic attack. No, she had a contraction, followed by a panic attack." Ethan said looking over to the man with a shake of his head. "Wait, I know, she told you that she cheated on you."

"What, no, I just-"

"She killed somebody, somebody close to you and she just told you about it, right?"

"Ethan, will you just stop."

"I just thought it common courtesy to at least figure out why I'm going to beat the shit out of you, before I actually do."

"Ethan-"

"You know I knew it. I knew you couldn't hack it. You went crazy, joined a cult and then tried to come back as if you could fall back into a role you knew you weren't ready for."

"Ethan, just stop, I'm sorry, I-"

"You're going to want to stop talking because if you're talking when I punch you, there's a chance you could lose some teeth, and that won't be a good look for you," Ethan replied taking another step toward the man. "You walked out of the room of your pregnant fiance when she needed you the most."

"I know and I feel horrible, but-" without warning Ethan threw a punch, but Oliver caught the man's wrist. "Ethan, stop it, I don't want to hurt you, but you're-" Ethan bent his arm, and Oliver's grasp loosened allowing Ethan to grab Oliver arm with his other hand and forcing it behind his back. With a bit of force, Ethan shoved Oliver to the floor, about to grab him again, but he stopped himself.

Oliver sat on the floor, looking up to Ethan obviously shocked that he was able to get him down. Oliver knew his head wasn't in a fight, knew he was too distracted to outsmart anybody right now. He was also a bit surprised at Ethan's moves, not expecting such a carefully orchestrated maneuver from the doctor.

"You're not going back in that room." Ethan said after a moment, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

"I need to see her, to talk to her and explain to her-"

"Why you decided that walking away from her was easy for you to do."

"That's just it!" Oliver snapped standing to his feet. "You have no idea what happened in that room, I just-" he shook his head. "I needed a minute, I needed one minute and then I came back-" Oliver let out a ragged breath. "I came back, and I need to talk to her, I need to tell her that I am here, I need to tell her that I'm not going anywhere."

"But you did. You walked away from her, so no, you're not going back into that room, unless she asks and right now, I doubt that will ever happen. You want to stay here, fine, you will wait in the waiting room."

"Ethan-"

"You're not married, so you have no legal right to be here, which means the moment I want to get security to toss your ass out, I will. You will wait in the waiting room, and if I were you I would try my hardest to steer clear of me." Ethan moved around the man, and stepped out the door, only to find John, Laurel and Barry standing outside. "I need to see where Charlotte is. If dilation is going to continue to be this slow, we may have to consider a cesarean." Ethan pulled out his phone before stalking off. Their eyes turned back to the door as Oliver walked out, stretching his now sore arm.

"So how long have you been training Ethan?" Oliver asked looking to Laurel who looked at the man in confusion.

"What, I'm not-"

"What happened?" John asked instead, and Oliver glanced over to the man, and just shook his head.

"Guys, I get you're worried, but with this, this one time, it's just not your business." Oliver moved around him, glancing over to Katie's door, before turning back to his friends who stood as if waiting for him to say something more. "Guys seriously, we just need-" Oliver's words were cut off by the lights above them flicking off and then coming back on.

"I think I saw on the news that this storm was going to be bad." John muttered.

"The hospital has a back up generator, right?" Laurel asked looking over to John.

"Yeah, I'm going to go talk to somebody about it." John replied glancing over to Laurel who gave the man a nod. John turned back to Oliver. "Punch him if he tries to go in there before she asks for him." John ignored the glare Oliver sent him as he headed down the hall.

"I think I'm going to go find Ethan. Oliver, just don't go in there right now." Laurel said, sending one final dirty look toward Oliver before moving around him.

"Now everyone hates me." Oliver muttered turning to Barry who didn't say a word.

"I'm sorry, is this the part when I'm supposed to comfort you and tell you that you're wrong, because I'm just not." Barry replied walking over to a nearby window to look out at the rain.

"Barry-" Oliver said and Barry turned to the man. "I need to get in that room. She can't think I just walked out on her." Barry opened his mouth, and Oliver already knew what he was going to say. "And I know I walked out, but I needed a minute." Oliver shook his head before glancing over to the door. "She just told me-"

"Did she tell you that she has a kid with some guy from college that she didn't tell about?" Barry asked and Oliver whipped around back to the man, and that's when he realized he'd forgotten. That with everything that was happening, he forgot about Samantha and William, and the promise he made not to tell anyone that William was his son. Barry let out a sigh before turning away. "I'm sorry, that wasn't fair, I just-" he looked back over to the man. "When the person who expects everyone to leave her, tells you to leave, you don't." Oliver shook his head and turned away. "What she told you, it doesn't change who she is. It doesn't change the person you fell in love with it." Oliver nodded, once again glancing back to Katie's door.

"I need to talk to her." Oliver said once again, before turning back to Barry, who looked hesitant to help him. "You're right, I get it. I messed up again, and I need to fix this, because I won't be able to live with myself if I miss the birth of my daughter. I can't live with my self if that woman-" he looked over to the door once again. "That woman I would very much like to spend everyday of my life with can't be sitting in that room thinking she lost me." Oliver turned back to Barry. "Please?"

"Fine, I will talk to her. Just stay-" the lights once again flickered off above them and they lifted their eyes in confusion. "Just stay close." the lights flicked back on and Barry and Oliver shared a look before Barry headed off toward Katie's room.

Laurel headed in the direction she saw Ethan go. It didn't take long for her to find the man hidden away down an empty hall. He had his phone pressed to his ear, so he didn't even hear as she walked over.

"No, he came back. I'm not sure what happened in that room, but he came back." Ethan muttered with a sigh. "At the moment she's calm, but I doubt she will be once she finds out this place might not be as safe as we hoped."

"Wait, what?" Laurel spoke startling the man who turned with wide eyes. "Who is on the phone?"

"I have to call you back." Ethan said suddenly before ending the call and slipping the phone into his pocket. "Hey Laur, has eavesdropping become a thing for you?"

"Ethan, tell me who was on the phone?" Laurel asked once again, her voice leaving no room for anything but the truth, but the man in front of her was trained for situations just like this.

"It was Charlotte. I was just filling her in. Anything else you need to know?"

"Yeah, just one." Laurel replied walking over to stand in front of the man. She doesn't know how he could forget that easily who she was. How she spent years in courtrooms, pinpointing the moment a lie is tossed in front of her and how every time it angered her. "Why did you just lie to me?"

"Laur, I-" Laurel closed the very narrow distance between her and the man, just so he could see the seriousness in her eyes when she spoke her next words. The move made him nervous, but he didn't...wouldn't show it.

"You're going to tell me who was on the phone." And just like that, Ethan knew this day wasn't going to end the way he wanted.

Barry lightly knocked on the door, and nervously waited. Soon the door whipped opened, and appeared a very angry Thea, who seemed to soften the moment she saw Barry.

"Oh, it's you. I thought you were Oliver." Thea said before stepping aside to let the man inside. Barry's eyes went over to Katie who laid curled in the bed, her back to them.

"Is she alright?" Barry whispered back to Thea who shook her head.

"She's sad, and angry and she hasn't said a word. The only sound that comes from her is the pained moans of a contraction." Thea shook her head as she looked over to the woman. "I'm seriously going to kick his ass."

"I think there's a line developing." Barry replied before walking over to stand beside Felicity who sat beside Katie, holding the woman's hand. "Hey." Katie glanced up to him, her eyes red and puffy from obvious crying. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault Oliver chose to be an ass at the wrong possible moment." Felicity replied, pushing some hair from Katie's face. "It doesn't matter right now, because we're here, and we're going to be here every step of the way." They heard the sound of thunder, and the lights once again flickered.

"It happened again." Thea said before looking over to Felicity. "Do you think the power is going to go out?"

"If it does, I'm sure they have a back up generator." Felicity said, trying to keep her voice calm and even before sending a scowl Thea's way. "Everything will be fine."

"Right." Thea replied walking over and rubbing a hand along Katie's back. Her eyes turned to one of the many machines Katie was now hooked up to, the one that monitored the baby's heart beat. "But if they don't-" Thea said turning back to Felicity. "And if the power goes out, and so does these machines, how will they know how the baby's doing?" Thea turned back to the monitor and shook her head. "I think I am going to get some answers, but I'll be right back." she placed a kiss on top of Katie's head before turning and heading out the door.

Thea had only stepped outside the door before she spotted her brother across the hall looking utterly sad and pathetic, and yet the glare on her face was unwaivering.

"Speedy-" the woman held up a hand for him to stop talking.

"I don't want to talk to you right now, and I'm afraid that if I do, you're going to be meeting your kid with a back eye." Thea stalked off, leaving Oliver standing there to wallow in his guilt.

Felicity glanced over to one of the monitors, hoping the worry Thea just stirred inside of her didn't show too much on her face.

"They probably have batteries, right?" Felicity whispered over to Barry. "In situations where the power goes completely out, they makes sure there's an alternative power source." she turned back to Katie, and slid a hand along her belly. "They have plans for such situations."

"Well they're going to wish they had when Thea talks to them." Barry replied and Felicity lifted her head and groaned.

"She's going to yell more than help the situation." Felicity said before bringing a hand to Katie's cheek. "I am going to make sure this hospital doesn't try to deliver this baby in the dark. I will be right back." Felicity turned to Barry who looked over to her. "Barry, you're going to sit in this seat." Felicity stood to her feet, never letting Katie's hand go. Barry gave a nod before sliding into Felicity's chair. "And you're going to hold her hand." Felicity lowered her and Katie's connected hand, and slowly slid Katie's hand to Barry. "You don't leave this room unless someone is with her who will hold her hand, ok?"

"Ok." Barry replied making sure his grasp on Katie's hand was firm, but comforting.

"Alright, I'll be back before you know it." Felicity replied before her high heeled feet rushed out the door.

Once she was gone, Barry looked down to the woman, who seemed to be avoiding his eyes.

"I didn't think you were going to tell him." Barry said suddenly, but the woman didn't give a reaction. "I'm so proud of you. What you did was brave, and I admire you for being honest with him. I thought-" he dropped his eyes to hers, but she still wouldn't look at him. "I really thought he was the type of guy who could just take that his fiancé has awesome abilities and just be ok with it." he thought he would at least get a smirk, but still nothing. "He's here now. Outside of this room, and I'm sure not even the jaws of life will move him at this point." Barry glanced over to the door and sighed. "I'm not defending him, because what he did was really a shitty thing to do. I mean I'm pretty sure there's a line of people just waiting to catch him alone in an alley somewhere." the man looked back down to Katie and tilted his head hoping he could pull her from her silence. "Look I'm fine here, holding your hand and I can stay for as long as you want me here."

The room fell into silence, and Barry simply held onto Katie's hand.

"He could barely look at me." Katie said, her whispered voice seeming louder in the quiet room. Barry looked down to her, and this time she looked back at him. "I expect a look of confusion, or disgust, but I didn't expect him not to be able to barely look at me." she felt a tear stream down her cheek. "I spent the majority of my life thinking Oliver Queen never completely saw me, Then I was on his lawn, and I stepped on John's foot and he turned around and his eyes looked at mine, and saw me." Barry reached forward to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Ever since, Oliver Queen has never been in the same room with me, and not looked at me. We've actually had conversations about it. Me telling him to stop with the staring because at some point someone will notice and he says he doesn't care." a small chuckle escaped her lips. "He says he has to look at me, has to see that I'm really there and that I'm really his. And then I was in a room with him, and he didn't look at me...he couldn't look at me."

"He doesn't have to come in here. You don't have to talk to him. Like I said, what he did was a shitty thing to do and no one would blame you for -"

"Tell him to come in here." she replied turning and sitting up in the bed. Barry looked unsure if that was the right thing to do. He assumed he'd have do a little more convincing before she'd even consider being in the same room with him again.

"Are you sure, it's just the last time you saw him a bunch of these machines you're hooked up to were very loud." Barry glanced from the door, back to Katie. "I don't think they're supposed to be loud."

"I'm fine." Katie replied wiping away any stray tears. "He gets to react to this. This is something you react to, and he has the right. He may want to ask me questions, I probably won't be able to answer any of them, but he gets to ask."

"So you're going to forgive him."

"I don't want to, but I forget that he's human. I forget that sometimes he's can't just take the hits and keep it all together, all the time. He gets to react, I mean I wished to hell he didn't walk out of here, but I guess if the situation was reversed, I can't say that I wouldn't have done the same thing. But for right now-" Katie placed her hands on her stomach. "A child is about to be ripped from my uterus, and he did this to me, so he will come in this room." she turned to Barry and gave the man a nod. "Get him in here!"

"Fine!" Barry jumped to his feet, and started for the door.

"Wait!" Barry quickly stopped. "I thought you were watching Ari. She's not missing again, is she?"

"Oh, no." Barry shook his head. "She's at the CCPD with Joe. Me and her didn't really kick it off. She thinks I'm like a stalker." Katie looked at him in confusion. "It's a long story, but she's safe with Joe. He's actually raised a teenage girl, so I'm hoping he can get through all anger she's hiding behind. I was going to head back just to check in though." Katie gave the man a nod before he headed out the door.

He closed the door behind, and turned only to be rushed by Oliver who was in his face before he knew it.

"How is she? Is she alright? Is the baby alright? Please tell me the baby is alright, because I wouldn't be able to live with myself-" Oliver let out nervous sigh before shaking his head. "My daughter has to be alright. Twinkie has to be alright, they just-" he looked back over to Barry. "Why the hell aren't you saying anything?!"

"Oliver, you need to breathe." Barry says placing a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Katie is fine. The baby is fine. She's connected to a bunch of monitors in there right now, but they're all saying that they both are alright." Oliver let out another sigh, this one filled with relief.

"Thank you, thank you so much, I-"

"She wants you to go in there." Barry's words seemed to take Oliver by surprise. "Like she sent me out here to tell you to go in there."

"Really?" Oliver asked and Barry gave the man a nod. "Ok, I'll just-"

"Oliver-" Oliver looked back to him. "You screwed up once today, one more time and I will just step out of the way and just watch everyone wack you like a pinata."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to screw up." Oliver walked around the man to going inside Katie's room. When he stepped into the room, and saw her connected to so many monitors he had to force himself not to freak out. A loud thumping sound came from one of the monitors and Oliver turned with wide eyes. Katie followed his eyes and just shook her head.

"That's the fetal monitor." she said and Oliver turned back. "It's monitoring the baby's heart rate. It's kind of loud, but you want to hear it, because when you hear it, you know she's still in there moving around."

"Twinkie, I'm sorry." Oliver says walking over to her bedside. "I feel absolutely horrible for walking out of this room, For not being supportive and-" he let out a heavy sigh. "I tell you all the time that you can talk to me, that anything you say I will listen to and then you told me-" he shook his head. "I didn't listen. I did the one thing I promised you I wouldn't do, and for that I'm so sorry. Of course I'm here for you, I will always be here for you. We will figure whatever this is out, together." Oliver waited for a response, but she didn't say anything. "Twinkie-" Katie turned away from him, and laid back on the bed. "Twinkie-"

"The day I found out I was pregnant, I still cried myself to sleep because I thought I had lost you. I imagined on the day I went into labor, you weren't going to be there, but then you came back." she shook her head as she turned away. "And that fear that I would have to do this all alone was gone. And then you walked out of my room when I told you that I-" she sighed. "I don't know what I am. Walking away is a normal reaction when you hear something so unexpected that you can't even believe it." she turned back to the man. "From the man who has seen and heard his share of weird, I expected—oh! " That moment, there was another contraction. Katie groaned as she turned away from the man, clenching her eyes closed in hopes that it would just pass.

"Twinkie, just breathe, just-" he reached forward to take her hand, but she pulled it away.

"No, just—ahh!" the wave of pain continued, and Katie felt every ounce of it. Oliver stood and watched helplessly, wanting to comfort her in some way. He looked down to her hand that now clenched the blanket and he shook his head before grabbing her hand. "Oliver, don't just-"

"Right now I'm holding your hand!" Oliver said and Katie opened her eyes to meet his to see his intense gaze on her. "I'm right here Twinkie, and you will never have to do this alone. Now keep breathing." Katie turned away, letting out a deep breath. There was a knock at the door, but Katie nor Oliver turned to see who it was. The door opened, and it was Ethan who seemed surprised to see Oliver standing there holding Katie's hand.

"I thought I told you that you're not allowed back in here!" Ethan snapped angrily. "You need to go, you-"

"Ethan!" Oliver snapped angrily turning to the man. "Right now, this moment, she's having a contraction. And she's going to have another later, and another, and I plan on being here for every one of them." he felt her hand loosen it's grasp, before she fell back on the bed. "That's was great, you did great."

"Kit, I can call security right now and have him tossed out of this hospital." Ethan says walking over to Katie's side.

"Ethan, will you just-

"Tell me what's happening with Charlotte." Katie said, turning to Ethan who let out a sigh. "Ethan-"

"Her plane was forced to land because of the storm." Ethan replied and Katie sighed, placing her hand over her eyes. "Hey we're still alright. There is an OB at the hospital who Char says is more than capable of delivering this baby. Apparently he's an old friend of hers that just transferred from Coast City."

"Coast City?" Katie and Oliver asked looking over to the doctor, just as another knock came from the door. They all turned to see another face they did not expect.

"Zach?" Katie said as the doctor walked into the room.

"You know Dr. Flemmings?" Ethan asked and Katie looked over to the man and nodded.

"Yeah we go all the way back to medical school." Zach said walking over to stand beside Katie, giving the woman a smile. He looked over to Oliver, giving the man a nod. "Mr. Queen nice to see you again." Oliver reached over to shake the man's hand.

"Uh, yeah, you too. So you're going to be the one who delivers the baby?"

"It would seem so." Zach replied with a shrug before looking down to Katie. "So I hear you have a stubborn little girl who takes after her mother."

There was a vibration sound in the air and they turned to Ethan who pulled out his phone and let out a sigh.

"I'm going to let you guys get caught up on what's happening, and I will be in the hall." Ethan replied placing a hand on Katie's shoulder. "The moment you want him gone, let me know an I will make it happen." he looked over to Oliver and slightly shook his head before turning and walking back to the hall.

The moment Ethan stepped on the other side of the door, he found Laurel talking to John, Felicity and Thea. When they heard the door, they all turned their eyes on him, the distrust very clear on their faces.

"I guess we should talk." Ethan said, before turning and walking down the hall, the others behind him.

They ended up in an empty doctor's lounge. They all filed into the room, and John made sure to close the door behind them. "Before you guys start-"

"At what point did you think you got to speak during this whole thing?" Thea asked taking a step toward the doctor. "You lied to all of us. This whole time."

"Ok first of all, I've never lied to you." Ethan says turning to Laurel who stood, arms folded, as she glared at him. "Laur, I know what you think you heard, but-"

"Who do you work for?" John asked, his voice hard, and Ethan turned to him before dropping his head. "Ethan-"

"Jacob Robins." Ethan replied lifting his head, hating the looks on their faces right now.

"How long?" Felicity asked and Ethan turned to her with a shake of his head. "The whole time, right? You wormed your way into her life, into our lives, made us trust you and care about you and this whole time you were working for the man who took away her life." Felicity shook her head before walking over to stand by the window.

"What was the play?" John asked and Ethan sighed before folding his arms over his chest. "Were you just a spy?" Ethan didn't answer the question, and so John took a couple steps forward, bringing him and the doctor dangerously close. "I'm going to need you to start talking."

"No." Ethan replied with a shake of his head. "Because this, finding out that I have a secret employer isn't what's important right now. What is important is the fact that I've just been informed that Damien Darhk may be in Central City."

"What?" Felicity turned back to the man. "Are you sure?"

"No one's sure, but when a lot of people are saying the same thing, then we're more inclined to believe it."

"We." Laurel said and Ethan turned to her. "As in you and your boss?"

"Laur-"

"Just don't." Laurel snapped before turning back to the others. "I'm heading downstairs, see if there's anything out of the ordinary happening down there."

"I'll go with you." John said before turning back to Felicity. "Have you spoken to anyone about the lights?"

"I've tried, everyone is too busy to stop and talk to me." Felicity replied in frustration. "But everyone I've spoken to seems nervous."

"Alright, why don't you and Thea try to find someone to tell you what's happening with power in this place. Let them know you may be able to help." John said and Felicity and Thea gave a nod. "Where did Barry go?"

"You know I think I saw him earlier down the hall. Should we tell him that maybe we should get the CCPD involved?" Thea asked.

"At this point we're not even sure if anything is wrong, but maybe he can at least give them a heads up." John turned back to Ethan. "You're going to call your boss, get the full story, tell us what we're dealing with and then you come directly to me. Under no circumstance does this get to Katie and Oliver."

"Wait, you want us to keep this from them?" Felicity asked. "This is their lives, and if they're in danger-"

"Right, if." John replied. "Right now they are in a whole other world. One that focuses on the safe arrival of their child, and believe me when I say all their energy will be needed for that. So before we worry them, before we remind them that they live in a world with Damien Darhk, we are going to get the facts first." Everyone gave a nod, before John turned back to Ethan. "And you go no where near them. You're sticking with me."

"I'm her doctor. I get everyone's upset about this, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm-"

"There's a new doctor now. Right now he will take care of them and you will go no where near her. You've been lying to us this whole time, so the trust we had for you is gone, and once they find out, I'm pretty sure they will agree. So unless you're absolutely needed, you will keep your distance from them."

"I agree." Laurel said, before pushing past the man out of the room. Felicity and Thea, looked over to the doctor once more, with a scowl before turning to leave as well.

"John you have to believe me, this is not what you think it is."

"I don't know what to think this is Ethan, because you chose to not tell anyone." John shook his head before walking over to glance out the window. The storm only seemed to be getting worse, making the day's luck feeling that much suckier. "Call Jacob, or Martin or whoever you answer to." John turned back to the doctor. "I need to know everything that's happening."

Oliver and Katie stared at the OB in silence for a few moments, when he said something neither wanted to hear right now.

"What do you mean you can't move me?" Katie asked and Zach let out a sigh. "If I'm not dilating fast enough, then we need to do a cesarean, and we can't do that here because the power seems to be going in and out and that means no one with a scalpel is doing anything to me." Katie closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "I need to get to a hospital with lights that stay on." she looked back over to the doctor. "You need to get me out of this hospital."

"That just it. This storm is getting worse before it gets better. Law enforcement is advising everyone to stay off the roads because it's just too dangerous. Right now her heart rate is fine, so that means she's taking her time. We still have time, ok."

"Do you know anything about what's happening with the power here?" Oliver asked and Zach shook his head.

"I think they have someone checking out the generator to make sure it kicks in if we lose the main power. I'm not sure of the status, but I can find out." he replied before looking back over to Katie. "Hey Doc," she lifted her eyes over to the man. "Everything is going to be fine. I got you, ok."

"Ok." Katie replied before Zach, gave them a nod before turning and leaving. "Oliver-" she turned to the man. "You need to get me to a different hospital."

"Twinkie, you heard what he just said. Right now the roads are too dangerous." Katie turned away, pulling her hand from his grasp before turning her back to the man. "Twinkie, I'm sorry-"

"Oliver don't," Katie said, refusing to turn back to him. Oliver sighed, sitting back in the chair, his eyes looking over to the woman. The room filled with silence, was broken when Katie once again spoke. "Do you want to know why I told you?" Oliver sat up in his seat to look to the woman. "All of this was happening. Things I didn't understand, things that were scaring me and then I remembered you saying that I didn't get to be scared and you not know about it." she finally turned to his intense blue eyes that focused on nothing but her in this moment. "I told you because that promise of this ring-" she lifted her hand, and looked over to the diamond engagement ring. "This promise means forever. It's like a key to a door that we have no idea what's on the other side. What we have is each other and we walk through it together. It's just I knew something that was going to be in our forever." she looked up, his eyes still right on her. "And I couldn't let you walk through that door without letting you know what our forever could mean. So-" she reached for the ring on her finger, but Oliver quickly placed his hand above hers to stop her. "Oliver, just listen ok. I know you. I know you're the honorable guy who takes care of his responsibilities and who always tries to do the right thing that makes everyone happy, and I'm here telling you that you didn't sign up for this. That whatever is happening to me doesn't have to happen to you. We can be fine, we can raise this little girl with all the love in the world as...as friends and I would understand, I would-"

"Twinkie, stop talking." Oliver interrupted the woman, before slipping the ring from her hand and sliding it back on to her finger. "I'm not here because of some obligation, I'm here because I'm in love with you. I'm here because I'm signing up for you. All of you. So you don't have to be scared, because I'm never leaving you."

"For better or for worse?"

"For all of it." Oliver brought a hand to the woman's cheek. "I'm sorry I ever made you doubt that." the man leaned forward, bringing his lips to hers, but she pulled back instead. Oliver let out a sigh as he looked up to her eyes. "Twinkie-"

"I just wanted a nice smooth labor and this is anything but smooth."

"Right now you need to stay calm, relax. We're going to get through this." there was a strike of thunder, and they both looked up when the lights once again flickered off, and then flickered back on. Oliver felt Katie's grasp on his hand tighten, and he looked back to her. "We're going to be alright."

The sound of the rain against the car, brought a ghost of a smile to Damien's face. Minnah loved the rain. There were quite a few times she would run out into it in the middle of the night and just dance around. That was a long time ago. They were both young, and foolish and unaware of how the world worked. She believed that they could just be happy, and he believed only power could bring his happiness.

Damien's eyes glanced out the window as the rain fell heavily. He looked across the street to the massive hospital, unsure why he hasn't gone inside yet. Well actually that wasn't true. He knew why he hadn't moved. He was still searching for a logical reason. A reason that would lead him to this hospital just because of news that a woman he barely knows was in labor.

His head suddenly shot up to his driver, whose door suddenly opened and in an instant, a bullet was shot into his head. Darhk simply stared as his driver was shoved from behind the wheel before a stranger took his place.

"Of all the cars in this city, you chose the completely wrong one." Darhk sighed as he looked to the back of the man's head.

"No-" the familiar voice spoke, and a smile broke out across Darhk's face when the man turned to him. "This is exactly where I'm supposed to be."

"Martin, you know you surprise me!" Darhk said with a laugh. "I had this idea of who you were, and the guy who blows somebody's brains out without hesitation just wasn't it. You're wasted on Jacob. He doesn't appreciate you. You should work for me."

"Tempting offer, but I have this whole no working for egomaniacs rule when it comes to professions." Martin replies just as the door opposite Damien opens and another face appears that makes the man just burst into laughter."

"This is-" Darhk laughed, barely able to make a complete sentence. "This is priceless." he wipes away a fake tear as he glanced over to Jacob Robins who now sat beside him. "You're looking well there Jake. That curse was some of my best work."

"Drive, Martin." Jacob ordered, and soon the engine cranked and the car was moving. "I warned you." he turned back to Damien with a shake of his head. "I explicitly warned you to stay away from my daughter, and yet you didn't listen." Darhk tsked as he turned to look out the window.

"You bore me Jacob." Darhk glanced over to the man and just shook his head. "I mean of all the men in this world Minnah could've chose-" the man sighed. "You're weak. Maybe that's what it was. She'd been surrounded by powerful men her entire life, maybe finding you was like a breath a fresh air." he turned back out to look out the window.

"Is that what you have to tell yourself?" Jacob asked and Darhk just chuckled. "Because the truth is, you just weren't what she wanted. You lost her, and getting close to my daughter won't change that."

"I'm just curious." Darhk turned back to the man. "I wanna see how much of her mother she truly inherited. And I have to say, its much more than I expected. I mean she survived the rose. Nobody survives the rose. I've actually been reading up on her. She's survived a lot actually. That kind of power shouldn't be wasted."

"You're pathetic." Jacob muttered with a shake of his head. Darhk turned to the man fully, a sudden tension appearing in his jaw. "Your entire life has been a failure. You tried to be Ra's Al Ghul, and you failed, you tried to have a life with Grace, and you failed at that too. Now you're running some evil underground operation in Star City, and I'd bet my life you're going to fail at that too."

"Wow, your code name had to be pot back in the day." Damien said. "Because that's just the failure calling the failure a failure. Let's not forget who between us wasn't able to keep Minnah alive." this time Jacob chuckled before reaching inside his jacket and pulling out his gun, aiming it right at the man across from him.

"I know about Ruvé, and Nora. I know that you think you have this life with this tightly wrapped bow that no one can get through, but you're wrong." The car suddenly stopped, but Damien kept his eyes on Jacob. "I have the ability to ruin you, to ruin everything you thought you knew."

"Then why haven't you?" Darhk asked tilting his head slightly. "I have heard stories of the infamous Jacob Robins, the cold, calculated agent and I am the man you see threatening your daughter. Why am I not dead yet?" Jacob didn't say anything, and Damien chuckled before lifting his hand and with just a flick of his wrist caused Jacob to turn the gun on himself, slipping the barrel into his mouth. "Want to know my theory?" the man heard movement from the driver's seat. "Your boss' life is on a thread Martin, I'd tread lightly if I were you." he turned back to Jacob. "Now where was I? Right! Do you want to know my theory?" Damien slid closer to Jacob, reaching into the man's jacket and smiling at the feel of a picture in his pocket. He pulled it out and as it expected, looked down to the small picture of Jacob with Minnah and a young Katherine. "You can't kill me because there is something that links me to your daughter." Darhk turned back to Jacob who couldn't speak with the barrel of the gun still in his mouth. "You know what it is, don't you?" Darhk stared, before reaching forward the taking the gun from Jacob, "What is it?"

"Go to hell." Jacob hissed and Damien simply laughed with a shake of his head before looking back down to the picture.

"You don't get it Jake. Whatever this is, it's distracting me." Darhk turned back to Jacob and shrugged. "And I don't have time for distractions. As you are well aware, I am a busy man. But look at me. I'm in Central City. There's no reason for me to be in Central City but here I am. Along with a couple of my guys who've already infiltrated the hospital and are mere inches from Dr. Robins, but here I am and I don't know why." Damien shook his head as he slid back over to look out at the rain and sighed. "I don't like it and the only option I see of ridding myself of this distraction is killing our dear Katherine, and the child in case this thing is hereditary." he looked back over to the man. "I just want to get back to me, you know."

"If you go near my daughter, I will-"

"Stop pretending that this is a fair fight Jake, because that's what truly makes you pathetic. You know who I am, know what I can do, and you also know that you can't stop me, so stop with the threats, stop trying to scare me. You can't beat me." with that he turned opening the door.

"You could've killed me too." Jacob said and Damien stopped and glanced over to the man. "Countless times, and yet here I am."

"And you think that's because I don't want to?" Darhk asked with a laugh. "Aw, that's cute. No you're alive because I want take everything that causes your heart to beat, that brings air to your lungs before finally putting you out of your misery. I think that starts with the good doctor." with that the man stood from the car, and Martin glanced over to the side mirror to see the car pull up behind them and for Darhk to step inside.

"What now?" Martin asked before turning back to Jacob. "How do we stop him?" Jacob looked down to the gun in his lap before glancing over to Martin. "Sir, we need to make a move and-"

"He's right." Jacob admits with a slight shake of his head. He turns to look out the window. "I can't beat him."

"Sir-"

"I thought I could shield her from the truth, but I just can't."

"Sir, that man just threatened to kill your daughter and your grand child. We don't have time for you to just give up. There is still a fight and we can-"

"You're not paying attention, Martin." Jacob turned back to the man. "Damien Darhk will not kill Katherine. I've never been afraid of that."

"Then what are you afraid of?"

"Him realizing the reason he won't."

John and Laurel traveled down to the first floor, heading down the hall toward the security office. Laurel glanced back to Ethan who shook his head as he pulled his phone from his ear.

"Still no answer." the doctor said. "Look I get the feeling if Darhk is in town, then Jacob is a little too busy to take my calls."

"No, you're his daughter's doctor." John says glancing back to the man. "If he's not taking your calls then something's wrong." he looked over to Laurel who simply shook her head. "You're ok?"

"I'm ecstatic." Laurel muttered, her voice cold. "Let's just stop a bad guy so I can get the hell out of here."

John spotted the security office up ahead, and quickened his step, but stopped when he smelled the familiar scent of blood. He tossed out an arm to stop Laurel, before reaching into his waist band and pulling free his gun. John slowly pushed open the door, his eyes going wide at the sight of two security guards hunched over, blood seeping from their chest. Ethan moved forward, quickly checking for a pulse from either man, but there was none. He looked back over to John and Laurel and just shook his head.

"This is bad. This means they're inside." Ethan says standing to his feet. "They're too close."

"He's right." Laurel said turning to John. "I think now is the time we finally tell Oliver what's going on." the woman shook her head before rushing out of the room.

Thea Queen rarely paced, but at the moment as she waited inside the office of the Dean of Medicine, she could do nothing but pace.

"This is ridiculous." Thea said, and Felicity shook rolled her eyes and she looked down to her cell phone. "We've been waiting for like ever."

"It's been fifteen minutes, Thea. I'm sure she's on her way." Felicity replied, before cursing under her breath. "Damnit."

"What's wrong?" Thea asked walking over to Felicity's side and looking down to her phone.

"Cisco says he's unable to access surveillance here." Felicity replied with a shake of her head. "He's being blocked by a very tight firewall." Felicity lifted her head and closed her eyes to think. "The only way to get access is for me to go directly to the security office and disable the firewall manually."

"You can do that?" Felicity turned to the woman, the obvious offense written all over her face. "Right, you're Felicity Smoak." the door suddenly opened and both women turned as an older woman rushed inside, her eyes down to her phone before glancing up.

"How can I help you?" she asked before looking back down to her phone and groaning before typing something.

"Dr. Slater, we're just here wondering about the status of the current electrical issues." Felicity said standing to her feet. "You see our friend-"

"My future sister in-law." Thea clarified. "She's upstairs, in labor and-" the Dean still hadn't looked up and so Thea reached forward and took the phone from her hands causing the woman to finally look up. "We need to be sure all those machines making sure her and the baby are healthy don't just cut off."

"Ms. Queen-" the Dean held out her hand and Thea handed her back her phone. "Ms. Smoak, at the moment our back up generator is functioning properly. So all monitors will continue to function." Dr. Slater looked between Felicity and Thea who still looked hesitant to believe her. "Look, the moment Dr Robins was brought into this hospital, I have been personally keeping tabs on her care. It is my job to ensure every patient receives the top level of care possible, and I've dedicated my career to ensuring that happens." Dr. Slater glanced down to her phone and sighed. "Right now my ER is bursting at the seams with accident victims because of this storm." she looked back to the women. "I need to ensure we're fully stocked and capable of handling the amount of people about come here. I have to go."

"Thanks for your time." Felicity said before she and Thea finally left. The two women headed toward the elevator. "Ok, I feel reassured." she looked over to Thea who just shook her head. "You don't?"

"About the power? Sure, but there's still the whole Damien Darhk issue that still worries me." The doors to the elevator finally opened and the women stepped on, just as Felicity's phone rang.

"It's John." Felicity quickly answered, turning to Thea with wide eyes at the news of the dead security guards.

Katie was once again standing, hoping to help speed along the labor process. Oliver stood close by, gently rubbing her back as she stood by the bed. There was a knock at the door, and Oliver turned his head to see Laurel walk in.

"Hey—" she glanced over to Katie who looked completely exhausted. "Hi, sorry to come in here like this. This is probably the worse timing ever, but I need to talk to you." Laurel nudged her head toward the door. "Outside."

"That's not happening right now, Laurel." Oliver says turning back to Katie, when he heard the woman groan. He grabbed her waist to keep her steady. "Just breathe." Katie's breathing quickened as she hunched over the bed even more , unable to stop the pained moan from escaping her lips. "Almost there, keep breathing."

Laurel stood uncomfortably at the door, unsure if she should leave or not. She decided to stay because Oliver definitely needed to know what was going on outside this room.

"That's it, it's over. You did great." Oliver says placing a kiss to Katie' head before glancing back to still see Laurel standing there. "Laurel you should wait outside with the others."

"I would love nothing more than to do that, but Oliver I seriously need to talk to you outside." Laurel once again said, and this time Oliver could see the seriousness in her eyes. "Right now." Oliver turned back to Katie, his hand continuing to massage her back and he just shook his head.

"No." he replied looking back over to the woman. "Whatever it is, you need to handle it without me. I'm not leaving my family." Laurel stood there for a moment in surprise before giving the man a nod, turning and finally leaving.

"If that was important, you should-"

"Absolutely nothing in this world is more important than this." Oliver said and Katie turned to face him. She looked at him for a moment, before placing a hand on his cheek. "I'm sorry."

"I know." she replied before dropping her head to his chest. Oliver brought his arms around her, and placed a kiss on top of her head. "I'm-" the woman closed her eyes and said the one thing she's been afraid to say. "Oliver, I'm scared." Oliver tightened his embrace around the woman, before pulling back and looking down to the woman.

"I know, but we're going to get through this." Katie gasped as she gripped the man's arms, and both their eyes looked down to the floor at the sudden appearing puddle. "Your water just broke." they both looked back up, meeting each other's eyes.

"My water just broke." she repeated, as Oliver lowered her to sit. She looked back up to Oliver with a smile. "Liver, she's coming." Oliver returned the smile, totally consumed with nervousness and happiness in this moment.

"I'm going to—" he turned, grabbing the call button, and pressing it.

"Everything alright?!" came the voice of the nurse from the speaker.

"Uh, her water just broke." Oliver replied, before dropping his head to Katie's. It was this moment both felt how much their lives were about to change.

John stood near one of the windows, his eyes out as the rain fell heavily. The truth was, he was nervous and really wasn't sure what the next move should be.

"Still nothing." Ethan said and John turned to the man who shook his head. "Something is wrong." both turned at the sight of impending footsteps to see Laurel who didn't look happy.

"He wouldn't even talk to me." Laurel exclaimed in frustration. "He told me that whatever was happening, that we needed to handle it without him. Can you believe that?"

"Actually I can." John replied and Laurel scoffed. "Oliver and Katie are about to have a baby, I don't blame him for choosing to be there for that moment."

"Yeah, well it doesn't change the fact that people are dead, and more that likely it's because Katie is here." Laurel said with a shake of her head. "Because when shits about to hit the fan, it's always Twinkie who is in the middle of it."

"That's not fair." Ethan countered and Laurel turned a glare to him. "Hey, I get you hate me right now, but what's happening is not her fault."

"You say that as if you know what's going on." John said folding his arms over his chest, and staring down to the man.

"Look I don't know much about anything. I'm just a doctor who-"

"Who was hired to worm your way into Katie's life?" Laurel asked.

"No, actually I was assigned to be there." Ethan sighed turning back to John who simply shook his head.

"You work for ARGUS." it was a statement that Ethan didn't even have to corroborate. "So Lyla-"

"Don't do that." Ethan interrupted. "I'm the one who-" Ethan's phone suddenly rang and he glanced down to see Martin's number. He glanced back up to John who nudged his head for him to answer it.

"Sir, hi, I've been calling, what-" Ethan dropped his head as he listened to Martin's instructions. "Are you sure?"

"What is he saying?" Laurel asked and Ethan met her eyes. "Ethan-"

"Yes, sir." Ethan ended the call before looking up to the waiting eyes of Laurel and John.

"What did he say?" John asked and Ethan let out a sigh.

"He said everything is fine." John and Laurel glanced at the doctor in confusion.

"What does that mean?" Laurel asked and Ethan just shook his head .

"It's means everything's fine." Ethan replied before turning at the sigh of Dr. Flemming running down the hall. "Hey! What's going on?"

"The dam has finally fallen!" Zach called over to the man as he continued his jog to Katie's room.

"What does that mean?" Laurel asked and Ethan glanced over to her with a smile.

"Her water broke." Ethan glanced up to see the doctor getting further and further away. "Hopefully this means we get a baby soon."

Felicity and Thea stood a few feet away from the security office as they watched the Dean along with the police moving about attempting to figure out what happened. Dr. Slater glanced down the hall, spotting the two women before walking over.

"The two of you shouldn't be here." the doctor said glancing back to the crime scene.

"What happened down here?" Thea asked, even though John had filled them in earlier about the two dead security guards.

"Nothing I can discuss with the public." the woman replied turning back to the two women. "You two should head back up to maternity floor. The hospital is about to be put on lock down which will not allow for much movement through the hospital."

"Wait, so that means everyone on the outside can't get in and the people on the inside are trapped in here?" Felicity asked, sharing a look with Thea.

"That's usually how lock downs work." Dr. Slater replied. "Look it's just a precaution the police would like to take and I agree." the doctor turned and nudged her head to one of the officers. "Officer Hadley, could you escort Ms. Smoak and Ms. Queen to their floor?" the officer nodded before turning to the women.

"Thank you doctor." Felicity replied before turning and following after the officer. Thea linked arms with Felicity and leaned into whisper.

"I thought you needed to use that computer to access the surveillance video?" Felicity glanced over to the woman.

"Yeah, but all those police officers over there make that extremely difficult, don't you think?" Felicity replied with a shake of her head.

"Well then what now?" Thea asked and Felicity turned a look of annoyance to the woman.

"Just let me think."

Oliver sat nervously at Katie's side, keeping a firm grasp on her hand as Dr. Flemmings examined her. They waited for the doctor to say something, but he'd been silent for a while.

"Alright!" Zach said standing from the stool and looking between Oliver and Katie. "So we're at four centimeters, which is awesome. We're trucking right along which is great."

"Why do I feel like there's a but somewhere in that sentence?" Katie asked and Zach continued to smile, but kept they could see the seriousness behind his eyes.

"At the moment we're going to have to do a natural birth, so that means' we will have to wait until you get to nine centimeters."

"Well what if there's fetal distress, what if-"

"We are not going to worry about what ifs right now. At the moment both you and the baby have steady vitals, and I am comfortable with taking this all the way with you." the man replied before glancing over to Oliver. "Look I don't want you guys to worry about anything right now, but legally for your own safety I have to advise not to leave this room unless instructed my a member of the staff or law enforcement."

"Law enforcement, what the hell is going on?" Oliver asked and Zach simply shook his head.

"Look I haven't been given all the details, but what I do know is that the right people are here handling the situation, so I really just need you to be rest assured that everything is alright, and just stay calm." he turned to Katie with a smile. "Especially you mom. Your blood pressure is steady, but there have been spikes, and those spikes worry me. So I need you to relax-" he glanced over to Oliver. "And you're going to make sure that happens." Oliver simply gave a nod. "I'm going to stop in later, but if you need anything just hit the nurse call button, and someone will be right in." the doctor gave a nod before turning and leaving.

"Why do I get the feeling you should've talked to Laurel." Katie said glancing over to the man who simply shook his head.

"It wouldn't change anything because I'm not leaving your side." the man replied placing a kiss on top of the woman's head. "I'm sure the others are handling what ever this is." There was a sudden roar of thunder that seemed to coincide with another flicker of the lights, only this time the lights didn't come back on.


	12. The Arrival: Part Two

**Chapter 12**

**  
The Arrival: Part Two**

_"Honesty is more than not lying._

_It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving."_

_—James E. Faust_

* * *

It was an awkward elevator ride as Barry Allen stood side by side with a teenager who thought he was stalker. Joe had gotten a call about the strange happenings at the hospital and couldn't play babysitter anymore and so Barry had to come back to the station to retrieve the girl who had yet to utter a single syllable. He expected her to try to run off, but to his surprise she followed him the entire way. He figured Joe may have had something to do with the girls more agreeable behavior.

The moment they arrived, the place was crawling with officers. From what Barry heard, someone had killed two security guards and stolen their access cards. The place was on lock down and that included all elevators, which Joe held off until Barry and Arianna were safely to their floor. Once the doors opened and the pair stepped off, Barry sent a text to Joe letting him know that they had made it up.

"Uh, the waiting room is just around here." Barry said over to Ari who rolled her eyes before continuing down the hall. The speedster was glad the moment he spotted the others, finally ending the awkwardness between him and the teenager. "Guys! Hey!" they all turned to the man, their eyes glossing over him to the young girl whose face was hidden underneath the hood of her sweatshirt. "Uh, everyone this is Arianna Locke, Katie's cousin." he pointed to the girl who glanced up to their eyes before shaking her head and walking over to a far corner to sit.

"You do know people are dead here. I'm just not sure Katie would want her cousin to actually be here right now." Felicity said and Barry simply nodded.

"I know, but Joe had to come check out the scene here and all the other officers are on the streets trying to patrol the streets. I mean we've had storms before but this one has gotten crazy. I had to bring her with me." Barry glanced over to to girl who'd started riffling through magazines. "So any word on who is behind all of this."

"Well yeah, more than likely it's Damien Darhk." Laurel said with a shrug. "Well according to Jacob Robins, who Ethan has been secretly working for this entire time-" she shook her head once again thinking about the man's deceit. "I mean everything was just a lie, our entire relationship was a complete and total lie and I can't believe I-"

"Alright." Thea brought an arm around the woman to stop the rant before it began. She turned back to Barry who stared in confusion still not completely understanding what was going on. "Ethan has been working for Jacob, according to Jacob everything is fine, but no one here believes it."

"Where is John?" Barry asked glancing around the dark waiting room, now illuminated by lanterns the nurses had placed around. "Why is there no back up generator?"

"Part of the reason no one believes everything is fine. We believe whoever Darhk sent, killed the guards and then somehow accessed the building's generator and was able to knock it off." Felicity sighed before nudging her head down the hall. "John is patrolling the surrounding halls and Ethan's with him because well-" she nudged her head to Laurel and Barry simply nodded.

"Does Oliver and Katie know what's going on?" Barry asked and everyone simply shrugged.

"Right now the only thing we want them to worry about is our baby Twiver." Felicity stated firmly. "They deserve this defining moment in their lives, so we are going to do everything in our power to let them have it."

Katie laid in bed watching Oliver standing near the window. She could see he was nervous, how standing and doing nothing was almost impossible for him to do in this moment.

"You want to know what's happening out there." Katie says and Oliver turns to her. "I get it. There is a problem and you maybe able to fix it. It's what makes you, well you. You can go. This kid is taking her time, so if you want to figure out what's-"

"I want to stay here with you." Oliver walked over, taking the seat beside her and taking her hand in his. "I only get this moment once. The moment my daughter is born, so I want to experience this entire moment with you. So I'm not going anywhere."

"You know this would be a great moment for Ethan to swoop in and try to marry us again, because I think might do it this time." Oliver smiled, before placing a kiss to the woman's lips. "But we still have stuff to deal with before that happens." Oliver sighed, because he knew where this moment was venturing.

"Twinkie, I told you-"

"For better or worse. I know, but you don't even know what that is. I don't know what that is."

"Then how about we figure that out." Oliver says with a nod. "Lets start from the beginning."

"The beginning?"

"When did it start? When did you-" Oliver cleared his throat as words he never expected to say to this woman struggled to pass his lips. "When did you start realizing that you had these abilities?" Katie turned away and let out a sigh.

"I thought I was crazy." she looked back over to the man. "Like I thought I really had just cracked up and it scared me to death. I mean I have had hallucinations for years on and off, and then nothing. We were in Coast City and we were happy, and everything was perfect and then Hal Jordan pops up at a carnival, and as we're talking I heard my uncle's voice." Katie turned away with a shake of her head. "It was clear, and distinct and gave me chills because he was dead." she turned back to Oliver and let out a shaky breath. "You told me he was dead and I believed it, but I saw him in the middle of street and I froze." the woman closed her eyes and laid back on the bed. "As if on some level I just knew it was him. That was the first time I started paying attention." she looked back to the man, who never loosened the grasp on her hand.

"And are you sure it's real?" Oliver asked and Katie sighed, turning away from the man. "I'm just trying to understand, I'm sorry-"

"Don't be sorry for that." Katie says turning back to Oliver and placing a hand to his cheek. "Because this is crazy, it's insane, and these questions make sense to someone who hasn't lived with it." she shrugged. "I've had real hallucinations, things that were not real, and then I saw him. Ra's Al Ghul and it was different. He had this presence about him, this energy that only he had, and I could never shake it when I saw him. It's him. He's somehow figured out a way to stick around, and annoy the hell out of me."

"We should-" Oliver shook his head. "Talk to Barry, see how this happened, maybe the explosion-"

"The explosion didn't cause this." Katie says with a shake of her head. "I was nowhere near Central City at the time. This is something else, something-"

"Mystical." Oliver said and Katie simply gave a nod. "Constantine-" Katie groaned at the man's name. Oliver turned slightly remembering that man's visit and the strange way he was acting. "Constantine knows what this is."

"He does, but he wouldn't tell me. The only thing he would say is that there's something inside of me that I can only ignite." the woman shook her head. "I have know idea what that means."

"I can talk to him." Oliver suggested and Katie turned to him with a small smile. "Get him to tell me what is happening and how I can-" he stopped talking because he knew if he finished the sentence, their reconciliation will be short lived.

"How you can save me?" Katie asked and Oliver let out a heavy sigh. "Liver-"

"You're not damsel, I know. I've known that for a long time now, but for some reason it doesn't stop me from ever wanting to make sure you're always happy. I will talk to him." Oliver leaned in, bringing his lips to hers.

When John and Ethan returned back to the others, they spotted the two new faces among the group.

"Anything?" Laurel asked, as they walked over to the men.

"Everything is quiet up here. Most of the patients were moved to different hospitals, and everyone that stayed are being advised not to leave their room." John says, his eyes looking over to the young girl sitting alone in the waiting area. They followed his eyes, and it was Barry who answered the man's silent question.

"That's-"

"Arianna Locke." John said, and they all turned back to him. "I know." without another word, John walks over and slips into the seat across from the girl.

"I'm confused." Barry whispered over to Felicity.

"She's the daughter of the man who attempted to put a bullet in his brain. Katie killed that girl's father, her cousin to save John's life." Felicity looked over to the man and sighed. "She's a girl who lost a father."

"And as a father of a little girl, that kind of hits close to home, huh?" Barry asked and Felicity simply nodded .

Arianna felt the eyes on her, and glanced up to John for a second, before looking down to her phone. "My name is John Diggle, I'm a friend of Katie's."

"Good for you." she muttered still scrolling through her phone.

"Look I get you don't want to be here right now-"

"Understatement of the century." the girl said, looking up to me his eyes. "I know who you are. John Diggle was a name I heard often back when my life was still my life. The police asked me if I'd ever heard my father speak of you, but I didn't. To this day, I try really hard to figure out what could've driven my father to attempted murder."

"Did you ever figure it out?"

"The root of all evil always stems back to money." the girl replied with a shake of her head. "He was stealing from the company we all thought he loved and he got caught and everything he worked for was taken away. It drove him crazy." Ari looked back down to her phone and sighed.

"I have a brother-"

"Nope." she said looking back over to the man. "We're not going to have a heart to heart. Or a bonding moment. The only thing I need right now is a signal so I can call Ms. Stick-up-her-butt social worker to tell her how horrible my new guardian is so she can get me as far away from her and all of you people as possible." John simply stared at the girl. "What?"

"I've seen a lot of angry people in my life. You think if you push people away you can hide in it and not feel all the other emotions you're afraid to feel."

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"Everybody's afraid of something."

Ethan wanted to keep his distance from Laurel. It was the smart move at the moment, but as he stood watching her stare out the window, he just couldn't help himself. He just had to get her to listen to him.

"Laur-" he heard a sigh escape her lips, but she didn't turn to him. "I know you're angry at me, but you have to let me explain."

"I don't need an explanation Ethan. It was all a lie, I get it. You had a job, and you were very good at it."

"It wasn't a lie, Laur. You have to listen to me. I had one job, that was keep eyes on Kit and report back to Mr. Robins. Our relationship had nothing to do with any of it. It was me falling in love with a woman way out of my league, and trying to figure out what the hell she saw in me." Laurel didn't say anything, and that made him nervous. "Laur-"

"I don't believe you." she said finally turning to him. "I've opened myself up to you in a way I never have with anyone. I've always been honest with you about everything in my life, and now I know you just weren't. You're this completely different person."

"That's just it, I'm not. I'm me. I'm still the goofy doctor who likes to make you laugh."

"You're also a undercover federal agent." Laurel replied with a shake of her head. "We've been together for months, and that never came up in any conversation." she brushed past him and he turned wanting to follow, but was stopped by the blonde that stepped in front of him.

"Let her go, before she hits you." Felicity warned, and the man let out a huff before turning away. "Any word from your boss?" the man turned a glare to her and she quirked a brow. "Sorry Ethan, but you burned a bridge with us. You were family, and now...now you're a liar and-"

"I know what I am Felicity." Ethan said, his voice low. "I also know that not one person in this room is perfect, or without sin. But I'm the one you call when one of your team gets beat to shit and I'm always there. Fine, I am an ARGUS agent sent by a desperate man afraid of losing his daughter, but all of you saw the real me."

"Losing his daughter to what?" Felicity asked, genuinely curious. "He's been trying to protect her from something for practically her entire life. What is it?"

"That's something you would have to ask the man." Ethan replied, spotting Zach through the double doors. "I'm going to see how Kit's doing?" he looked back over to Felicity who silently gave a nod.

Felicity let out a sigh, turning and glancing around the waiting room only just now realizing that someone was missing.

"Where's Thea?"

Thea Queen was never one to follow the rules. It's why when no one was looking she snuck past the double doors and headed toward Katie's room to check in. She was halfway toward the room, when she stopped when her ears caught a strange sound. She glanced around the floor, the nurses station empty, and no doctors in sight. Thea turned back to Katie's door for only a second before turning in search of the sound.

Thea didn't realize how creepy this hospital was until this moment as she stalked down the hallway, illuminated by lanterns the staff could scrounge up so the place wasn't completely dark She slowed her steps when voices caught her ears.

"There is no time for mistakes here." a male voice ordered. "If either of you ruins this for me, I'll come up with some beyond creative way to make you suffer a long and excruciating death."

"Yes sir." multiple men said, and Thea leaned in closer to listen.

"Good, but first-" the door whipped open, and Thea took a step back not expecting to see Damien Darhk right in front of her. Her eyes look back to the two men behind him, dressed like guards, before looking down to a man lying on the floor unconscious. "How can I help you?" Thea turned back to the man, unsure what to do. She could try to fight him, but she's seen his powers and know it would be a fight she wouldn't' win.

"I uh-" she started, turning and glancing down the empty halls hoping someone would wander by before turning back to the man. She drops her eyes back to the man on the floor, and Darhk follows her eyes and laughs.

"Funny story-" he turns back to Thea. "I was cold, and the doctor over there let me borrow his little white coat, and then decided to take a nap." Thea's fist clenched at her side, figuring he wasn't going to just let her walk away from this. "Now that was just a terrible lie." Darhk shook his head. "I can do better let me try again. So the doctor over there-" Thea threw a fist toward the man, but he quickly dodged it before reaching out and wrapping a hand around her throat. "Go!" the two men dressed as guards, hurried from the room as Darhk, pulled Thea into the room.

This wasn't the first encounter Thea has had with the man in front of her. The only difference now is that she wasn't wearing her mask. The truth was she was actually glad to be in this situation again, because she believes it was Darhk who could pull the bloodlust from her. He'd try to kill her, before by pulling the life force out of her, but it didn't work. She knows his powers are the key to finally curing her, she just has to find out a way to get him to do it.

"I know you." Darhk says leaning in closer to the woman. The only light in the room came from the strikes of lightening ever so often. "You're Thea Queen, Oliver Queen's sister." Thea didn't respond, as he continued to stare at her with cold eyes that caused a chill to shoot down her spine. "You're a friend of Katherine's." at the mention of Katie's name, Thea squirmed, trying to pull out of the man's grasp. "Don't worry, you don't die today. There will be enough pain left from this day, and I don't think your brother would be able to handle the death of his sister and the woman he loves." Thea tried to fight back, but Darhk yanked her forward before slamming her back against the wall, knocking her out instantly.

Oliver's arms were wrapped tightly around Katie, her head on his shoulder screaming through the pain of her current contraction.

"It's almost over, Twinkie, you're doing great." Oliver continued to rub her back in hopes that it was at least a bit soothing. In truth he wasn't sure how to help her in these moments. These moments of pain that he couldn't stop. "Look maybe we should reconsider-"

"No drugs!" she screamed her hands clenched around his arms squeezing as hard as she can."Just-" the door to the room swung open. Oliver turned, staring in confusion at the two guards that just walked in without knocking. Once the contraction had past, Katie turned her head, still resting on Oliver's shoulder.

"Can we help you?" Oliver asked in annoyance.

"Sir, we need you to come with us." One of the guards said, and Oliver simply shook his head.

"That's absolutely not happening right now."

"What's going on?" Katie asked finally sitting up straight.

"There was an armed suspect that has now been contained. After questioning him, he admitted to coming here to see you, Dr. Robins." Oliver and Katie shared a look before turning back to the guards. "He has no identification, and refuses to tell us who he is. We were hoping you may be able to identify him." the guard looked over to Oliver who still shook his head.

"I'm not leaving this room. Let the police figure out who he is."

"What does he look like?" Katie asked and the guard turned to her.

"Older gentlemen, blonde hair, seemed like being caught was joke. At the moment we have him contained on the lower level of the hospital until the police arrived. We just want to know who we're dealing with."

Katie turned to Oliver, who had a familiar look on his face. She placed a hand on his cheek and he turned to her.

"This doesn't make sense." Oliver whispered to her. "Why is he here? How did he get caught? He wouldn't just let himself be caught. Not by hospital security."

"I don't know." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "What I do know is that if he's here, then he's too close." Oliver looked back over to the waiting guards before turning back to Katie. He promised her that he would protect her from Darhk and that was a promise he didn't plan on breaking.

"I am going to come right back, ok?" he placed a kiss to her lips before dropping his forehead to hers.

"Hurry." Oliver kissed her once more before standing to his feet and following behind the guards.

Once they were gone, and Katie once again found herself alone in her room. The room was dark, and the sound of the machines had gone with the power. She placed a hand on her belly and closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer to anyone listening. Suddenly she heard beeping, and when she opened her eyes, the lights seemed to flicker on, and Katie let out a relieved breath as a smile came to her face. There was a knock at the door, and Katie turned.

"Come in!" she called figuring it was probably Zach to inform her about the returning power. The door opened, and the smile on her face instantly fell the moment she saw his face. "Damien." he smiled, as he closed the door behind him and walked further inside. She noticed the lab coat he was wearing, and the fear crept inside of her.

"Hello Katherine." he greeted as he glanced around her room for a moment before turning back to meet her eyes. "So I hear you're having a baby."

"Why are you even here?" he seemed to laugh at the question, but it was more of a dry chuckle, that seemed like it was more sad than amusing.

"That is the question of the evening." Darhk replied before walking over and grabbing the rolling stool and pushing it in front of her bed, and taking a seat. "I was sitting comfortably in my nice, gorgeously decorated office, when something hit me." the man closed his eyes and let out a long breath as he remembers the moment. "Out of the blue, this clenching feeling in my chest and I have no idea what it is."

"Have you been getting enough iron in your diet?" Katie asked and the man laughed again. "You should be planning out your diet, not in this room right now."

"No, it's just that following this little episode, I was informed that you and your loving fiance had boarded a plane to Central City. Initially I didn't make the connection. I mean why would you suddenly leaving the city, cause whatever the hell was happening to me."

"You need to leave." Katie says, now cradling her belly and glancing over to one of the monitors that was now beeping louder than it should. She placed a hand on her chest, the air not easily finding her lungs all of a sudden.

"And yet I couldn't stop thinking about it. About you and the fact that you were so far away." Katie turned back to the man in confusion. "I mean this is me you know. I have a life, I have very specific plans, deadlines, priorities that should not include where you are and yet here I am." the machine beside Katie's bed, began beeping louder and faster and this time Damien turned with a furrowed brow before shaking his head and turning back to her. "And then I was on a plane, and the second we arrived in Central City, that feeling was just gone. That emptiness, that-" he shook his head as he tried to describe what had happened. "That incessant buzzing that seems to just consume me." he meets her eyes and sighs. "I've come to only one solution to the problem." Katie watched as he reached behind him and pulled out a gun and aimed it at her. Katie stared for a moment with a quirked brow.

"A gun?" he shrugs at the question. "Of all the ways I expected you to try to kill me, I guess a gun just never made the list."

"Well I need it to be real. I need there to be blood, and I need to see you in pain. I need it to hurt, to force whatever this is inside of me that's linked to you to just go away. So I thought a gun would be fitting. Plus it will be quick, My gift to you."

Katie closed her eyes and dropped her head for a moment before lifting her eyes back to his. She expected him to just do it, and yet he just sat there aiming the gun at her. It was as if, he couldn't do it.

"I-" she started, but stopped unsure she should even engage in a conversation with the man. Right now she needed time to distract him until someone shows up to help her, and so she really didn't have a choice. "For me it's humming." she notices the sudden crease in his forehead. "The first time I saw you in that restaurant, there was this nagging humming sound that followed me the moment I left. I didn't know what it was, I figured it was just the adrenaline, or the fear, the total anxiety that consumed me after meeting you." Silence swallowed that room for a few moments after Katie's confession. "Fear is weakness." she seemed drawn to his eyes in this moment, unsure what that sudden feeling in the air was. "Fear leads to punishment-"

"Punishment even worse than death." Darhk interrupted, before finally dropping the gun to his side. He dropped his head, his chest heaving as if trying to catch his breath. "That bastard." he looked back over to the woman. "He knew I wouldn't do it. That's why he's not here, swooping in to try to save the day."

"Why won't you do it?" Katie asked, genuinely curious.

"Because every time I look at you, I see her staring back at me." Darhk replied with a ghost of a smile. "Damnit!" he jumped to his feet, pointed the gun once again, this time she could see his hand shaking. "What the fuck is happening?!"

"I-" Katie's words were stolen by another contraction. This one seemed stronger than all the others, and it caused her to lie back on the bed. "Gaaahhh!" her hands gripped the rails on the side of the bed, trying to breathe through it, but no amount of breathing seemed to help her right now.

Darhk stood there for a moment, watching as pain seemed to overcome the woman, and despite himself he took a step toward her. For a moment he thought it was a good idea to soothe her, to try to help her through the pain, but that moment only lasted about second. It was that moment that Darhk truly feared that whatever this was, whatever this connection was to this woman, was a big problem. One he was going to figure out. He looked up to the woman as she screamed once more, and the sudden feeling of pins pricking his skin struck him and he couldn't take it. He turned and rushed out of the room.

Katie lied back in bed, her eyes on the bright light above her, as she screamed louder than she has ever screamed before. The door to her room swung open, and in ran Dr. Flemmings.

"Hey, what's-" his question was cut off by more screaming, and so he quickly rushed over, lifting the blanket from her legs, his eyes going wide before looking back to Katie. "Perfect timing with the lights."

"What?!" Katie yelled looking over to the man.

"The baby's coming, like, right now. You're crowning." he says before rushing for the door to find a nurse.

Katie lied back on the bed, her chest heaving, as she looks up to the bright light above her trying to breathe in and out.

"Oliver-" she turns her head to the open door, and with all the strength she can muster, she screams once more. "Oliver Queen!"

This didn't make any sense. It was the single thought that repeated over and over again as Oliver followed behind the two guards, who didn't say much after leaving Katie's room. The lights had come on a few moments ago, and for some reason made Oliver feel uneasy. Damien Darhk was smart. He wouldn't be cornered in a hospital.

"Wait." Oliver says stopping and the guards stopped and turned to him. "The man you have contained, did he say anything else besides being here for my fiancé." Oliver watched as the guards shared a look before turning back to him. "What? What did he say?"

"Ollie!" a voice called out, and Oliver turned to see his sister running toward him with one of her hands holding her head. "It's a trap, they work for Darhk!" the moment the words came out of her mouth, Oliver turned back to the two men, who instantly reached for their guns. Oliver quickly kicked a leg into the stomach of the guard to the left of him, just as Thea jump kicked the guard on his right.

The guard from Oliver's left quickly recovered, and attempted to tackle him. He didn't expect Oliver to dodge him, before grabbing his arm and pinning it behind his back. Oliver tightened his grip on the guard's arm, before jerking his head into the wall and knocking him out.

Oliver turned at the sight of his sister on top on the other guard, her fist repeatedly slamming into his face.

"Thea!" Oliver called running over and pulling the woman off the man who dropped to the floor unconscious. Thea jerked from Oliver grasped, before turning to her brother. "What the hell is going on?"

"Darhk is here. Where were they taking you?"

"I don't know. They made up some story about a suspect in the hospital they needed me to identify I thought it was Darhk, but it didn't make sense."

"Why didn't they try anything?" Thea asked and Oliver shook his head before it hit him.

"Twinkie." he glanced over to his sister before turning and rushing down the hall.

It didn't seem like he'd gotten so far from Katie's room. But as he ran, it was as if he couldn't get there fast enough. It was the moment he heard her voice screaming his name did his feet seemed to move quicker if that was possible.

"Oliver!" he rushed inside her room, not sure what he would be running into see. For some reason he didn't expect the herd of nurses, moving about the room.

"Welcome back!" Dr. Flemming said nudging Oliver's shoulder as he walked in. Oliver turned to see the doctor now wearing a surgical gown and cap.

"What's going on?" Oliver asked looking over to Katie, as the nurse lifted the hospital bed.

"What do you think?!" Katie yelled, followed by more screaming. Oliver's eyes widened as he turned to the doctor who now was wearing gloves and taking a seat in front of Katie.

"We're going to need you to put this on." Oliver turned at the voice, to see a nurse holding a gown out to him. He quickly grabbed it, slipping it on before hurrying to Katie's side, his hand taking hers.

"Alright Katie, I think we're ready." Zach says looking over to the woman who shook her head. "Why are you shaking your head? This is what we've been waiting for."

"I can't do this." Katie says turning to Oliver. "It's too dangerous, and she's just safer in there."

"Twinkie, look at me." Oliver says placing a hand on the side of the woman's face. "We are her parents. There's no one in this world who will protect this girl like we will." He placed a soft kiss to her hand. "You can do this." 

"OK, now are we ready?" Katie stared at Oliver for a moment before turning back to the doctor and giving him a nod. "Alright, Katie give me a nice big push!"

" _Katherine!" a hand touched her shoulder, pulling her back to the moment. The girl looked up to see her mother giving her that look that always made her shudder, before pulling a smile to her face. "I'm sorry Moira." Grace turned and Katie followed her eyes to Moira Queen, the woman with the most sparkly necklace she'd ever seen. "Sometimes I don't know where her head is sometimes."_

" _I completely understand." Moira said with a smile, when everyone heard the audible sound of hurrying little feet. "And I believe those are my little wonders running down the stairs." they all turned, and as expected, in ran a boy around Katie's age, and a girl much younger, both laughing._

" _Told ya, I'd beat you Ollie!" the girl said smiling over to her brother._

" _You cheated Speedy!" Oliver countered, only for his sister to stick out her tongue before running over to her mother._

" _Oliver, Thea, we have guests." Moira sighed, looking over to Grace and they both just shook their head. "This is Dr. Grace Robins, and her daughter Katherine. How about you say hi." Thea simply hugged her mother's leg, hiding her face while Oliver walked over to Grace and held out a hand._

" _Hello." Grace smiled at the boy shaking his hand._

" _Hello, aren't you a little gentleman." she complimented, before watching him turn to Katie and hold out his hand to her as well. Katie simply stared at him before feeling a nudge from her mother. With a sigh, she reached forward to shake the boy's hand._

" _Hi." Oliver said with a smile, that Katie couldn't help but return. The sound of his sister's laughter caused him to pull his hand back and glare over to her, before turning back to Katie._

" _Hey." Katie said simply, when they all turned at the sound of their fathers' laughter from somewhere in the house._

" _They sound happy." Moira said, looking over to Grace who chuckled._

" _That's impossible, Jacob knows I'm the source of all of his happiness." That only made Moira laugh even harder. "We should see what's so amusing."_

" _Lets." Moira replied as the two women linked arms, and went in search of their husbands, little Thea on their heels._

" _This totally sucks!" Katie says plopping on the couch behind her. "Because of this stupid dinner, in this house without a single TV-"_

" _We have a TV." Oliver says and Katie turned to him with wide eyes. "I have a TV in my room." Katie jumped off the couch and hurried back over to him, standing closer than before and it made him nervous for some reason._

" _Seriously, where? I really need to watch-"_

" _Mom said to come in for dinner Ollie!" Thea called and they both turned to the young girl. "And she said to bring your girlfriend with you."_

" _I'm going to kill you Speedy!" Oliver called, and his sister simply turned and ran off, still laughing. He turned back to Katie and just nudged his head. "Might as well get this over with." Katie simply sighed before walking along with the boy._

"You're doing, great. Keep breathing, in and out!" Zach looked up to Katie's whose hair was stuck to her sweat stained face. "I see her head, just another push for me."

"You can do this Twinkie." Oliver said, pressing another kiss to her head and Katie turned to him and took another deep breath before once again closing her eyes and giving another big push.

_Katie was honestly surprised the night wasn't so bad. She can't believe she almost skipped senior prom, and now she was glad she didn't. People were actually cordial, and too wrapped up in their own night to even pay attention to the Twinkie in the black evening gown. Her date wasn't as bad as she thought he would be. Sure he talked entirely way too much, and was a bit grabby, but he was nice, and really smart._

_Katie sighed as she walked into her room and kicked off her shoes. It was extremely early in the morning, and she was glad her father was still sleeping. It meant there would be no third degree about her night, not that much had happened anyway. They went to the dance, and then grabbed some breakfast before coming back home. Katie reached behind her about to unzip her dress, before she heard the sudden tapping against her window. With a furrowed brow, she walked over, pulling back the curtain and let out a snort before pulling open her window._

" _Hello Romeo, why are you in my tree instead of stealing the virginity of Laurel Lance tonight?" Katie asked taking a step back as the boy climbed inside._

" _She had a curfew that we couldn't break because her dad scares the crap out of me." Oliver replied let out a heavy sigh. "Plus no one's virginity would be stolen tonight. They were given away ages ago."_

" _You're such an ass." Katie replied with a roll of her eyes before walking over to her drawer to grab her pajamas. "That still doesn't explain why you're here." she glanced over her shoulder to see Oliver drop onto her bed, and close his eyes._

" _You said you weren't coming to the dance." he muttered and Katie chuckled before walking over to lay beside him._

" _Well I changed my mind. I'm allowed to do that." she replied glancing over to her friend, whose tux was now wrinkle, his tie completely gone, and his hair mussed over his head. "I mean you only get one senior prom in your life. Well unless you're Carl. He's definitely getting another." they both laughed, before the room fell into silence._

" _You looked nice tonight." Oliver said suddenly and Katie looked over to see his eyes still closed and she just shook her head._

" _Shut up." she replied giving his arm a nudge before closing her eyes as well. Once again the room was quiet, the only sound heard were their soft breaths._

" _So, uh, this guy." Oliver started and Katie rolled her eyes. "He seems-"_

" _We're not having this conversation." Katie says standing to her feet and going back over to her drawer to grab her pajamas. "We don't talk about romantic relationships."_

" _Wait-" Oliver sat up from the bed, and looked over to the girl. "There's a relationship? You don't even know the guy. I think you're just moving a little too fast, and I don't want to see you get hurt."_

" _Well I appreciate the concern Oliver, but like I said, we don't have these conversations, because if we did, I'd say a lot of things you wouldn't want to hear." Katie replied turning and heading to her bathroom._

" _Like, what?!" Oliver called out to her, only to hear laughter in reply._

"Head is out, look at all that hair!" Zach said, looking over to Katie who dropped back on the bed, trying to breathe. "I know you're exhausted doc, but I need one more push from you and we'll have a baby."

"I can't." Katie mutters, with a shake of her head. "I can't do this, I can't-" she looked over to Oliver. "Liver, it hurts more than I thought it would, I just—" Oliver dropped his forehead against Katie's. "Liver, I can't."

"You're the strongest person I know. You can do anything. You can handle anything. You can do this Twinkie." He kissed her cheek and then her lips. "I promise you, you can do this. I'm right here with you. One more push, ok?"

"Fine." Katie says turning and sitting back up. "But just so you're aware, we're never having sex again."

"Don't worry Oliver, they all say that." Zach says, looking back down to the baby. "Alright, lets count it down. One...two...push!"

With all the energy Katie could muster, she pushed as hard as she could, and she couldn't help the scream as she did.

_Katie was both anxious and excited. It was official. Tomorrow was the last day of high school and the beginning of her adult life. She figured most of her fellow classmates were out celebrating at parties she was never invited to, and at this point she didn't even care any more. It didn't matter anymore. Real life was about to begin, and she just knew that cliques, and who liked who wouldn't be a factor anymore. And so Katie found herself at a park, on a swing, swaying back and forth as she tried to imagine her future._

_The teenager was so deep in her head, that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her. It wasn't until hands touched hers did she nearly jump out of her skin._

" _It's me!" a familiar voice said, and Katie turned, placing a hand over her chest as she looked over to her friend. "What are you doing out here by yourself, Twinkie?"_

" _You know after tomorrow, I'm glad I will never hear that stupid nickname ever again." she said with a shake of her head before glancing over to see the boy sit in the swing beside her._

" _You seriously shouldn't be out here this late, alone. It's dangerous."_

" _Well I'm dangerous." she replied and Oliver couldn't help but laugh._

" _I guess that's true as well." Oliver said, letting out a sigh, before looking up to the night sky._

" _I thought you and your little minions would be out celebrating how you all coast through high school and still ended up with places in the highest ranking colleges money can buy." Katie said with a shake of her head before continuing to sway._

" _You're more surly than usual this fine evening." Oliver replied and Katie just laughed. "Plus I like to think I really put in a lot of work this last year, thanks to you." Katie glanced over to the boy who was smiling. "I think I'm going to get you a gift as a symbol of how grateful I am to you."_

" _Aw, it's the sweet talking Liver." Katie says looking over to him. "What do you want this time?"_

" _I can say nice things without wanting anything in return." Oliver countered and Katie laughed. "I can!" he jumped to his feet and walked over to stand in front of the girl who looked up to him in confusion. He held out his hand to her, and she looked at it for a moment before taking it and letting him help her to her feet. "Thank you Twinkie. I don't think I would've made it to graduation if it wasn't for your help and I just want to say I appreciate it, and I appreciate you." Katie looked at him for a moment before folding her arms over her chest._

" _Seriously, what do you want?" she asked and Oliver simply shook his head._

" _You're impossible." He replied with a smile. "You know I think you should know tomorrow isn't the last time you're going to hear the name Twinkie. I plan on bugging you all summer."_

" _Oh, what happened to your public friends?" Katie asked moving around the boy and heading over to the jungle gym._

" _You're my friend." Oliver replied following behind her. "So maybe now that high school is over and all the bullshit will finally be over-" Katie stopped and turned to him with a quirked brow, but his cell phone suddenly rang. "Hold that thought." he slipped the phone from his pocket and smiled at the name before bringing the phone to his ear. "Laurel, hey." Katie rolled her eyes before turning and heading over to the merry go round, where she gave it a gentle spin before climbing on, catching a glimpse of Oliver, laughing or smiling as he spoke to the girl on the phone, and her heart broke every time._

_She didn't see him when he ended the call, but did see as he walked over to her._

" _I know that look. That's the goo goo eyed, Laurel Lance beckons me face." Katie says looking up to her friend. "You should go."_

" _Well I'm going to walk you home. I was serious, you shouldn't be out here by yourself." Oliver says reaching out a hand to stop the roundabout. "It's dangerous." Katie stood to her feet, and because she was still standing on the roundabout, it gave her a couple of inches over the man._

" _I'm not a child. Actually tomorrow is the first day of our adult life. I just thought I would salvage the last remnants of my childhood." she reached for his hand and pushed it from the roundabout, before she dropped a foot to push it back to continuing spinning. "I'll be fine." Oliver stood there for a moment, watching the girl spinning around._

" _Why are you so stubborn?" he asked._

" _And why are you so annoying?!" she called back, suddenly hit with a knotting of nauseousness in her stomach. "You know, I just remembered why I never liked this thing." she placed a palm to her mouth and Oliver quickly stopped it before helping her off. "Fine, take me home." Oliver brought an arm around the girl who was unsteady as she walked._

" _What am I going to do when you abandon me, and run off to college?" Oliver laughed, looking down to the girl in amusement._

" _Miss me, I guess." Katie says, dropping her head to his shoulder. Oliver glanced down to her, keeping an arm around her, even though he knew he didn't have to._

" _Well that's a given." he replied, as they started walking along the street. "But it's only four years. After that I'm sure we'll see each other again."_

" _Wishful thinking, but I'll keep my fingers crossed."_

"That's it!" Zach called when he had the baby in his hands.

Katie fell back on the bed, trying to breathe. She turned her head when she saw Zach stand with the baby in his hands, and rushed to the other side of the room, where nurses crowded around.

"She's not crying." Katie muttered, completely exhausted. She reached up, placing a hand on Oliver's chest. "She's not-" Oliver looked over to the doctor, trying to see what was going on.

"What's happening?" Oliver asked.

"Liver, go." Katie says and Oliver released her hand, and started walking over to Dr. Flemmings, when suddenly the room filled with the sound of their wailing infant.

"Ah, that's a good girl." Zach says, turning with the swaddled baby in his arms, before looking over to Oliver. "Those are the lungs that are going keep you up at night." Oliver walked over to the man, looking down to the tiny baby in his arm, still squirming, still crying, and Oliver felt the instant lump in his throat at the sight. There was this little baby, right here, he and Katie just created, and it was just still unbelievable.

"Twinkie, she's-" Oliver turned, looking over his shoulder to see Katie lying back on the bed, her eyes closed. "Twinkie?"

"Dr. Robins." a nurse beside Katie placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a slight shake. "Dr. Robins, can you open your eyes for me."

"Here." Zach turned handing the baby to one of the nurses, before rushing to Katie's side. "Hey doc, open your eyes for me!" he pulled off his gloves and placed a hand to Katie's neck, before looking over to the monitor on the right.

"What's going on?" Oliver asked and Zach turned to the man and sighed. "Twinkie-" Oliver went to the woman's other side, and grabbed her hand, leaning in closer to her. "Twinkie, can you hear me. You have to wake up." there was no reaction at all, and Oliver felt his heart ramming in his chest as fear began to creep through his body. "Twinkie, no, you have to-" he gave her a bit of a shake and, the nurse behind him tried to pull him away, but he jerked from her grasp.

"Mr. Queen, I need you to step outside."

"No!" Oliver snapped before looking down to Katie. "Twinkie, open your eyes!"

"Oliver!" Zach called and Oliver didn't even look over to him. "Can someone page Dr. Mills! Find him now!" one of the nurses turned and rushed out of the room. Oliver stared down to the woman, and it was as if no one else was there. He gripped her hand firmly in his, while the other cupped her cheek.

"Twinkie, you can't leave me, you have to wake up, you have to-"

"Hey, Oliver!" Ethan appeared at Oliver's side, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You have to step outside, ok?" Oliver glanced over to the man for a second before turning back to Katie. "I know you're scared, and I know you're freaking out right now, but I promise you, that I will help her." Oliver looked back to the man. "My Kit doesn't die today. But you have to step back, and let us work." Oliver swallowed the lump in his throat and looked back down to Katie needing nothing more than to see her eyes, and her smile. "Oliver, I promise." Oliver needed to believe the man's words. It's the only reason he let go of her hand, and let himself be pushed from the room.

Ethan moved about the room, pulling on gloves, before moving back to Katie's side.

"You shouldn't have promised him that." Zach said and Ethan looked over to the man with a furrowed brow. "Legally, you can't promise him that. You're not God."

"I'm not, but I'm a damn good doctor, and I only make promises I know I can keep." Ethan replied before dropping his lips to Katie's ear. "You hear that? It's time for GMH's dynamic duo to once again make the magic happen."

_Katie was dead. Had to be, because it was the only reason she could believe as to why she was standing inside of Ra's fortress in Nanda Parbat, staring down to the Lazarus Pit. Suddenly she heard the familiar cackle of her uncle echo around her. She turned and there he was, looking exactly the same._

_"Oh, Nura." he hummed as he walked over to her, and placed a hand on her cheek, and for some strange reason she didn't pull out of his touch. "How I've waited for this moment."_

_"Probably not as long as I have." Katie replied looking up to the man's eyes. "Do you have any idea what you did to me? The serious torment you've brought me? And then even after your death, you continue to haunt me."_

_"No, just to remind you. You see me as a tormentor when I'm the one who can save you."_

_"Save me from what? You've always been the one I've needed saving from."_

_"I was the one trying to keep you from him, because the moment you see the entire picture, you will lose something." in a move he didn't seem to anticipate, Katie pierced his heart with a blade that seemed to only appear when she wished for it. She kept her eyes locked on his, needing to see every bit of life drain from him, needing to see the moment it all ended._

_"My death will not lead to your salvation, my dear child." he said, and even in his last moments he found a smile, one he knows will haunt her. "It was always the key to your demise." Katie watched as his eyes seemed to roll in his head before he fell back to the floor leaving Katie holding the bloody knife. Her eyes looked down to his lifeless body, before it suddenly just flickered away, and somehow Katie could feel it. She could feel him truly gone. Her eyes trailed to the blade, still stained with his blood, and there was something mesmerizing about it, something hypnotizing that brought a smile to her lips._

_Suddenly she heard the waves of the pit behind her, and she turned and looked down to the rushing waters. The waters suddenly became red, and soon the entire pit was filled with blood. There was something floating, and Katie reached forward, and grabbed it, her eyes going wide. She quickly dropped it to the floor, not quite believing her eyes as she stared down to the familiar green hood now soaked in blood. She turned back to the pit where now a quiver, and arrows floated as well and Katie just felt her heart drop from her chest._

Bright lights assaulted her eyes unexpectedly as consciousness returned. Katie had to blink a few times to get rid of the fuzziness. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, and soon everything came rushing back, and Katie shot up from the bed.

"Oliver!"

"Twinkie, I'm here!" Katie turned, only now noticing Oliver was in the chair beside her, and from the look in his eyes, he'd been sleeping. He stood, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "You're alright, I'm right here." Oliver brought his arms around her in a hug, that Katie returned. She pulled back, her eyes looking around the room before turning back to Oliver.

"Where-"

"She's getting another check up, she should be back soon." Oliver replied with a smile.

"So she's alright?"

"Well no." Oliver said. "She's perfect. I've never seen a perfect baby before, but somehow we made a perfect, beautiful baby." Katie smiled wide up to the man. "I'm going to go find her, and let Ethan know you're awake." Oliver brought his lips to hers, and let out a deep sigh. He sat there for a moment, his arms still around her and never wanting to let her go.

"What happened?" Katie asked and Oliver pulled back, placing a hand on her cheek to see her eyes and he just smiled.

"You lost consciousness and they couldn't figure out why. I thought-" he closed his eyes and dropped his head, at the memories of those few moments where he felt he couldn't breathe at the thought of her being gone. "After everything that has happened on this trip to Central City, that was the scariest moment." Katie brought her hands to Oliver's chest, and he just shook his head. He'd come to the realization as he watched her sleeping, as he waited for her to wake up. He realized that if he ever got to see her eyes once again, he would do everything right. That meant revealing the secret he thought he could hide. He couldn't. "I have to tell you something."

"Could it wait until after you go get our little Twiver baby?" Katie asked with a smile, and Oliver returned the smile, placing a kiss to her cheek. Katie saw the seriousness in his eyes, and realized it couldn't wait. "What is it?"

"I uh-" Oliver closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before once again meeting her eyes. Oliver tried to be the strongest person he could be, and yet in this moment he was truly scared. "You're the strongest person I know and sometimes I forget that. Sometimes I just want to keep you as far away from the bad things in the world as possible." Oliver looked down to Katie's hand, smiling at the engagement ring, before placing a kiss to her fingers. "You were right before. Marriage is like a door that we have to step through together, and we don't know what's on the other side." he looked up meeting her eyes once again. "It's just I know something too that's going to be on the other side."

"Tell me." Katie says, nerves suddenly twisting in her stomach.

"While in Central City, I saw someone. Her name is Samantha, we used to have a thing years ago. It was nothing serious, it was just- " Katie didn't say anything as those nerves only twisted tighter and tighter. "She was in CC Jitters, with-" this was the moment. The moment he knew had to happen or he would risk loosing her for good. "She was with her son. His name is William and he's eight and-"

"He's your son?" Katie asked outright, and Oliver looked at her for a moment, knowing this moment could change everything for them, but he also knew it had to come out.

"Yes." Oliver finally said, and he watched Katie's eyes, trying to decipher what could possibly be going through her head right now. "She denied it when I asked her, but I just-"

"You didn't believe her. You knew he was yours."

"I had Barry run a DNA test on some hair I snagged from his baseball cap, and it came back like I knew it would." Oliver looked down to Katie's hands still in his, hoping that was a good sign. "I talked to her, and she finally admitted it. Apparently my mother knew she was pregnant, and tried to pay her to disappear."

"Moira?" Katie asked in surprise, and Oliver gave a nod.

"She didn't take the money, but she left and didn't plan on telling me." he shook his head. "Now I know, but she doesn't want to tell him. She doesn't want to tell anyone. She made me promise actually that if I wanted to be in William's life, I couldn't tell anyone that I was his father."

"You broke your promise."

"I made a promise to you first." Oliver says lifting up her hand, and looking down to the ring. " A promise I'm not willing to break for anyone. I couldn't keep this from you." Katie looked at him for a moment, before turning away. "Twinkie-"

"You have a son." Katie says trying to come to grips with something she didn't expect. She turned back to Oliver and looked at him for a moment before once again turning away. "Thank you for telling me."

"Twinkie, we're still us. This doesn't have to change anything with us, or our daughter."

"But it does." Katie replies meeting Oliver's eyes. "It should. You have a son and that changes everything. Maybe not how you feel about me, or your daughter, but it changes you." she turned away, and closed her eyes. "What's he like?" Oliver didn't say anything instantly, and she turned back to him. "William, what's he like?"

"He's-" Oliver shook his head with a slight smile. "Smart. He likes action figures and he's funny." he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Twinkie, I know this is unexpected and-"

"Oliver I told you that I have unexplained abilities, you having a long lost son is very tame in comparison." she replied with a shake of her head. "We're veering further and further from a normal life." she turned to the man and placed a hand on his cheek. "We can still do this, right?" Oliver opened his mouth, but Katie only continued. "I mean and not screw up the lives of all these children who are suddenly now our responsibility."

"Twinkie, I don't know what's going to happen. I'm sure we're going to probably make a few mistakes-" Katie gave a snort as she shook her head. "Probably more than a few mistakes, but I also know that we are going to have some beautiful moments. And I'm looking forward to all of it." Oliver brought his arms around her and Katie dropped her head to his chest.

"I want my baby." Katie sighed against Oliver's chest. She pulled back, and looked up to the man's eyes. "Right now, I really want to hold our baby."

Soon Katie got her wish, and was finally able to hold the child in her arms, and she couldn't take her eyes off of her. The moment the baby was slid into her arms, Katie found herself completely pulled from the world. She found herself in a state of enamoration that only included this little girl whose little cheeks and little nose could brighten any room.

"You're not listening to me, are you?" Ethan asked from Katie's side where he watched how mesmerized she seemed just staring at the baby. He smiled looking over to the woman, before looking up to Oliver who stood staring down to the pair in that familiar fatherly admiration. "Well hopefully one of you is listening." he turned back to Katie. "We still don't know why you lost consciousness. Your vitals were fine, there wasn't any extensive blood loss, it was just this random thing."

"Am I fine?" Katie asked, still not able to tear her eyes from the little girl.

"Yes."

"Is she fine?"

"Absolutely."

"Well then how about we don't question when good things happen." Katie replied finally looking over to her friend. "Thank you Ethan."

"Yeah." Oliver said, and the doctor looked over to him. "Thank you."

"C'mon." Ethan says clearing the lump in his throat. He knew moments like this were short lived. Knew soon they both would know the truth and he'd be lucky to be in the same room with either of them. "No thanks needed. I just wanted to make sure this moment happened." he reached forward and slid a finger across the baby's hand with a smile. "So I'm not sure you're aware, but there is a waiting room full of people who have been dying to get in here." he looked up to the pair. "I'm going to let them in, but only for a short visit. You still need a little bit more rest Kit." Katie gave the man a nod before watching him leave. Her eyes went back down to the child who could barely hold her blue eyes open.

"I knew she would have your eyes." Katie said softly, glancing up to Oliver who couldn't even stop smiling if he wanted to.

"Well look at that." Oliver says pointing to the baby. "She scrunches her nose like her mommy." he still couldn't believe it. After everything he's seen, he still couldn't quite believe this moment was real. "I didn't think this was possible for me. I thought that after five years of being torn apart and jammed back together, I couldn't even imagine a moment close to this." he turned away from the girl and looked over to Katie. "Twinkie-"

"I love you." she said interrupting the man. She met his eyes with a bright smile. "I want to marry you, and in the distant future maybe have a few more of your children. But for right now this is our family." she looked back to the baby who let out a tiniest yawn she'd ever seen. "This little girl, and Ari, and-" she took in a deep breath, as the realization of their situation finally settled in. "and William." she looked back up to Oliver. "However the situation with Samantha works, I will stick with you. I just have one condition."

"Anything." Oliver replied honestly, because at this point, he'd figure out a way to give this woman the moon and the stars if she wanted them.

"If it is at all possible, I would really like a nice, sweet, glazed donut." Oliver laughed, before his lips crashed into hers in a kiss that seemed to hold so many emotions. Neither heard the door opening, or their friends as they walked inside.

"Was it decided that my niece needed a little brother or sister all of a sudden." Thea commented and the couple pulled back to see John, Thea, and Felicity all wearing bright smiles.

"I don't really care what you do, just give her to me." Felicity says walking over and pushing Oliver aside, as she held her arms out for the baby.

"Hey, I'm the aunt, I get to hold her first." Thea says walking over to the other side of Katie's bed.

"You also could be suffering from a concussion." Felicity countered, and Katie's eyes widened, turning to Thea.

"Wait, what?" Thea just shook her head and smiled.

"I'm fine, just let me hold her." Thea says, holding out her hands for the baby.

"Neither one of you will hold her." it was Oliver words that surprised them as he walked back over to stand beside Katie. "Not until you play nice." Thea and Felicity both shared annoyed looks, neither seeming to want to budge. "Fine, John would you like to hold her?"

"I would actually." John says walking over, and Felicity scoffed as he slipped passed her.

"This is so not fair. You're so not getting the awesome middle name I came up with." Thea said, walking over to stand beside John as she and Felicity looked over to the baby.

"You know I'd be happy to know a first name." John replied looking over to Katie and Oliver. "You two make a decision yet?" Oliver and Katie shared a look, before turning back to the man and giving a nod.

"We have. Everyone we would like you to meet Robyn Queen." Oliver said and they all looked to the little girl and smiled.

"Maisie." Thea sighed as the girl squeezed her finger. "Moira, and Grace, makes Maisie... sort of." she looked back to Oliver and Katie who smiled. "What do you think?"

"Robyn Maisie Queen." Katie said looking over to Oliver,who brought an arm around her. "I love it."

"I do too." Oliver says turning back to his sister. "It's perfect Thea, thank you."

"Thea, you should hold the baby." everyone looked over surprised at the words that had just come from Felicity. "I'm being nice, so I will be alright with you holding her first. I just want to hold her." John turned to Thea who smiled, but gave a slight shake of her head.

"No, you're kind of right. Ethan did say I should be lying down right now, so I think you should hold her." Thea replied and John turned to Felicity who smiled widely as the baby slid into her arms.

"Oh, hi." Felicity whispered, already holding back tears. "Hi, little Robyn. Boy do I have a story for you. I call it Operation Reunite Twiver." she glanced over to Katie and Oliver who just shook their heads. "They underestimated my determination and soon realized that it was pointless and now look at them. You know I think it's fair to say, I'm the reason you're here. I kept the Twiver ship afloat."

"Where's Laurel?" Katie asked. "And Barry-" her eyes went wide. "Arianna, I forgot about Arianna. Someone should go get her and-"

"She's here." John says and Katie turned to him in confusion. "Barry brought her before the lock down. He's sitting out in the waiting room with her now, and Laurel left the moment they lifted the lock down."

"Laurel's gone?" Oliver asked, and he noticed the sudden expressions on their faces. "What happened?"

"It can wait." John replied before nudging his head to the door. "I'll go get Barry and Ari." the man turned and left. Katie and Oliver shared a look, knowing there was probably another story they were going to hear that they really didn't want to.

There was a knock at the door, and Thea walked over to answer it, her eyes going wide at the person on the other side.

"Thea, who is-" Oliver walked around stopping at the sight of the man as well. "Hello?"

"Hi, I'm Father Hannigan, I'm the hospital's chaplain, a Dr. Ethan Mills said I was needed in this room." Thea smiled brightly at the realization of why the chaplain was here, before turning to her brother, who was a bit shocked at first before turning to Katie.

"Did Ethan tell you why he wanted you to come here?" Katie asked and the man looked from her to Oliver.

"He said there were two people in this room who have been through so many twists and turns in life, and with each other, and that they've been working hard to get to one moment that seems to keep getting further and further away with time."

Katie and Oliver shared a look for a brief moment before Katie simply smiled.

"Are you sure?" Oliver asked walking back over to her and taking her hand. "I mean after everything that's happened, maybe-"

"I don't think time will change how I feel right now. I mean after this beyond crazy day, with all of it's revelations, one thing still remains the same." Katie smiled before turning to the chaplain. "Father Hannigan, we would like to get married."

"Looks like I showed up just in time." they turned to see Barry who walked inside, and walking over to Oliver and giving the man a hug. "Congratulations, man."

"Thanks Barry." Oliver replied, before the man pulled away, and walked over to Katie, bringing her into a hug as well.

"I'm glad you're alright." Barry sighed, pulling back and smiling down to the woman. "How do you feel?"

"Right now, I'm really happy Barry. " Katie says placing a hand on the man's cheek. "Thank you for being Barry." Barry smiled before looking up to see Felicity holding the baby.

"Is that her?" the man rushed over to look over to the baby. "She's gorgeous. You're going to pull your hair out when she starts dating." Barry glanced over to Oliver who suddenly frowned before turning a glare to the man. "I just meant-"

"Barry, my daughter is only a couple of hours old. Lets not mention her and dating in the same sentence for a very long time." Oliver replied before looking back over to the chaplain who seemed to laugh. Katie turned back to the door with a furrowed brow.

"Where's Ari?" Katie asked, and the smile on Barry's face fell slightly. "She doesn't want to see me."

"It's been a long night, and she's tired. John's sitting out there with her." Barry replied, hoping the excuse helped the woman. He could see from the look on her face that it didn't.

"I will talk to her." Oliver volunteered, and Katie turned to him and just shook her head.

"Oliver, it's fine, she doesn't have to come in here if she doesn't want to. I get it." Katie says taking the man's hand and letting out a sigh.

"Just let me talk to her." Oliver says before looking over to the priest who just stood watching everyone. "Father, this is my sister Thea, and she's going to talk to you." Oliver looked over to Thea, who gave a nod before going over to the priest. "I'll be right back."

"And I'll handle the hair situation." Felicity said, before handing the baby off to Barry who looked slightly nervous. "Barry, if you drop this little bundle of adorableness, I will murder you." the fact that the woman gave the threat as she smiled down to the baby, only freaked the man out even more.

"Wait, there's a hair situation?" Katie asked sliding her fingers through her hair as Felicity walked over.

Ethan Mills was determined to not let his entire world fall apart. And so he stood in the middle of Central City airport, his eyes darting around in search of one woman. He stopped when he saw another face, that he really didn't want to see.

"Mr. Mills." Martin greeted and Ethan only walked away. "You're upset, and I completely understand."

"Do you?" Ethan asked stopping and turning back to the man. "You told me everything was alright, and yet a maniac found himself in the same room as her. Everything is not alright, my cover is blown and now the only woman I've ever loved won't even talk to me, so if you will excuse me, I need to find her, and I need to talk to her."

"And tell her what? She knows the truth, she knows who you are and she chose to leave." Ethan scoffed at the man's words before turning and continuing his search for Laurel. "I told you that the relationship was a mistake." Ethan growled under his breath before turning back to the man. "You were on a job. You can't have something real when you're not completely real. It was never going to work."

"Why are you here? Like I said my cover is blown and now I am no longer an asset. When Kit finds out the truth, when Oliver finds out the truth, I won't be able to go any where near them."

"We knew it was a possibility." Martin replied and Ethan turned away still searching for the woman. "Mr. Mills I'm here to tell you that a very generous sum of money has been deposited into your bank account. There has also been an anonymous donation to Glades Memorial Hospital." Ethan turned back to the man with a quirked brow. "You had only one job, and you have gone as far as you can go, and Mr. Robins and myself appreciate it." Martin held out a hand to the man, who looked hesitant. "This is the part where you shake my hand and live a nice normal life."

"I'm finally out."

"That was the deal, I believe." Martin looked up to the man with a smile. "This is goodbye, doctor." Ethan reached forward, giving a very firm handshake. "Good luck Dr. Mills." and with that the man turned and walked away. Ethan stood there surprised, because he was unsure if this very moment was real. Was he really a free man? He turned, once again looking for one woman, and his heart almost lurched from his chest when he saw her.

She sat staring down to her cell phone, and he didn't hesitate to go over to her. She must've felt him coming over to her, because she glanced up and the moment she saw him, there seemed to be an instant glare as she stood to her feet.

"Laur, just listen to me, just-"

"No, Ethan there's nothing more for me to hear. You need to leave."

"Flight 280 to Star City now boarding!"

Laurel turned, grabbing her bag before starting for the gate, but Ethan quickly grabbed her arm only for her to jerk out of his grasp.

"Don't you dare touch me!" she snapped angrily, turning back to the man. "Ethan it's over. We're done, just leave me alone."

"That just can't be it." Ethan says and Laurel looked at him as if he were crazy. "You can't just throw our entire relationship away because-"

"Ethan you lied. And it wasn't an oops I forgot to do the laundry lie, it was a big freaking, I have a secret life lie. That's something I won't get over." Laurel once again turned to head over to the gate.

"I love you." he declared, and she stopped and closed her eyes. "I love you so much that I have this-" the woman turned around to see a ring in his hand. "It was my grandmother's and I know it's only been a couple of months, but I knew the moment I met you that you were it."

"Ethan-"

"I didn't plan this. You and me were never apart of the mission. This-" the man shook his head. "We were meant to happen. I believe that without a doubt in my mind." the man took a step toward her, seeing the glisten of her eyes. "Dinah Laurel Lance, you're the only thing in this world worth fighting for and I promise I will fight for you every single day of my life." and right there in the middle of the airport, Ethan dropped down on one knee and Laurel gasped. People around them seemed to stop and watch, waiting for the woman's answer. "Will you-"

"Seriously?" Laurel interrupted with a shake of her head. "Ethan, just-" the woman dropped her head with a sighed, before turning and heading for the gate. Ethan sat there, still on one knee, still holding that ring as he watched the woman get further and further away. The moment she went through the gate, and was just gone, he felt his heart shatter. He turned, seeing the crowd of people around him, staring in pity, and in embarrassment, and the man quickly stood to his feet and stalked away.

Oliver spotted Ari the moment he came out to the waiting room. She sat with her hood over her head, slouched in one of the chairs as John sat across from her.

"Hey." Oliver says walking over to his friend. "You want to give us a minute?" John gave the man a nod before giving the pair some privacy. Oliver took John's seat across from the teenager who kept her eyes to the ceiling. "My dad died in a freak boat accident, and my mom was murdered by a crazy man." the girl looked over, finally meeting his eyes. "You're angry, and you're sad, and you probably want to yell and scream, and fight, and I totally get it. You feel alone, but Ari you're not." the girl sighed, before standing to her feet and walking over to stand by the window. Oliver stood as well and walked over, standing a few feet away from her. "You accepted Katie as your guardian because you needed her money to pay for your tuition."

"It's the least she could do."

"It would be if she wasn't already paying your tuition." Oliver replied and the girl looked over to him with a quirked brow. "Katie has been paying your tuition for the past two years, she paid your father's funeral costs, and she's currently covering all of your mother's legal bills."

"And that was all out of guilt, not the goodness of her heart." the girl scoffed turning back to look out the window. "She ruined my life. She stole everything from me, and now she thinks her money could just make it better."

"Then why is she here?" Oliver asked with a shake of her head. "Why did she get on a plane when she's been told by doctors that she needed to rest, and that she needs to stay away from excitement. That's not guilt Arianna, that's love. She loves you."

"She doesn't know me, how can she just love me?" Ari says turning to the man, and leaning her back against the window.

"You're family. No matter what happens, that will never change." Oliver looked over to the clock against the wall before turning back to the girl. "We're about to get married." the girl looked over to him in confusion. "Like right now, and we'd love it if you would be there." Arianna folded her arms over her chest and looked down to the floor.

"I hate weddings." she muttered before looking back up to the man.

"You're going to like this one." Oliver says nudging his head for the girl to follow him. "It's going to be a quick one." Oliver turned and began walking back toward Katie's room, a small smile coming to his lips as he heard the girl following him.

Damien Darhk's plane should be high above the clouds right now. Instead it was still grounded, as he himself lied on the floor staring up to the ceiling. He'd been in this spot for the past hour, afraid to move a muscle. Afraid he'd feel it again.

It was a pain the man had never felt before, which was strange seeing how long he'd been alive. But it was true. It was as if a hand had wrapped around his heart, and squeezed it as hard as possible. He'd fallen to the floor and lost consciousness, and when he had awaken his men all stood above him, with looks of nervousness and fear. He ordered them off the plane. He ordered every soul off that plane actually, not wanting anyone to witness this moment.

And so he lied there, wanting to make sure it didn't happen again. Wanting to make sure no one else would witness an involuntary moment of weakness.

Jacob Robins, a dead man among the living, sat on a park bench in the middle of the bustling Central City Park tossing pieces of bread to the ducks in the pond in front of him. He turned when he felt someone take the seat beside him, only to find Martin.

"Her name is Robyn." Martin says looking over to his boss. "Robyn Maisie Queen." Jacob smiled, turning back to the pond, a bit sad that he couldn't be apart of such a big part of his daughter's life.

"It's a beautiful name." Jacob sighed reaching into his bag and tossing out more bread. "When do they leave?"

"Day after tomorrow they should be returning home." Martin replied letting out a deep breath. "It's happening now." he turned back to Jacob. "They got the hospital's chaplain, and they're probably getting married at this very moment." Jacob didn't say anything, as he silently thought on the man's words. His daughter was getting married, and he wouldn't be able to witness it.

"Darhk's going to be a bigger problem." Jacob says, changing the subject. "It's time we figured out what his plans are and how Star City plays into them."

"We're still not sure how to even figure that out." Martin replies and Jacob looks over to him.

"Isn't that why you created that crack duo of yours."

"Lane and Harper?" Martin asked and Jacob nodded. "We still have no idea where Darhk is keeping them.

"Yeah, but I know someone who maybe able to help." Jacob sighs, before tossing more pieces of bread out to the ducks. "Make an appointment with Waller. Tell her I'm ready to play nice."

"You sure you want to go back there?" Martin asked and Jacob looked up to the clear blue sky before turning back to Martin. "She has your wife's journals. She will try to use them against you."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Jacob replied as he looked back out to the pond.

Oliver's heart was drumming in his chest in this moment. But it wasn't nerves. In this moment as he stood holding Katie's hands, there was no doubt in his mind at all. Katie's eyes stared into Oliver blue eyes trying her best not to blubber like a baby. For years, the only future Katie ever imagined for herself was death. Never would she ever imagine a daughter or getting married. Now that she was right here, right in the middle of it, would she ever believe it.

"Today there will be no dearly beloved, no betrothed, and no ancient rhyme of the married. Today there are no dead languages to solemnize vows that are very much alive and will remain so for a lifetime. Today promises become permanent and friends become family. However, this day is not about the words spoken or the rings exchanged, nor is it about grand pronouncements and recessional marches. This day – the day of Katherine and Oliver's wedding – is about love."

In this moment the room filled with so much emotion, as the chaplain's words tugged at all of their hearts. Oliver's hand reached over to wipe away a tear on Katie's cheek.

"One of my favorite authors once wrote "If love is not all, then it is nothing: this principle, and its opposite, collide down all the years of my breathless tale." Katherine and Oliver, your breathless tale is about to begin. If love is not all, then it is nothing. Its opposite – If love is all, then it is everything – is going to be the basis for every aspect of your relationship. All you have to do is simply love one another and that love shows through in everything you do for one another, how you treat each other, in good times and bad. Love isn't just a word; it's an action. Love isn't something you say, it's something you do. Love is genuine, honest, and open, compassionate and kind, passionate and blind, love doesn't know space or time, nor look through jealous eyes, and in the modified words of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never dies. There are many different kinds of love, almost if not all of which are represented here today.

Father Flannigan looked between the couple in front of him, and was glad he could actually see the love they held for each other. He could see it in the way they looked at each other, the way they held each other's hands. Seeing it was the only way he could continue.

"There is romantic love, the love of parents and children, of brothers and sisters and family, and love among friends. Not only do Katherine and Oliver love one another romantically – and they do, you can see it in every look, every touch, every moment they're together – they also love one another as friends. In fact, as I have been told by the sister of the groom they're best friends, constantly giggling and taunting and teasing and very plainly and obviously having fun together. That love and enjoyment of each other as best friends will sustain them through this marriage. In addition, the love collectively in this room, from friends and family, will help sustain and support the promises they make today. All of you here will help solidify this bond, as these two individuals are joined as husband and wife. This new journey will be at times richly rewarding and extremely difficult, but, most importantly, it will be a journey you take together. Marriage is much more than your signatures on a legal contract. You are promising, in front of all these people you love, that you want to be with each other and only each other for the rest of your lives, and that you will do everything in your power to honor the promises you are making here today. For their part, the people who love you will also do everything in their power to try to help you hold up your end of the bargain. Would you two like to say anything?"

"Wow." Katie says looking over to the chaplain. "I don't think I would like to follow those beautiful words. " she turned back to Oliver and gave the man a smile. "What I will say is that you saved me when I didn't want to be saved, when I didn't even believe I could. I spent a big chunk of my life trying to find my way home and then I got there and my home wasn't home any more. And then you show up, back from the dead, annoying the hell out of me and always in my face." Oliver laughed, reaching up to wipe a tear from his eye. "I didn't know it at the time, but all those years I was fighting to get to you, because Liver, you're my home. With you I feel safe, and I feel loved, and with you I know there is absolutely nothing in this world we can't beat. And even though you're adamantly refusing to buy me just one donut, I will promise to love you and always be your guardian for as long as I live. You're Oliver Queen, and I'm Katherine Robins and for the longest time I thought that meant this moment wouldn't ever happen. And now I think this moment just had to be destined."

"Oliver."

"Right." Oliver says taking in a deep breath. Oliver had imagined this moment for a very long time, had written things down, or tried to store them to memory for this very moment and yet right now not a single one of those words were coming to him. And so he was going to have to speak from the heart. "It took us a hell of a long time to get to this moment." that got a couple of laughs from his friends. "So I won't say much. I've known you for a very long time. And in that time, I have discovered things in myself. Katie-" he smiled as he looked into the woman's eyes. "No, Twinkie, you have absolutely no idea how much of my heart belongs to you. Look, I know you hate words, so I promise to show you every day of my life how much I love you and I promise to devote my life to always keeping you and our family happy."

"Do you have rings?" Father Hannigan asked.

"Oh, I have them!" Barry says sifting over to Oliver and Katie. He reached into his pocket the couple each grabbed one.

"When did you-" Katie started, but shook her head figuring out the answer before she could ask. "Never mind." she turned back to Oliver, before slipping the ring onto his finger, and he did the same.

"You must be a fast one, huh?" the chaplain asked and Barry simply chuckled with a shake of his head. "Alright, Oliver Jonas Queen, do you take Katherine to be you lawfully wedded wife to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?"

"I do." Oliver said happily.

"And Katherine Elena Robins, do you take Oliver to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?"

Katie took a deep breath, before giving a firm nod. "I do."

"Well by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride." the room erupted in cheers as Oliver leaned in to kiss his wife.

"What have you done, Mr. Queen?" Katie whispered to the man.

"I think I just made the best decision of my life, Mrs. Queen." Oliver whispered back, before his lips finally met hers in their first kiss as man and wife.

Arianna Locke wanted a nice, soft, bed more than anything in this world at the moment. After another day at the hospital, Katie was finally released and they were now on a plane back to Star City. Arianna sat in the back of the plane alone, glancing up front to where Oliver and Katie sat snuggled together sleeping as the baby slept across from them in her car seat. The others had left before them and so the teen was left to tough it out with the annoying couple alone. She rolled her eyes before reaching into her backpack and pulling out her laptop and flipping it open. With a few key strokes, suddenly her camera turned on and she was recording.

"Alright everyone." she whispered. "And so it begins. I'm currently flying off to my new home with the woman who murdered my father and put my mother in jail. I didn't get it at first." she glanced over to the couple and just shook her head. "Now I do." she turned back to the camera and smiled. "I was meant to be here. I'm the one who has to finish what my parents started. It is time the truth finally came to light and I am in the best position to do it. I'm on the inside now." the girl turned to look out the window of the plane. She turned back to her computer and smiled at the number of increasing viewers. "And I have the entire month to show the world the monster Katherine Robins truly is."

And with a tap of a key the video ends, and the girl closes her laptop, before turning back to look out to the clouds, already formulating a plan.


	13. Hope in a Trying Season

**Hope in a Trying Season**

_"The test of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity,_

_but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there."_

_-James Buchanan_

* * *

Katie and Oliver sat low, their backs against the wall trying not to make a sound. They glanced down to see the door that led to their salvation.

"This isn't going to work." Katie whispered and Oliver turned to her with a shake of his head. "It's pointless."

"There's still hope." Oliver replied taking Katie's hand in his. "The door is not that far, we just have move quickly and quietly and-"

"What are you two doing?" Katie and Oliver turned at the voice that they wished wasn't as loud as it was. They looked over to Arianna, who stared at the couple in confusion. "Why are you sitting on the floor?"

"Ari, could you keep your voice-" before Katie could even finish her sentence, as expected the cries of their infant suddenly filled the house. "Thank you for that." Katie stood to her feet and walked back into the nursery.

"You guys are so weird." Ari mutters as she shook her head and locked herself back in her room

Oliver let out an annoyed sigh before standing to his feet and walking into the nursery to see Katie now cradling Robyn in her arms attempting to rock her back to sleep. Katie looked over to Oliver who shook his head as he slid a hand over his tired eyes.

"You should go to bed. There's no reason we both should be sleep deprived."

"I think the fact that we're both of equal blame for the cause of our sleep deprivation is reason enough for me to tough this out with you." Oliver said walking over and smiling down to the baby whose eyes were already closed. "How does someone so little have such big lungs?" Katie quietly laughed as she dropped her head to Oliver's shoulder.

"It's only been three weeks. She's still trying to figure out what this weird place is she was pulled into." Katie replies with a yawn. "Alright, lets try this again." the woman carefully went back to the crib, and gently lowered the baby inside. They eased back, seeing the baby not stirring. The pair slowly backed out of the of the nursery, closing the door behind them. "Ok, how-" Katie's words were stolen as Oliver suddenly hoisted the woman into his arms. The woman had to clasp a hand over her mouth to stop the squeal from slipping through her lips as Oliver quietly rushed them to the bedroom. Katie quietly laughed as Oliver laid her on their bed. They both turned to the baby monitor on the table beside the bed and waited to see if they had once again stirred the baby awake. "That was a very big risk Mr. Queen." Katie turned to look to the man above her.

"But it worked, Mrs. Queen." Oliver replied lowering his lips to hers.

"We've already come to the conclusion that this is pointless." Katie muttered against the man's lips as she brought her arms up around his neck. "We're stuck at second base for another three weeks."

"I know-" Oliver pulled back and looked down to the woman with a tired smile. "Three more weeks."

"Seems like an eternity." Katie said.

"Tell me about it." he replied, dropping a kiss to her forehead, before slipping next to her and pulling her close to him. And to no surprise, it didn't take either long to fall asleep.

_Katie doesn't know how she ended up in a chair by the window of her small room, but she didn't try to make a move. Actually she couldn't. It was strange, it was as if she were just a shell at this point...a prisoner in her own body._

_Time had lost her, and she had lost it since arriving to this hospital. Ever since her first meeting with Dr. Jonathan Crane, she's been tormented with his treatments, which consisted of him and his mask._

_She didn't hear the door open or close, but she felt the moment a hand touched her shoulder. She didn't turn. The smell of his aftershave gave him a way._

_"And how are you this morning, Katherine?" Dr. Crane asked, but she didn't even acknowledge his presence. For some reason that made a smile come to his lips. He dropped his lips and placed a kiss to the top of her head, before the door quickly opened._

_"We have a problem." Harleen said as she rushed into the room, closing the door behind her. "Bruce Wayne is here and he's looking for her. He says he went to the hospital and was told that she was brought here. What do we do?"_

_"Nothing." Crane replied with a smile. "No one knows she's here. No one saw you bring her in, and all surveillance video of her being brought in mysteriously corrupted. This part of the hospital is uninhabited so there's no proof that she's here." Jonathan turned back to Katie, sliding his fingers through her hair._

_Katie could hear them. They seemed to know that as well, but for some reason at this point neither cared. She was no longer a threat to them, Katie figured. She sat there listening to how all hope of anyone finding her was minimal. And so a tear she didn't expect escaped, warming her cheek as it fell._

_She would just look out the window, to the gray skies and dream of-_

_Katie dropped her eyes for only a second, but they caught something. A man walking around along the grounds. She never saw people out this window, so the moment she saw him her eyes were locked on him. Dr. Crane and Dr. Quinzel were both still talking, too distracted to see the man. Katie watched him move, watched how his eyes seemed to be trying to look everywhere. Suddenly he lifted his eyes to the building and stopped the moment he locked eyes with her. He stared at her for all of five seconds before running off, leaving Katie to once again feel that all hope was lost._

Katie's eyes snapped open to the now sun filled room. She stretched a bit, letting out a content sigh before suddenly sitting up from the bed. Since returning home with the baby, she has never waken up without the sound of crying to stir her. She turned and didn't see the baby monitor on the table beside her. She looked over and as expected, didn't see her husband either. A smile came to her lips as she stood out of bed, and walked from the room, the smell of food hitting her nose instantly. Katie continued down the hall, stopping in front of Ari's door, and raising a fist to knock.

There wasn't an answer right away, and Katie didn't hear anyone inside. She knocked once more, and suddenly the door swung open.

"What do you want?!" the girl snapped upon seeing Katie. Katie grit her teeth, because she expected the attitude when they arrived. And after a meeting with Ms. Sandburg, and the woman's advice to just give Ari time to get acclimated to this new life, Katie decided to try to really go with it. But there were moments like this, or when the girl wakes up their sleeping baby does Katie really feel her patience with the teen slipping away. "Look if you're just going to stand here and be weird, then I'm-" the girl began to close the door, but Katie reached out a hand to stop her.

"Ari, I get it, you don't want to be here. Which is confusing, since you were asked if you wanted to be here, and you said yes. I get it, you're a teenager, emotions are all over the place, but c'mon we can't keep doing this. There has to be a level of respect here, or some way for all of us to get along." the girl didn't say anything and Katie just sighed. "I just wanted to let you know that it smells like Oliver is cooking breakfast, and thought maybe you'd like to join us."

"No thanks." the girl replied before closing the door in Katie's face

"Well at least she said thanks." Katie muttered before she turned and continued down stairs. She glanced over to the bare Christmas tree in the living room and just shook her head. She walked into the kitchen to find Oliver moving about. Robyn watched on from her infant seat placed on the kitchen table. "And here I was getting use to my new alarm clock." Oliver turned to Katie with a smile as she walked over to baby. She glanced back to the man who walked over, and brought his arms around her.

"We thought mommy could use more than a few hours of sleep." Oliver replied placing a kiss to her neck. "You know I was going to bring breakfast up to you. You just had a baby, you should be resting." Katie spun around in the man's arms, bringing her hands to his chest.

"I told you I'm fine. I'm great actually, despite the angry teenager upstairs, and that depressing naked Christmas tree in there." Oliver laughed with a nod.

"We will decorate the Christmas tree soon, and try to con Ari into helping us." he replied before leaning into kiss the woman, only for the doorbell to interrupt the moment. Oliver let out a sigh as he lifted his head. "If that is another gift from my sister..."

"Oh, she's just being a doting aunt."

"Yeah, but we're going to run out a room to even fit more stuffed animals or more clothes." Oliver shook his head as he goes to see who was at the door. When he pulled open the door, he definitely didn't expect to see his new political strategist gracing his doorstep.

"Alex, hey. What are you doing here?" Oliver asked and the man simply shrugged.

"I thought it only considerate to give my resignation in person." Alex said and Oliver's eyes widen in shock.

"Resignation, what-"

"I just feel that if you're not going to give your all to this campaign, then I can't do my job."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that I've been calling you for weeks trying to push this campaign forward, and I only get your voicemail. So what's the point of my job if I don't have a candidate to strategize for?"

"Alex, I'm sorry. I know I've been out of reach lately, but things have kind of changed and I've been busy." Alex looked confused, and so Oliver took a step back and waved the man inside. "Come in."

"Look Oliver, I don't know what could keep you so busy, that you can't even-" Alex's words suddenly stopped the moment they walked into the kitchen, and he saw Katie holding a blanket wrapped baby in her arms. "That's a baby." he looked over to Oliver who walked to stand beside Katie, slipping an arm around her. "That's your baby. Wow, congratulations."

"I think this is one of those things we should've had a conversation about." Katie says as she turned to Oliver.

"I know, but I figure he should be the first person to know since he's going to have to help us tell the world about her, and us."

"He's right." Alex said and the couple turned to them. "I'm surprised you two were able to keep this out of the media for as long as you have, but the good thing is we can control this." he nodded, as ideas started coming to him. "Maybe at the holiday party."

"Wait, that's tomorrow night." Katie says turning to Oliver with a shake of her head. "That's really soon."

"Yeah, it is." Oliver replied turning back to Alex. "Look I know timing is everything, but we're just a little worried. Right now the world doesn't have her. They're not looking at her, scrutinizing her, and we like it that way."

"Oliver you're running for Mayor. You're telling these people not to be afraid, so you are going to have to take your own advice. Look we can do this, and I mean I feel like this will actually help with your approval rating." he noted the looks from the couple and just shook his head. "Not that this will be about that. I think the city has been looking forward to the birth of your baby, and wedding as much as you two have." Katie and Oliver shared a looked, before looking down to the baby in Katie's arms and sighed.

"Fine." Katie said with a nod, before looking over to Oliver who nodded as well. "The holiday party we'll tell the world about the newest Queens in Star City."

"Queens?" Alex said, wondering if he heard that wrong. Katie and Oliver turned back to him, seeing the confusion written all over his face. Soon he glanced between the couple, and then spotted the wedding ring on Katie's hand. "Wait, you two got married?"

"Yeah, we did." Oliver replied and watched as Alex dropped his head to his palm. "Is that alright?"

"Well, yeah." Alex replied looking back over to them. "I mean congratulations and all that, but I sort of had plans for this wedding."

"How did you have plans for our wedding?" Katie asked and Alex nervously laughed. "Alex?"

"Fine, I was hoping to talk the both of you into having the wedding televised. I already had a couple of outlets lined up." Alex saw the dark looks he was getting and continued to try to explain. "And I know you wanted to keep it private, but you two seriously have no idea how invested people have gotten into your relationship. I mean the city loves Katherine Robins, and they are starting to love Oliver Queen."

"Wait, starting to love-"

"It's just, I know you're going to hate me for saying this, but it's true, having this wedding open to the public, letting them see this intimate moment between the two of you, really would push Oliver further in the polls. They love transparency."

"So what are you saying?" Oliver asked.

"The baby is here and so we can't pretend like she isn't. So at the holiday party, we introduce her to everyone, but in regards to the marriage, I think maybe we should hold off."

"You want us to hide our marriage?" Katie asked and Alex sighed with a nod. Katie simply shook her head before looking back down to her daughter.

"That's absolutely not happening." Oliver replied firmly and Katie glanced over to him. "Katie is my wife, and I'm not hiding that from anyone." It was Oliver's tone that let Alex know that this was not a topic they would be compromising on.

"I completely understand, and I apologize for even suggesting it. So I guess the holiday party, we will announce the arrival of your daughter, and your marriage." Alex said with a nod. "Alright, so about tomorrow morning, everything is still going as planned and-"

"Wait, tomorrow morning?" Oliver asked and Alex let out a sigh. "What's-" Oliver turned his head in thought, when it suddenly hit him. "The Star City Bay Restoration project." he looked over to Alex who gave a nod. "That's tomorrow?"

"It is, and trying to cancel at this point would be impossible and also a bad look for you." Alex replied and Oliver let out a sigh as he looked back over to Katie. For the past couple of weeks, it's just been him and his girls and for a while he forgot about being the Green Arrow, and he forgot he was running for Mayor. For a while he was just a father and a husband, and he loved every minute of it. He really didn't want to give that up just yet.

"I think it's about that time Mr. Queen." Katie says looking up to the man, before looking back over to Alex. "Reality just walked through the door and it's time we got back to it." she glanced back down to the baby and smiled. "I think someone needs a bath." she looked over to Alex. "It was nice seeing you again Alex." and with that the woman headed for the stairs and headed up to the nursery.

"I'm sorry, if I just-" Alex started and Oliver turned to him. "I guess I wasn't really prepared to walk in here and find a baby, and a Mrs. Queen."

"No, you're just doing your job." Oliver replied glancing over to the door, Katie had just past through. "I will be there tomorrow as planned."

"That's great, but uh-" Oliver turned back to Alex with a quirked brow. "This initiative was sort of introduced as a joint project between you and Katie. She's going to have to be there too." Oliver let out another sigh, and Alex just shook his head. "Maybe I should go, and you'll figure this all out and I'll see you tomorrow." he pointed behind him. "I will see myself out." Alex turned and headed out of the kitchen, stopping at the sight of a teenage girl. "Uh, hi, um I'm Alex. I work with Oliver's campaign. You must be Arianna, right?"

"Yeah." the girl replied with a nod.

"Well I was just going, but maybe I'll see you tomorrow at the Bay." Alex said with a smile as he continued for the door. Ari's eyes followed him out with a quirked brow before heading into the kitchen where she found Oliver who turned to her.

"Hey, um good morning, there's breakfast if you're hungry." Oliver said with a smile before nudging his head. "I'll be right back, I have to go talk to Katie, but help yourself to whatever you want." the man gave a nod before heading for the stairs. Ari waited until he was gone, before pulling out her cell phone and looking down to the recently recorded video.

 _"You want us to hide our marriage_?"

The girl simply smiled as watched the video. It wasn't something that could prove the woman was a monster, but it was pretty embarrassing.

Oliver found Katie in the nursery, Robyn in her arms as she sways back and forth in the rocking chair. He stops at the door, and smiles over to the pair, and he feels a burst of emotion swell inside of him at the sight of his wife and daughter.

"How did her little face make us forget the real world?" Katie asked glancing over to Oliver.

"I don't know." Oliver sighed. "So tomorrow-"

"You have to go." Katie said with a nod as she looked back down to the little girl whose eyes seemed to be staring back to her. "I get it. Our fantasy was going to have to end at some point. It always does." she looked over to the man and smiled. "You're running for Mayor."

"You run a billion dollar company." Oliver replied and Katie sighed before looking back down to their daughter. "And yet none of it seems more important than just looking at her."

"Ok." Katie says standing to her feet and walking over to place the baby in her crib. "We can do this." Oliver walked over to stand on the other side and looked down to the baby, whose eyes turned to him when he appeared. "You can leave tomorrow and we will still be fine." she looked over to Oliver who had reached down and slipped a finger into the baby's tiny hand. She could see him getting sucked into the baby vortex. "Liver-" he glanced back up to her. "You can do this."

"After you left, Alex brought up he fact that this was a joint project with you and me, and that maybe-"

"Oh, I'm not leaving this baby." Katie said with a smile as she shook her head. "I'll send someone in my place."

The next morning Oliver stood at the shore of the Star City Bay, letting out a deep sigh. It had only been a little over a hour since he left home, but it felt like the longest hour. He turned just as Alex and Thea walked over.

"Hey. How we doing?" Oliver asked.

"It's actually a pretty great turnout." Thea replied looking out to the many people who showed up to help clean up beach.

"Who knew people would rather pick up garbage than celebrate the holidays, huh?" Alex muttered as he looked out to the people. He wasn't too sure about this project, but Oliver and Katie seemed pretty adamant about it being a good idea. Turns out they were right.

"Not bad for a hippie, crunchy campaign proposal, huh?" Oliver joked and Alex simply chuckled.

"Nobody likes an "I told you so." Except apparently Star City. Your approval rating is up 10 points."

"I have an approval rating." Oliver replied looking over to his sister who laughed.

"Yes. Yes, you do. Welcome to politics, Mr. Queen." Alex said before glancing around. "So a campaign project between the Oliver Queen campaign and Robins Incorporated and there's no Robins." he turned back to Oliver who shook his head.

"Well I have to admit she picked an awesome replacement." Thea replied and they all turned to the other side of the beach where they spotted Bruce Wayne joking and laughing with some of the locals as he helped pick up garbage. "There's no way this isn't going to be on every news outlet."

Arianna Locke had her mission. Bring down the woman who destroyed her family. But she couldn't let it stop other important things in her life. Like her ever present desire to get into a great college one day. It's why she tagged along with Oliver to this clean up project. She knew it would look great on a college application.

And so she had her earbuds in her ears as she stuffed discarded trash into her garbage bag. She was doing great until she took a step on a particularly slippery rock, and almost fell. But a hand grabbed her wrist stopping her collide with the rocks. She turned to see her savior was someone annoyingly familiar.

"Thanks, Mr. Diggle." she replied reaching down to pick up her bag.

"You know you can call me John." Digg said, before bending down to help her pick up the trash that had fell out of her bag. "I didn't expect to see you here today. I heard you'd been locked in your room since you arrived."

"Yeah, well I can't pass up an opportunity to add brownie points to my college apps."

"Oh, I didn't know kids your age were even thinking about college." John replied and the girl simply shrugged.

"Yeah, well in the words of my father, it's never too early." the girl said before continuing her clean up.

John watched her for a moment before sensing someone beside him. He turned to see Bruce who glanced over to Ari before turning back to John.

"Ms. Smoak did mention you attempting to crack that nut. How's it going?" Bruce asked and John simply shook his head.

"She's still very angry. The thing is she has every right to be."

"We were all filled with anger at some point." Bruce said, before glancing over to see Felicity educating a group of kids on the benefits of reducing waste. "Then we found a light. She just needs to find hers."

Katie sat in the living room on the floor, digging through boxes of Christmas decorations. She glanced up to the television that was currently showing the current clean up project on the bay. She stopped and a smile came to her face when she looked up to see Oliver's face.

" _How do you feel about inspiring so many people to come out here today?" the reporter asked, and Oliver shook his head._

_"Oh, I didn't inspire anyone. This is the city that I know, it's the city I remember, and it's the city that we can be again." Oliver answered._

"Do you hear your daddy?" Katie asked looking over to Robyn who sat beside her in her baby seat. "He's already talking like the future Mayor of this city." she turned back to the television and sighed before looking back in box. "Now where is that ornament? I hope it didn't get lost in storage."

Katie had moved to another box and then another, in search of a single ornament, when she turned back to the television.

" _Breaking news. We've just gotten reports of gun fire today at Star City's Bay where Mayoral Candidate Oliver Queen and many citizens were today assisting in a clean up project hosted by Mr. Queen. At the moment we don't have many details, but we will make sure to keep you informed."_

"No." Katie says standing to her feet and grabbing her phone before dropping to the couch to dial Oliver's number. She sat with her eyes closed as she listened to the incessant ringing. "Answer the phone." the moment it went to voice mail, she growled in anger before dialing his number again. It once again went to voice mail and the phone slipped from her hand as the bad thoughts crept into her mind. The thoughts that Oliver wasn't answering his phone because he couldn't, because he was hurt and that just made her fearfully nervous.

Katie stood to her feet and began pacing back and forth. She didn't notice the flickering lights above her head. All she could think about was that Oliver or Ari could be hurt right now, and she didn't know what to do. She suddenly stopped when the front door opened and in walked Arianna.

"Ari." Katie rushed over to her, reaching out to touch her, but the girl jerked away. "I'm sorry, I just, I just saw the news and I thought-" Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Are you hurt?" Katie let her eyes scan over the girl.

"I'm fine. Oliver was there and he shielded me." Arianna replied with a shake of her head before looking back up to Katie. "I'm fine, just a little shaken up."

"And Oliver is alright?"

"Yeah, I guess he has to figure out how to handle this so he had a driver bring me here. He says he's going to call you, but to tell you that he's alright." Katie let out another sigh.

"That's great. That's really great. Did you need anything?"

"No, I'm just going to go to my room." the girl said before moving around Katie and heading up the stairs. Katie slid her hand over her face, partially relieved. She walked back into the living room, her eyes going to the television that was showing footage of the shooting. Katie dropped into her seat, as she watched scared children trying to dodge bullets.

"This was you, you son of a bitch." Katie muttered with a shake of her head. Without another thought she stood to her feet and walked to kneel in front of Robyn. "Hey Robyn, how would you like to go on your first outing?"

Felicity Smoak sat behind her computer, currently being annoyed by her boyfriend. After the attack, the team came back to the lair to figure out a next move. Everyone was sure it was Darhk behind the shooting, and now they needed a way to finally put an end to his craziness. John had long went to talk to Andy in hopes of getting answers, while the others waited around. Felicity chose to see if there were any clues from the attack drone that could lead back to Darhk. She needed one hundred percent focus, which she was not getting because her boyfriend sat beside her trying to convince her to do the one thing she's already refused.

"Ok, I get it. Your friends are here, Palmer Tech is here, and so naturally you feel you should be here too." Bruce continued and Felicity rolled her eyes. "The thing is, there are Palmer Tech subsidiaries in Gotham that you can set up shop. And I'm sure everyone will be fine if you decided to leave."

"Men, women and children were just shot at by an evil bastard who we're all trying to figure out how to stop and you're here beating a dead horse." Felicity said looking over to the man. "Bruce, I'm not leaving Star City. Why don't you just move here? I mean your company is ran by Mr. Fox, the Robin is proving to be a capable hero. In all reality you're the one less needed in your city." Bruce didn't say anything, and Felicity suddenly felt guilty and let out a sigh. "I didn't mean it that way, I just-" she shook her head. "We got into this knowing that it would be long distance and we agreed that we could handle it."

"We did, but things have changed." Bruce replied and Felicity looked at him in confusion.

"What things?"

"Well, uh-" Bruce turned away because he really didn't want to answer that question yet. And soon a way out suddenly appeared. "Robins?" Felicity followed his eyes, surprised to see Katie as well coming in from the back entrance, a stroller in hand.

"And she has the baby." Felicity smiled before jumping to her feet and heading over.

Katie walked into the lair, her eyes scanning around in search of only one face that didn't seem to be there.

"Hey!" Felicity said and Katie quickly brought a finger to her lips, before pointing down to the sleeping baby. Felicity moved around to look down to Robyn who was all bundled up and snug under her blanket as she slept. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be taking it easy."

"Not sure how easy I can take anything after seeing what I just saw on the news." Katie replied as Bruce walked over and peeked inside of the stroller to the sleeping baby before looking over to Katie. "Was anyone hurt?"

"No, we're all fine. Just angry Damien Darhk is still an issue." Bruce said, turning when Laurel and Thea appeared. Thea smiled and came over, but Laurel seemed to keep her distance.

"Hey there-" Thea got collective shushes as she walked over, peeking inside the stroller to see her sleeping niece. "Aw, she's sleeping." she looked up to Katie. "Can I wake her up?"

"You can if you want me to kill you." Katie replied, ignoring Thea's pout. "I am going to go lay her down, and then you guys can fill me in on the next move."

For some reason, Katie thought she'd never use this room that seemed so out of place in their underground lair. She carefully laid Robyn in her bassinet before grabbing the baby monitor and attaching it to her pants before quietly slipping out of the room.

It was when she stepped out of the room, did she finally see his face. Oliver turned to see her, and rushed over, bringing his arms around her in a tight hug.

"You didn't answer your phone." Katie said. Oliver could sense how scared she was by how tight she hugged him. He placed a kiss to her cheek as she pulled back and looked up to his eyes.

"I know, I'm sorry. I wanted to make sure everyone was ok." Oliver replied his hand sliding to her waist. "You didn't have to come here, I told Ari-" Oliver sighed with a shake of his head. "I wish Ari wasn't there, I shouldn't have-"

"Hey, this is not your fault." Katie replied placing a hand on his cheek. "This is the work of a sick bastard who needs to be stopped." Oliver inched closer to the woman, when suddenly the sound of crying cut through the moment. He looked down to the baby monitor on Katie's pants. "I should-"

"Oh, let me!" Thea said rushing past them to go check on the baby. "Keep kissing, I got her." they shook their heads before turning back to each other.

"Any idea why Darhk would attack citizens at the bay?" Katie asked.

"I don't know, but there's something there he doesn't want us to find. I'm just not sure what it is." Oliver replied before looking down to his watch. "I'm going to have to make a statement soon, and I don't even know what I'm going to say." Katie placed a hand on Oliver's chest.

"Say something fearless." she looked up to meet his eyes. "He thinks he scared you and now you're hiding. A lot of people probably think you're hiding. So at some point very soon, you're going to be in front of a camera and you're going to show all of them how fearless you are, and how fearless they can be." Oliver leaned in closer, his forehead resting on hers.

"You should be at home."

"My husband was shot at today, so I just had to see him." Katie replied and Oliver smiled at her words.

"Your husband. I don't think I will ever get tired of being called that." his lips finally met hers, in a kiss that stole them from the moment if only for a little while. "I'm taking you home."

"I can help." Katie muttered against his lips.

"I don't doubt that." Oliver replied pulling back and looking down to the woman. "But you just had a baby—"

"Three weeks ago."

"Right, and it takes about a month to two months to completely recover after giving birth, according to Dr. Baxter and Dr. Flemming." Katie rolled her eyes as he continued. "Even Dr. Frances says-" Katie turned and clasped a hand over Oliver's mouth.

"Fine, I'll go home. Just don't quote that evil man to me ever again." Katie replied before glancing across the lair to see Laurel who glanced over to her, before turning away. "So I guess Laurel still blames me for her relationship ending with Ethan."

"She just needs some time." Oliver replied placing a kiss on top her head. "C'mon, let's go home."

"Well you get to tear Robyn from your sister's arms this time." Katie replied and Oliver just sighed dramatically.

Jacob knew his return to ARGUS wouldn't be smooth. He knew Waller wouldn't make it easy at all. This was her chance. Her chance to prove her superiority over him once and for all and he knew she wouldn't let such an opportunity slip away.

And so he was questioned. Questioned about old cases, about Ra's Al Ghul, his wife, his daughter, the planning of his faked death. Today was just like any other. He was escorted from his small, shoe box of a room to the interrogation room where he would be questioned by some of the best interrogators ARGUS employed.

The whole process was boring and pointless. He would've escaped a while ago if he really didn't need ARGUS' help to finally take down Darhk. As he waited, Jacob stared into the two way mirror knowing she was on the other side.

"Are you done, Waller?!" he called with a shake of his head. "Is the pissing contest done? You're in charge, I know that. Right now we both have a common enemy that we can't put down without each others help." there was no response for a few moments, but soon the door to the room opened and in walked Waller who took the seat across from the man.

"I actually don't need you to take down Darhk. I've acquired a secret weapon I think can make him bend."

"If that were true you would've already used it. There's a reason he doesn't know, and you won't find that in any of those journals. Gracie wouldn't write that down." Amanda sat back in her chair as she stared at the man. "Are you finally ready to work together?" the woman was silent for a moment before folding her arms over the table.

"No more secret missions, no more lies. I will know everything you know."

"After all these years, you're still striving to be better than me." Jacob replied with a shake of his head. "That's your weakness Mandy. Stop trying to be better than me and just be better." The woman rolled her eyes before standing to her feet.

"Never call me Mandy again." she turned and headed for the door.

"We need to find Lois Lane and Roy Harper. I don't believe Darhk killed them, but I do believe he has them locked away some where."

"And why would he do that?" Amanda asked turning back to the man.

"Because he'd be too curious. She's a reporter and he's some kid who outed himself as the Arrow. He'd want to know what made them so special."

"And what makes them special?" she asked and Jacob stood to his feet and walked over to her.

"Nothing and everything." he replied before passing her out the door. "I'm going to assume no one has touched my office." Amanda clenched her jaw before turning to follow after the man.

Oliver had long brought Katie and Robyn back home before having to once again leave. Katie was right. He needed to make a statement soon, and so he once again changed into a suit and tie and headed back to the bay where reporters were waiting.

Meanwhile, Katie stood outside of Arianna's door hesitant to simply knock. She took a deep breath, before reaching forward, and giving a subtle knock. As always, there wasn't answer right away, that always confused Katie. And so this time, she would do something she probably shouldn't do. She grabbed the doorknob, and opened the door in time to see Ari quickly close the lid of of laptop and turn a glare to her.

"Are you kidding me?!" the teenager snapped. "You can't just walk in here. This is my room, and I say when you come in here, you-" the girl bit her tongue and Katie took a step forward, folding her arms over her chest.

"I came in here to check on you. You were shot at and I thought-"

"What? What did you think?" Ari asked. "That this would be a great bonding moment. That maybe you and I could connect on a deeper level because I was almost killed by a bullet like my father was."

"That's not—"

"What did you think this was going to be?" Ari asked with a shake of her head. "Like seriously. You killed my dad, sent my mom to jail, and then you took me in. Am I supposed to be grateful? Am I supposed to be thankful my murderous cousin has a heart? What was this supposed to be?"

"This was supposed to be a chance." Katie replied with a slight shake of her head. "I thought I could give you a chance at some kind of normal, but Ari if you don't want that, if you don't want to be here, I think the question you should be asking is to yourself. Why are you here?" Katie turned about to leave, but she stopped herself and turned back to Ari. "You know I get it right? To be young and filled with so much anger and so much pain. You shouldn't have to had gone through the things you have, seen the things you've seen. It sucks and it's not fair and maybe the way you can make sense out of any of it is to blame me." Katie turned to the girl and took in a deep breath. "And if that helps you, if that allows to wake up in the morning, then fine, blame me, hate me, but I promise you Ari, I'm not giving up on you yet. I was you once, and I had people who wouldn't let me go, no matter how hard I pushed them. You're afraid that everyone you get close to will leave, but I'm here to promise you that I won't leave you until you can finally tell me you're ready for me to leave." with that Katie turned to leave, only stopping at the door, and glancing back to the girl. "And be careful the type of things you do on there." she pointed to the girl's laptop. "One way or another it can come back to you."

Arianna let out a huff, slamming the door closed with Katie finally left. She turned glancing over to her laptop and grit her teeth.

"Well if the world can't see what kind of monster you are, then they can at least see just how pathetic your existence really is." the girl muttered before walking over and flipping open her laptop.

Katie headed back to her room, dropping to the bed, before glancing over to the baby monitor. Robyn was still out which for the moment was a good thing. The woman reached over and grabbed her tablet to watch Oliver's statement.

 _"Thank you for coming, everyone. Thank you. As today's tragedy has reminded us, we are at war. For months, we have been besieged by a nameless and a faceless organization that seems hell bent on destroying our city. You know them as the Ghosts. And while they may be anonymous, their leader is not. He has a face, he has a name, and I think that it is high time the people of Star City know the truth about who he is. His name is Damien Darhk. He controls the Ghosts on behalf of an organization known as HIVE. HIVE wants this city to die." Katie's eyes widened as Oliver lifted a picture of Darhk. "Now, I will be distributing this, the only known photograph of Mr. Darhk, to every news outlet and social media feed in the country. For months, this man has made us afraid to walk the streets. I suggest that we return the favor." Oliver's eyes turned to the camera in front of him. "We will also be setting up a hotline. Now, individually, Mr. Darhk may be able to defeat us, but united, he doesn't stand a chance._ " Katie flicked off the tablet, before dropping back on the bed and closing her eyes with a groan.

Later when Oliver walked through the door, he didn't expect Katie to be standing right there, as if waiting for him. He opened up his mouth to speak, but Katie lifted a hand to stop him, before walking off down the hall. Oliver let out a sigh, before following behind her. They ended up in the basement, the only place they could have a private conversation without Ari hearing them.

Katie finally turned back to the man and gestured for him to speak.

"I know what you're going to say, but you said to say something fearless, and that's what I did." Oliver stated firmly. "Darhk's only power was that no one knew who he was, and now everyone knows who he is. Everyone will be looking for his face, making it that much harder for whatever plans he may have." Katie didn't say anything and Oliver walked over, bringing his hands to her waist. "We took something from him. We chipped a piece of his power, and maybe this can knock him off his game."

"Maybe it will. But it has definitely gotten his attention, and you're at the center of it. He will retaliate against you personally. He's going to try to teach you a lesson about going against him, and then what?"

"There's already going to be extra security at the party tonight, and I can get some extra security here, for you and the girls if that will make you feel better."

"Make me feel better?" she scoffed, as she turned and headed for the stairs, but Oliver caught her arm to stop her from walking away from this conversation. "Oliver none of it will make me feel better. When I told you to say something fearless, I meant to go out there and give these people hope. You're angry at him, and it's completely understandable, but you just told this city to keep their eyes out for a man with powers we still don't understand."

"One of the reasons I'm running for mayor is because I wanted to be the man who could fight for this city in the light and that's what I'm doing. I can't fight for this city and be afraid of the opposition."

"Oliver you said his name on television. You put a target on your back." she dropped her head and let out a deep sigh. "I told you to say something fearless, but I didn't know you'd say something-"

"You would say." Oliver replied and Katie rolled her eyes. "Why did you tell me to be fearless, when you're not."

"Because those girls took all of my fearlessness away." Katie said dropping to sit on the steps of the basement. "Because I have never been more afraid of anything as much as I am of anything happening to them." she looked up to the man. "Of anything happening to you and I don't know how to control it."

"Twinkie, I get it-" Katie scoffed before standing to her feet.

"You don't and that's fine." she turned about to go upstairs but stopped and looked back over to Oliver. "My daughter doesn't attend parties that require extra security."

"So you're not coming to the party?"

"I'm saying that if my daughter can't attend, and we don't have a babysitter, then neither one of us will be at this party." Katie replied before heading up the stairs, Oliver right behind her. Neither expected to see Ari standing there the moment they opened the door.

"Why does this door have that weird lock?" Ari asked turning to the key pad, before turning back to the couple.

"Well our washer and dryer are very high tech, and if you're not careful you could blow up the house. So we don't chance it. You should be getting dressed." Katie said walking past the girl who glanced over to Oliver before following behind the woman.

"I thought it was obvious that I would no longer be attending more functions hosted by Mr. Bullet Magnet here." Ari said as she followed Katie to the kitchen.

"You're not going to the party Ari." Katie glanced back over to her. "It's a surprise, that you're actually going to like." Katie nudged her head for the stairs. "Nice jeans, nice shirt, go." Ari looked over to the woman suspiciously and so Katie stopped and turned to the girl. "You hate me, I get it, but a small part of you is a little bit curious, so go." Arianna stared just a bit longer before rushing off to get dressed. "Ten minutes!" once the girl was gone, Katie turned back to Oliver and sighed.

"Are you taking Robyn with you?" he asked and Katie shook her head.

"No, your sister should be here soon, I told her we shouldn't be gone long. I should be back before it gets too late and then she can head off to the party." Katie says about to leave.

"You want to tell me what you're not telling me?" Oliver asked and Katie sighed and turned back to the man.

"It's a basement conversation." Katie replied.

"Then lets go." he said walking over to her, and she just shook her head.

"You should be getting ready for your party, and we're going to be late if we don't leave now." Katie says just as the doorbell rang. "That's your sister. Let her in please." Oliver watched as the woman hurried off upstairs. With a shake of his head, he turned and headed for the door, to let in his sister.

He should've known she wouldn't be empty handed.

"Speedy, what is all of this?" Oliver asked taking some on the gift wrapped boxes from her hands as she came inside.

"I just thought now would be the perfect time to haul all of this stuff over here, and sit it around your-" Thea walked into the living room to see the barren tree, surrounded by boxes. "What is going on with your Christmas tree?"

"It's in a transition stage." Oliver replied sitting the gifts on the couch. "Don't you think Robyn has enough presents?"

"Well these aren't all for her. I have gifts for you and Twinkie, and Ari who was fun to shop for by the way." Thea said, sitting gift bags by the tree. "So is Ari still in the dark about her surprise?" Oliver gave a nod, but Thea could tell there was something else going on with her brother. "What's up? You have a look. Everything going alright with the newly weds?"

"We're fine. Twinkie just wasn't too happy about me calling out Darhk on national television."

"I guess it was kind of a bold move, but I figured she's all about bold moves." Thea replied taking a seat on the edge of the couch. "I guess being a mom may have changed our Twinkie."

"Enough for her not to come to the party tonight." Oliver said and Thea turned in surprised. "She says its too risky to have Robyn there knowing Darhk could choose any moment to retaliate." Oliver let out a sigh before sitting down as well. "Maybe I shouldn't go."

"Oliver you have to go. It's your party."

"Yeah, and this is my family and if my wife isn't comfortable or she doesn't feel safe, then it's my responsibility to fix that." he said and saw the sudden smile come to his sister's face. "What?"

"Your wife." she laughed. "You have a wife now, and a daughter. When did you become such a grown up?" Oliver couldn't help but chuckle at the question. "Don't worry. I will get both Twinkie, and my niece to that party."

"Speedy, don't just-"

"Don't worry Ollie. I got this." Thea replied just as Katie and Ari came down the stairs, all ready to go. Ari seemed to rush past everyone out the door, as Katie stopped in front of the siblings.

"We shouldn't be gone long, and I promise to get you back to the party in time to flirt with Alex." Katie says before turning to Oliver who stood to his feet.

"I'm going to walk you to the car." he said and Katie nodded before turning at the sound of crying coming from the baby monitor.

"And its time for super aunt to tend to the cutest baby in the world." Thea said before rushing up the stairs.

Oliver brought an arm around Katie, as they walked outside to the car. They stood just a few feet away, before Oliver turned to the woman.

"You know I can come with you." he said and Katie looked up to the man with a smile. "Actually I should come with you. I'm your husband and you-"

"This is something me and Ari should do. Plus you have a party to get to. What you said today was completely stupid, but it did show people how much you care. You have to go to this party and show them you're a man who stands behind his words." Oliver bent down to meet her lips in a short, but sweet kiss. "I love you, Mr Queen."

"I am so in love with you, Mrs. Queen." Oliver replied against her lips, before watching her turn and head off to the car.

They'd been driving for a while before Ari finally turned to Katie and asked the one question she needed answered.

"You're giving me back, aren't you?" she asked and Katie turned to girl with a quirked brow "That's what this is, isn't it?"

"No, I'm not giving you back." Katie replied turning back to the road. "I mean you're a handful, but it hasn't gotten that far."

"Then are you taking me somewhere to kill me." Katie turned to the girl with a look of confusion. "I mean with your track record, you can't blame me for being a little suspicious."

"I'm going to really have to try hard to change your perception of me." Katie muttered.

Ari's eyes went wide the moment she saw the large building. She turned to Katie who looked over with a small smile.

"It's Christmas, and this is just one of my gifts to you."

Soon Ari found herself sitting in a small room, glancing over to a clock on the wall that seemed to tick louder than it should. She'd been holding her breath since they walked into the building, suddenly nervous for some reason. It wasn't until the door finally opened and she saw the face that she'd been dying to see did she finally release the breath she'd been holding.

"Mommy!" Ari called rushing over to bring her arms around her mother in a hug. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too baby." Heather sighed, placing a kiss to her daughter's head. She took a step back to look over the girl. "You're growing up so fast. Come sit." the pair walked over to the single table where they sat across from each other. "Ms. Sanburg told me you left school without permission." Ari shook her head with a roll of her eyes. "You know you can't do things like that. Not if you want to continue to stay in that school."

"That school will never kick me out now. I'm the ward of one of the wealthiest people in the world and they're hoping for a donation." Ari scoffed. "If only they knew how horrible she really is."

"Wait, has she done something to you?" Heather asked and Ari sighed.

"I mean no. She has this act of an actual nice human being down pact. But I know the truth. I mean look what she did to dad, and I mean, look where you are right now. It's all her fault, and now I have the perfect opportunity to finally show the world." Heather turned away and let out a sigh before reaching over to take her daughter's hands. "Mom, what?"

"I'm sorry, baby. I was so angry and so sad, and I didn't think about you and how this would affect you. You shouldn't have to go through this."

"Mom, it's fine. It's not your fault, it's-"

"Sweetheart, I was angry. Your father, I will always love him, but he got greedy. His greed lead-"

"To a bullet in his head?" Ari asked pulling her hands back. "He didn't have to die. He could still be here, and we could be spending Christmas together like we always did, but she stole it away."

"For a long time, I thought that was true. It was easy to blame her, because she was alive and he was dead. I've been talking to someone in here, and I'm now seeing past the anger. " Heather dropped her head, and quickly wiped away tears before looking back up to her daughter. "Katherine didn't ask your father to work with criminals, she didn't ask him to come to her home, and she didn't ask him to put a gun to that man's head." Ari stood to her feet and walked over to the corner of the small room. "At some point we have to see what part your father played in his death. You have to see what part I played to get myself in this place." Ari turned back to her mother, her eyes filling with tears. "I listened to your dumbass uncle, and now I'm here."

"So you're saying I shouldn't hate her?"

"I'm saying you should give her a chance, because despite what you believe, she does care about you. And I have to believe that with the amount of money she's spending on lawyers to get me out of here, that she cares about me too." Heather stood to her feet and walked over to her daughter. "Look I don't want to get your hopes up, but my lawyers seem to think that I may be able to get out of here sooner than we thought." Ari's eyes seemed to light up at the news. "So while I'm in here working to get back to you, I need to know you're out there with someone I know will take care of you." Ari looked up to her mother, before dropping her head to her mother's chest. "Baby, what's wrong?" Ari let out a sigh, before meeting her mother's eyes.

"I did something bad."

Katie waited in the empty waiting room. Visiting hours were actually over at this time, and the only reason she was able to get in was from a very generous donation. She lifted her head the moment the doors opened and out came Arianna.

"Nice visit?" Katie asked as she girl walked over to her.

"Uh, yeah." Ari replied, turning and heading for the door, but she suddenly stopped and turned back to Katie. "Thank you." Katie shook her head, but Ari only continued. "I still don't like you, but I don't think I hate you as much as I did."

"Well that's a step in the right direction." Katie replied with a smile. "Soon, you and me are going to be best friends."

"I wouldn't hold my breath." Ari muttered before turning and heading out to the car.

When they returned home. Katie walked inside, finding it very quiet. She and Ari shared a look before Katie went upstairs, assuming Thea was probably in the nursery. Katie carefully opened the nursery door, only to find the room empty. She did see a note lying in the crib, and she picked up noticing it was Thea's handwriting.

" _There's nothing to fear, but fear itself...and not celebrating the holidays with your family. I have your baby, if you want her, you'll put on the dress I picked out for you, and you'll come get her."_

"I am going to kill you Speedy." Katie muttered before walking out to see Ari holding up a garment bag.

"This was on my bed." she said looking over to Katie. "We're going to the bullet magnet's party, aren't we?"

"Don't worry, if you and my baby are at this party, there better not be any bullets." Katie sighed before turning and heading off to see what Thea has picked for her to wear.

It was no secret that Katie hated parties, and she had no doubt that she would probably hate this one as well. This would be different though, and she knew it. This would kind of be the first party she would be attending as the wife of the possible future mayor of the city. She was a bit nervous.

"I hate parties." Ari muttered looking over to the office at the sight of people filtering in and out. She looked over to Katie who looked over as well and sighed. "I don't know how to talk to people at parties."

"Neither do I." Katie replied before flipping down her mirror to once again check her make up. "I shouldn't have gone with the red."

"You look fine." Ari said flipping down her own mirror. "I on the other hand hate my hair tonight." the girl ran her fingers through her red curls and sighed. Katie looked over to the girl and just shook her head.

"Your hair is awesome." Katie replied flipping up the mirror when suddenly one of the security guards came to her door and opened it for her.

"Ms. Robins?" Katie gave the man a nod, before letting him help her from her seat. "I will escort you in."

"Thank you." Katie replied as Ari stepped out as well. She walked over to the girl's side, giving her a nod before they finally walked inside.

All eyes seemed to go to them the moment they walked inside, sudden whispers moving around them.

"Why is everyone looking at us?" Ari whispered over to Katie.

"They're looking at me." Katie replied, now totally self conscious about how she looked right now. "The last time anyone saw me, I was pregnant, and now they know I'm not." she plastered on a smile before looking over to Ari.

"I think I'm going to see what kind of food they have here." the girl muttered before rushing away from the eyes on them. Katie simply shook her head before turning to see a familiar face.

"I see Thea's evil plan worked." Felicity said with a bright smile as she looped her arm with Katie. "You look hot by the way. I can't even tell you were pregnant."

"You're sweet, Smoaks." Katie says letting out a deep sigh, as the eyes on her never seemed to let up. She suddenly spotted Thea across the room. "Oh, there is the dead woman walking." she looked over to Felicity.

"Oh, when you get a chance, I sort of need to talk to you about something." Felicity said and Katie quirked a brow. "It's totally just a girl conversation I desperately need to have, but it can wait."

"You sure?" Katie asked and blonde simply nodded. Katie turned about to head over to Thea, when she suddenly bumped into someone. "Oh, I'm-" she looked up meeting the eyes of someone she hadn't see in a while. "Captain."

"Hey, doc." the man cleared his throat, glancing around before turning back to her. "You're uh...not as big as last time I saw you." Katie looked at him with a quirked brow and he shook his head. "I just mean, you're-"

"I had a baby." Katie replied and he simply nodded.

"Yeah, right." he said and silence seemed to fill the air between them. "Look about-"

"Not the time or place to have this conversation." Katie replied with a slight shake of her head. "I need to talk to Thea, so if you'll excuse me." Katie moved around the man, and headed for Thea who spotted her instantly.

"And here she is!" Thea said, and Katie stopped suddenly, looking from the girl to the men at Thea's side. "She's finally come out of hiding. Katie, this is the fire chief Richard Daniels, and one of the city's notable aldermans Harold Saxton."

"Well it was less hiding, and more trying to figure out how babies work." Katie replied and the two men laughed as she shook their hands. "And Mr. Daniels and Mr. Saxton are old friends. Both have been wonderful partners with the New Beginnings Initiative."

"The program is doing wonders for this city." Richard replied with a smile.

"Which is why Oliver is going to work with more businesses in the city to partner with RI to get more job options out there for our citizens." Thea said with a smile as she turned to Katie.

"That was a bold move by Mr. Queen today." Harold added and Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. "I've been hearing about these ghosts and they're bad news. I have to believe their boss is even worse, and exposing him the way he did was-"

"Risky?" Katie said and the man nodded. "You're right, it was. I mean I was pretty nervous when I saw the speech myself. But this guy, this Damien Darhk, his anonymity gave him power. Being able to hurt people without people knowing it was him, made him feel unstoppable. Oliver's speech today showed him that he can't hide in the darkness any longer. At some point he's going to stumble into the light and when he does, he'll find justice."

"Nicely said." Richard said and Katie gave a nod.

"If you would excuse me, I needed to borrow Thea for just a moment." Katie says taking Thea's hand and pulling her away. "So do you have a certain preference for how you want to die, or should I just choose."

"You know what you just said back there was great." Thea said looking over to the woman. "You're great with words. We need more of you on the cameras with Ollie."

"You're not distracting me from the fact that you kidnapped my daughter." Katie says and Thea shook her head. "Where is she?"

"She's in Oliver's office. I was able to sneak her in, so no one knows she's here. I thought you and Ollie could do the big reveal later. I think Ollie went to go check on her though." Katie turned about to head off to Oliver's office. "Oh, you look great in that dress by the way. I definitely have good taste."

"It's kind of tight." Katie replied looking down to the dress and pulling at the material. Thea waved her off.

"You're Mrs. Queen. You show up to parties in fire red dresses that hug all your curves and that make every man wish they had you and every woman wish they were you." Thea said and Katie couldn't help but laugh as she walked off to Oliver's office.

Oliver gently lowered Robyn into the bassinet that sat in the corner of his office. The sound of the distant music seemed to help the girl drift right asleep.

"It's weird. Back at home, the slightest noise just unlocks this girl's ridiculously loud lungs, but now Christmas carols lull her to sleep." Oliver whispered before turning back to Laurel. "So still no luck with the hotline."

"Not yet." Laurel replied walking over to look down to the baby. "I just needed to get out for a little bit. The ringing was driving me crazy."

"I know I've been out of touch for a bit, but I wanted to ask, how are you doing?" Oliver asked and Laurel looked over with a quirked brow. "Since Ethan-" the woman seemed to tsk at the name before walking over to sit on the edge of his desk. "Have you talked to him since Central City?"

"No, have you?" she asked as the man walked over to sit beside her.

"I wanted to, but Twinkie talked me out of it." Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "Still can't quite believe it."

"You and me both." the woman sighed. "You know I thought he was it. This guy who saw all of me, and still wanted to wake up in the morning to see my face."

"Laurel I'm sure you'll find someone else."

"Someone who isn't tangled up in some way to Katherine Robins." she muttered before looking over to Oliver with a shake of her head. "I'm sorry. It’s just I really thought about the relationships in my life and how Katie seems to have some sort part in it. I mean we were together for years, but you were secretly in love with her." Oliver seemed to turned away with a sigh. "Tommy became her friend, and almost died after one dinner with her, now Ethan-" the woman shook her head.

"Laurel-" the woman turned to meet his eyes. "I have no doubt that one day you're going to find a guy who will realize how wonderful you are, and who will love you the way you deserve to be loved." the moment was nice, and for Laurel it was sweet and she doesn't know why she does it. Maybe she just felt lonely, or sad, but without even really thinking about what she was doing, she leaned in to kiss the man just as the door opened, and in walked Katie who suddenly stopped realizing the moment she just interrupted.

"Twinkie, this isn't-"

"I should go." Laurel said quickly, before rushing out of the office.

"Twinkie, I-"

"Oliver stop talking." Katie replied before turning and rushing to catch up to Laurel. The women ended up outside, and Laurel simply wanted to get to her car, but she knew it wouldn't be that easy. She heard Katie's feet behind her, and so she stopped and turned to her.

"Nothing happened. And anything that looked like it happened was all me. Oliver didn't-"

"I know." Katie replied with a deep sigh. "That back there-" Katie nudged her head. "Walking in on you and Oliver use to be one of my fears. I mean the two of you haven't been together for years, but you're Laurel. I know the Laurel and Oliver story, I've witnessed it first hand and that-" Katie dropped her head and closed her eyes. "You're upset about Ethan, and you're sad and you're angry with me because you believe part of the reason you're hurting right now is because of me and fine if you want to believe that then believe it." Katie once again met Laurel's eyes before walking over to close the distance. "If you want to hurt me, then you should hit me and I mean just hit me hard. Because if you pull anything like that again, try to use my husband to hurt me, I promise you-"

"Twinkie!" Oliver called discovering the two women outside.

"I'm sorry." Laurel said before hurrying into her car, and driving off.

Katie stood there for a moment before turning to Oliver who walked over to her.

"Twinkie, I promise that wasn't-" Katie placed a hand on his cheek and smiled. "Nothing happened."

"Liver, I know." she replied placing a kiss to his lips. "Plus you're not insane. You know I carry at least one weapon on me at all times." Oliver laughed, bringing an arm around the woman as they walked back to the party. They had only taken a few steps inside, before Thea came hurrying over.

"Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Everything's fine." Katie replied glancing around the party, and spotting Ari talking with John.

"Great, there are some people I want you to meet." Thea said, and Katie gave a nod before turning to Oliver.

"Well I guess you should go mingle." Katie replied.

"I meant both of you." Thea said and Katie looked back over to the woman. "There's no telling when I will get you in front of these people again, and you and Ollie make an awesome team. I'm thinking a few handshakes, and a vote for Oliver Queen and then the piece de resistance, we bring out my insanely adorable niece."

"And announce our marriage." Oliver added and Thea smiled with a shake of her head. "Thea-"

"Look I know you two are loud and proud to be husband and wife, but I think Alex is right about this huge wedding between two of Star City's elite. It's great publicity-" Oliver opened his mouth but the woman continued. "And yes I know it makes me seem like an awful person wanting to use your wedding as a tool to win this election, but I'm sure-" the woman's words were cut off by sudden gun fire that rang through the room. Oliver quickly grabbed Katie, trying to shield her as they dropped to the floor. It wasn't until they looked over to the door to see Damien Darhk stroll in with a few armed men did they know what was happening. Katie lifted her eyes, spotting Ari still at John's side, before glancing back to Oliver's office, glad the door was still closed. Darhk grabbed a glass and took a sip as he walked over to Oliver.

"Mmm. Mmm. Malbec. Nice. How did you know that was my favorite red?" he said, cockily with a annoying smirk. "So full bodied, so full of life. Unlike your security outside. Oh, and in my defense, they fired first. I guess my invitation was lost in the mail." he seemed to laugh at his own jokes. "I'm only kidding. It's not my kind of scene anyway." he glanced over to Thea, and hummed before turning back to Oliver and Katie. "I'm only here to have a word with the man of the hour."

"What do you want?" Oliver asked, taking a step forward, and stepping in front of Katie.

"Well, something I can't have, apparently. Your loyalty, your allegiance. I told you there would be a price to pay if you refused."

"Your feelings are hurt?" a voice suddenly spoke, and Oliver sighed, because that familiar voice came from behind him. He should've known an appearance by Darhk could ignite that fearlessness inside of her. She stepped from behind Oliver and Darhk looked over to her with a smirk. "Is that why you're here. Because one man in this city didn't fall to his knees to kiss your ring?"

"Twinkie-" Oliver tried to pull the woman back, but she was angry, and he knew trying to reel her in would be next to impossible.

"It would seem the whole family has a big mouth." Darhk replied.

"This has nothing to do with these people. Just let them go." Oliver asked, and Darhk simply chuckled.

"Oh, I wish I could do that. I really do." Darhk took a step toward Oliver. "But sometimes the best way to teach someone a lesson isn't to punish them, it's to punish the ones he cares about the most." the man lifted his hand to Oliver's chest sending him flying through the window of his office. Katie turned about to go to Oliver, and her daughter, when two men grabbed her arms. "Take them."

It had been a very long time since certain instincts seem to hit Katie. But this moment, when her husband or daughter could be hurt, and men were keeping her from them, only one course of action seemed to make sense. She clenched her fists, and lifted her head, only to see the many scared eyes on her. A fight in this moment would show the world who she really was. She turned meeting Ari's eyes, tears now falling down her cheeks as she watches the men pull her, John, Thea and Felicity away.

Oliver heard crying and his eyes snapped open. Everything seemed so fuzzy as he looked up to the ceiling, still hearing that tiny cry, and something inside of him jerked himself up. He placed a hand to his head that was throbbing at the moment before turning and seeing the bassinet. Oliver quickly stood to his feet, stopping for a moment when he suddenly felt dizzy. Once the dizziness passed, he quickly rushed over to the crying baby, lifting her into his arms and gently rocking her. He looked her over, making sure no glass had got her, but her bassinet seemed to have been far enough to avoid any of the glass.

"It's ok, you're alright. Daddy's here." the man sighed, placing a kiss to her head before going back out to the others to see if anyone else was hurt. He looked over to see Felicity's mother in tears talking to Bruce who must've just shown up.

"Oliver!" Ari rushed over to the man, throwing her arms around him in a hug. She was shaking, and he brought an arm around her, hoping to calm her. "He—the man took her."

"What?" he looked down to her, before Lance came over. "What happened?"

"It was all over before it started. He got Felicity, John and Thea, they didn't stand a chance." Lance said letting out a sigh. "And the doc-" he turned back to the man. "She looked like she wanted to give a fight, but she she knew it wouldn't work." Oliver turned away before looking down to his daughter, and the girl holding onto him tight and he just shook his head. He looked up and spotted Curtis and his husband.

"Curtis-" the man came over. "I need you to do me a favor. I need you take them home for me." Curtis looked slightly nervous as he looked over to the baby.

"I'm not really sure we should-"

"Curtis, please." Oliver said and the man simply nodded. "Ari, look at me." the girl lifted her head to the man. "I am going bring her back, I promise. But I need to know you and Benny are safe. This is Curtis and-" he looked over to Curtis' husband, suddenly blanking on his name.

"Paul." Paul added with a smile.

"Curtis and Paul are going to take you home. I'm sorry, I know you don't really know them, but Curtis works for Felicity and Paul is his-" Oliver wasn't sure how detailed about the relationship he should get and so he just shook his head. "I trust them, and they're going to keep an eye on you until we get home." he looked back up to Curtis and Paul who still stared warily at the infant in Oliver's arms. "And they don't have a lot of experience with babies, so I'm going to give her to you." Ari took the baby from Oliver's arms, before the man reached into his pocket and handed Curtis his keys. "Take my car, it has the car seat. Her bag is in my office, just get them home and lock the doors, ok?" Curtis gave a nod before he, Paul and Arianna were gone. Oliver turned to Lance. "We need to find out everything we can about where he could've taken them. My wife doesn't seem to believe in being out numbered, and she won't wait to be saved."

"I'm on it." Lance said, before turning, but stopped and turned back to Oliver. "Wait, wife?" Oliver looked at him and the Captain simply nodded before turning and rushing off.

"Oliver, the police are gonna want to ask you about what happened." Alex said walking over to the man. Oliver shook his head, because talking to the police was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Take care of these people. Get them home if they need it. Get them medical attention if they need it. And pay for it out of the campaign fund. "

"Of course. What about the police?"

"Stall the police." Oliver said glancing over to Bruce, who gave the man a nod before watching the man rush out.

Bruce brought his arms around Donna once more as the woman continued to cry.

"Donna, do you trust me?" Bruce asked and the woman pulled back and gave him a nod. "Then trust me when I say I will bring Felicity back." the woman gave him another nod. "I have to go, but I will call you when I have something, ok?" Bruce turned, loosening his tie as he headed out of the room, and down the hall toward the elevator Oliver still had opened waiting for him. "Show up late to a party, and my girlfriend is kidnapped."

"My wife." Oliver said, loosening his tie and unbuttoning his shirt. "My sister, my friends. Someone is going to talk." the moment the doors opened, both men were off, and going to suit up.

Once they were suited and ready to go, both turned at the sound of the elevator to see Laurel running over.

"I heard what happened. Are you alright?" Laurel asked walking over to Oliver, only for him to take a step back.

"Look, call me if you find out anything." Bruce says, not stopping as he heads out toward the tunnels.

"What can I do?" Laurel asked and Oliver just shook his head before grabbing his bow and slinging his quiver over his shoulder.

"Just keep your ear to the hot line. Maybe something will come in." the man moved around her for the tunnels.

"So is this how it's going to be?" she asked turning and she saw as the man stopped and turned back to her. "I'm sorry, what happened at the party-"

"Laurel, now is not the time!" he snapped before turning and stalking toward the tunnels as well.

Jacob stood in his office watching yet another report of the kidnapping of his daughter and her friends by Damien Darhk. The door to his office swung open, but he didn't turn. He didn't need to.

"Sir, we lost them." Martin said, practically out of breath. Jacob didn't say anything as he grabbed the remote control and flicked off the television. "What should we do?"

"Nothing." Jacob said turning to the man. "At this point there's nothing we can do. He won't hurt her."

"Sure, but there are three other people there I don't think he would mind hurting." Martin countered with a shake of his head. "We can locate any known HIVE members, maybe shake a location out of them." Martin turned to leave.

"Hmm." Jacob muttered and Martin stopped and turned back to the man. "You came in here for direction, and left with your own."

"Sir, I didn't mean to-"

"Martin, you're capable of making these decisions. You know what to do before I tell you to do it. You know what to do even when I don't tell you to do it." Jacob walked around his desk over to the man. "You know what to do when I tell you to do the wrong thing. You know what to do, and I trust you to do it. If you can back it up, then do it. Don't come here for direction when you already know where to go." Martin gave a nod before turning and leaving the office. Jacob let out a heavy sigh before turning and heading over to his desk and picking up his phone and dialing a familiar number. The moment he heard the click of the receiver, he knew he was no longer on the line alone. "He's becoming obsessed with her and he's getting close. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I could use your help."

No one was talking, which neither Oliver or Bruce could believe seeing as they were definitely not holding back any punches. Oliver returned to the lair first at a total loss of what to do. He sat at the meeting table, trying to rack his brain for a next move. He glanced down to his hand, and looked down to his wedding ring, and just clenched his fist with a shake of his head.

Oliver glanced up at the sight of Laurel and Quentin who rushed over to him.

"You got something?" Laurel asked, and Oliver just shook his head.

"Just a lot of suicidal ghosts." Oliver replied.

"Where's Bruce?" she asked and Oliver sighed. "He went offline?"

"I think so." Oliver said, lifting his eyes and seeing someone he definitely didn't expect or want to see right now.

"You know this place is easier to get into than your last lair." Malcolm Meryln said as he walked inside. The moment Lance saw his face, he quickly drew his gun, but the new Ra's Al Ghul, suddenly grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm behind his back and pressing his face to the table.

"Dad!"

"Malcolm!"

"We're pressed for time." Malcolm said looking down to Quentin. "Suffice it to say, I'm a little less dead than most people think." he finally released the Captain's arm, and handed him back his gun.

"What are you doing here?" Oliver asked definitely not in the mood to deal with Malcolm right now.

"My daughter's in danger." Malcolm said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. "Shouldn't your first question be what took you so long?" he tossed the phone across the table and Oliver caught it.

"What is this?"

"HIVE used polyphasic-encrypted satellite phones to communicate. That is one of them."

"And where did you get it?" Quentin asked still suspicious of the man he believed to be dead this entire time.

"I'm Ra's al Ghul." Malcolm replied, which was the only reason he needed.

"Maybe we can use the phone to track Darhk." Laurel suggested, and Oliver just shook his head.

"If Felicity or Bruce were here, maybe. But as it is, our only play is trading me for them."

"Ok, listen, I'm not gonna pretend to understand what is going on here. But the idea of you turning yourself over to Darhk, that's the worst idea I've heard in a while."

"Maybe, but it's our only play. I brought all this on, I have to end it." Oliver glanced down to the phone before walking off to make that call.

Darhk strolled down the row of cells until he stopped in front of one. The one that held the biggest mystery he had ever come across. She was sitting in her cell, no more than a couple of feet wide, on a hard cot, her eyes closed.

"How do you want to die?" she asked suddenly opening her eyes and looking over to the man. "You know we've had so many conversations and I can't believe I never asked such an important question."

"You know I would probably be more inclined to taking these threats more seriously if you, child of the demon, didn't just let yourself be dragged into this cell or let that small arsenal of cutlery you had impressively hidden just get taken by my men." suddenly she started laughing, and Darhk simply looked on in curiosity.

"Do you want to hear something funny?" she asked standing to her feet and walking over to the gate that separated them. "There was a moment I was afraid of you. My husband said your name on television, and I actually was afraid of what you would do to hurt him." Katie reached up, and grabbed the gate. "You brought bullets to a nice holiday party, where my children were, you hurt my husband, and you kidnapped me and my friends. So Damien let me ask you again, how do you want to die?" he looked at her for a moment, unable to shake the sudden familiarity that the moment brought to him. He shook it off, with a laugh.

"You're like her!" Darhk said with a shake of his head as he took a step toward the cage. "Maybe that's it, maybe that's why you intrigue me so much. You're like Minnah, with a little bit of spunk. Too bad that if your husband doesn't fall in line, you and your friends are going to die." with that he turned and walked away.

"Hey, you didn't answer my question!" she called after him and he simply laughed.

Oliver stood on the edge of the lake. He'd made the phone call, and spoken to Darhk himself. Now he waited. His thumb mindlessly fiddled with his wedding ring, as he tried his best not to worry about Katie and the others. Soon he heard footsteps, and turned to see the man walking toward him.

"I was surprised to get your call. And on one of our secure phones no less." Darhk stepped in front of Oliver with cocky smirk. "You are more than you seem, Oliver."

"Oh, you really better hope that isn't true." Oliver says taking a step to close the small distance between the man.

"What's the word for a man who threatens the man who's holding his nearest and dearest captive?" Darhk asked with a laugh. "The man who holds your wife's life in his hand." Darhk noticed Oliver's clenched jaw and smiled. "I don't know, idiot?"

"You didn't kill my friends. You took them to make a point. You've made it." Oliver declared and Darhk just shook his head as he chuckled.

"No." he nudged his head toward his car. "Not yet I haven't."

Katie sat on the cot of her cell, her eyes staring out to Darhk's ghosts who routinely walked past her cell, rifle in hand. Once they'd past her, she glanced down to her hand and focused as best she could.

"If ever a time for freaky powers, now would be that time." she muttered. Since having Robyn she'd had no signs of the abilities at all. She never thought she'd ever find a moment wishing she actually had them. Katie stood to her feet, and placed her palm on the gate of her cell. She turned her head at the sound of footsteps, only this time there was more than just one. Katie took a step back, but stopped when Oliver appeared in front of her beside Damien.

"Liver-" Katie took a step forward, her eyes looked between Oliver and Darhk. "What did you do?"

"Aw. Well, I'll give you guys some privacy to say your farewells." Darhk said, before the doors slid open. Oliver ignored the man the moment his eyes found her. Once the gate opened, Oliver rushed inside, pulling Katie into a tight embrace.

"If you're doing what I think you're doing, I'm so going to kick your ass." Katie said pulling back, slightly as Oliver's arms around her never loosen. He placed a hand on her cheek and let out a deep sigh.

"I haven't seen John, Felicity or Thea. Are they alright?" Oliver asked and Katie shook her head.

"We got separated when we were brought in. I feel like he would've taunted a little bit more if he'd hurt them." she replied as the moved to sit down. "Are the kids alright?"

"They're fine, they're safe at home with Curtis and his husband." Oliver said and Katie looked at him with a quirked brow. "It's the best I could do in such short notice. Lance has officers watching the house." Katie gave a nod, a bit relieved but not completely.

"Oliver, what are you doing here?" she asked placing a hand on his chest. "Because if you're here to trade yourself for us, I have to tell, I'm not going to let you do it."

"I had to turn myself in. It was the only way to know where you were being held." Oliver replied and Katie shook her head before dropping it to his chest. "I can't not know where you are." Katie lifted her head to meet his eyes. "We've only been married three weeks. I need more time with you."

"So we're going to assume that whatever deal you made with Darhk, he's going to keep and we're going to assume that whenever the cavalry comes and there's no guy in a green hood, Darhk's not going to get suspicious."

"I have it handled." was Oliver's response and Katie wanted to just hit him, and she would've if she wasn't happy to see him. "It has to be this way. You're here because of me. You were right, you said-"

"Oliver I will rarely say this, and I will deny saying this if questioned, but I wasn't right. I was scared." she took Oliver's hands in hers. "I was scared because he's gone." Oliver looked at the woman in confusion. "I lost consciousness after giving birth to Robyn, but I remember being out. I was in Nanda Parbat, and the demon was there and I don't know how, but I killed him and I felt him gone." she shook her head. "I felt like a part of me was gone. That part of me that-" she looked up to the man's eyes. "That part of me that likes to piss off the bad guys. This isn't your fault Oliver. What you did was fearless and it was something a leader would do."

"And it got you here."

"No Darhk got me here. He also got me angry." Katie replied and the pair turned as the gate to her cell opened and appeared a team of Darhk's armed men. Oliver took Katie's hand as they stood to their feet.

"Twinkie, I'll handle this." Oliver muttered over to her, only for her to turn to him with a smile. "Twinkie."

Soon the couple was being lead somewhere. Oliver kept his grasp around Katie's hand as they walked. They went through a door, and neither expected to see John, Felicity and Thea in some sort glass cube, not looking happy at all.

"What the hell?" Katie said before turning to Darhk who smiled at their reactions.

"Ahh, thank you for coming."

"What the hell is going on?!" Katie snapped turning to the man, and Oliver took a step toward Darhk.

"The deal is that I bring myself here and you let my friends go!" Oliver snarled when suddenly Darhk's men threw their arms round Oliver, and pulled him back. Oliver felt Katie's hand slip from his.

"Hey!"

"Oliver!" Katie yelled, when suddenly she was grabbed and pulled toward the prison with the others. She glanced over to Darhk who seemed to be watching her closely.

"C'mon, I know the demon taught you better than that." Darhk called and Katie grit her teeth as she's dragged. In this moment she felt every bit of anger inside of her. For the first time in a very long time, she felt the darkness she thought just trickled away because of time. But now...right now, it consumed her so suddenly, that she blacked out.

When she came back to the moment she was on her hands and knees, her head suddenly aching. A hand grabbed her arm and Katie looked up to see John who helped her to her feet. She let her eyes wander around to see that she was in the chamber with them. She turned and walked over to the glass, and saw Oliver still being restrained. Katie dropped her head, and felt a sudden chill before the sound of a familiar chuckled met her ears. When she lifted her head, she blinked a few times, unsure if what she was seeing was even real. Because there was just no way the demon could be standing there across the room watching her, watching her like he would all those years ago. Analyzing her, scrutinizing every move, and she could see the disappointment over his face.

_"When do you surrender?"_

Katie dropped her head at the demon's voice, and shut her eyes at the sudden prickling of her skin. She heard a slight tap, and lifted her head to see Oliver now free and hitting a fist against the glass. His mouth was moving, saying something...something she wished she could hear.

_"When is surrendering an option?"_

"How do we get out of here?" Felicity asked, but Katie kept her eyes on Oliver. He was the only thing in this moment keeping her from dissolving into pieces. There was a sudden gust of wind and Katie turned to see a vent suddenly blowing. Everyone started coughing, gagging as the new air burned their lungs. Katie turned back to Oliver, grabbing her throat as she goes into a fit of coughing. His lips are still moving, and yet she can't hear a word. Katie closed her eyes, dropping her head, her lungs now burning as well.

_"At what point do you give up?"_

That time the voice was so close, so clear. She opened her eyes and there he was, the demon, standing right next to her. Her eyes trailed back to her friends who could barely breathe, and something inside of her just flicked on. She whipped her head back to Oliver who was still attempting to break the glass, but it was pointless.

"Move back." she said, her voice barely audible as she looked to the man. She slapped the glass and pointed, hoping Oliver would understand. "Move-" she dropped her head, still coughing, barely able to take a full breath.

"Hey, Twinkie, look at me!" Oliver called from the other side of the glass. He watched helplessly as the air literally left her lungs in front of him. She once again lifted her eyes and said something, something he couldn't hear. She dropped her head, before suddenly slapping a palm against the glass, and Oliver's eyes went wide at the light that seemed to illuminate from her palm that began to crack the glass. Oliver took a step back as Katie rose her other hand, placing it against the glass, feeling it shatter beneath her palms. She lifted her eyes, and Oliver stared in shock to see them no longer the familiar brown orbs he could stare into for hours. They were a cloudy gray color that looked completely unnatural.

Suddenly Katie dropped her hands, and looked to the glass before uttering a single word.

"Shatter." and without hesitation every inch of glass that surrounded them completely shattered, bringing in the fresh air. Katie closed her eyes, and stumbled back, suddenly feeling dizzy. When she opened her eyes, she saw her friends rushing out, before Oliver appeared holding out a hand to her.

"Twinkie, come on!" he yelled and without hesitation, Katie rushed to his arms. The moment she was in arms length, Oliver brought an arm around her waist and practically lifted her from her feet and away from that box. He placed his hands on the sides of her face, looking into her eyes that were now normal. "What just happened?"

"I don't-" Katie placed her hands on his chest as she glanced over to that box, not remembering anything that happened while she was in there. "I don't know." she turned back to Oliver who stared in concern, and confusion, but he just shook his head.

"Is that my father?" Thea suddenly asked and both Oliver and Katie turned to see someone dressed as the Green Arrow engaged in a fight with Darhk's men. There was a sudden smoke bomb that exploded and began filling the whole room with a thick cloud of smoke.

"Batman." Felicity said, happy to see the man, who didn't hesitate to jump in on the fighting

Katie took a step closer to see the face of the man, but Oliver brought an arm around her waist, and pulled her away, along with Thea and Felicity before they could get lost in the smoke,

Soon, they're rushing down a hall in search of a way out. Oliver held onto Katie's hand as the others followed behind him. It was Laurel who asked the question that would stop their exit.

"Where's Malcolm?" they all stopped and looked down the hall to see if maybe the man was lagging behind.

"He went after Darhk." Katie said and Oliver turned back to her, glancing down to their hands before meeting her eyes. "Go. Just remember to do that thing I like."

"You too." he replied, and it took all the will power he had to slip his hand from hers.

"We have to keep moving." John says moving to lead the group of women. They continued walking, turning a corner still trying to find a way out. There was a guard, that John quickly knocked out before realizing they'd found Darhk's row of cells.

"We shouldn't leave these guys here?" Felicity said, glancing around to the men trapped .

"If they're anything like Darhk's guy in the gas chamber, we probably should." John says taking a step forward. They all lifted their heads at the sudden sound of an alarm, and flashing lights above them. They heard the sound of the cells opening, and turned to see as the seamlessly imprisoned men were now free.

"Ok, they're definitely like Darhk's guy in the gas chamber." Thea said, noticing the menacing looks they were getting from the men. Without warning, Laurel opens her mouth and lets out her ear blistering Canary call that causes everyone to clamp their hands over their ears.

"That's all you got?" one of the prisoners asked in amusement. "There's five of you and a lot more of us."

"Well that's just you underestimating us, and overestimating yourselves." Katie says taking a step forward, only for John to pull her back.

"Well now there's six!" a voice spoke suddenly and they all turned to see Lance aiming his gun. Katie took another step forward, but John moved to block her.

"What are you-"

"Three weeks is definitely not enough time to recover from giving birth. You need to keep going and get out of here." John says, ignoring the glare the woman had fixed on him. "We got this handled." Katie knew he was stubborn like Oliver, and right now in the middle of an all out brawl was no time to have this argument and so she just shook her head, before turning and trying to find a way out.

Katie turned down another hall, spotting a door. She was glad that it lead to the outside. It was this moment, when Katie was outside, and free of any eminent danger, did the last couple of hours seemed to catch up to her. Her body seemed to ache, almost suddenly and with a single step she seemed to just fall to the ground. She rolled over, her back now resting on the freezing concrete as she looks up to the starless night sky.

"You're not dead." she muttered, turning her head, to see him. The demon lying on the ground right beside her. It was strange because she thought she felt him gone, thought she had finally escaped him, but she was wrong.

_"No my dear Nura and because of it, neither are you."_

She turned back to the dark sky above her, and watch as it seemed to engulf her in it's darkness.

It had to be luck that the door Oliver and Malcolm run out of just happened to be a few feet away from where Katie laid. The moment Oliver saw her, he quickly ran over scooping her into his arms.

"We have to move, this place is going to blow any moment!" Malcolm called, before the men continued running and as expected the building just exploded. The men stopped and Malcolm glanced over to the burning building before turning to see Oliver looking down to Katie. "Is she alright?"

"I think she just fainted." Oliver said rolling his neck. He was still sore after his fight with Darhk that he couldn't give his all because he couldn't reveal to the man that he truly was more than he seemed.

"Oliver, I along with countless others in that room saw how that glass broke." Malcolm said and Oliver turned to the man with a quirked brow. "I always knew there was something special about her, I just didn't-"

"We're not having this conversation Malcolm." Oliver replied and Malcolm simply nodded before looking back out to the burning building. "I need to get her to a hospital."

"And I should be headed back. There is business I should probably be tending to." Malcolm said, glancing down to Katie once more before turning and leaving.

_Katie heard yelling outside her room, but it didn't seem to stir her. She was still trapped in this shell that Dr. Crane had forced her into. She kept her eyes to the window, when the door behind her suddenly opened and in rushed Dr. Quinnzel who appeared at Katie's side._

_"Katie, we have to go." Harleen spoke, but Katie didn't move. The doctor simply grabbed her arm, bringing it over her shoulder before pulling her to her feet. Harleen groaned with every step she took as they walked down the empty hall toward the elevator. "I didn't want to do this." she glanced over to Katie's blank stare. "I didn't want to do this to you, but it happened and there's no changing it. I signed up for a lot of things, but I didn't sign up for killing you."_

_"Harleen!" a voice called and the woman glanced over to see Johnathan down the hall. "Stop, don't do this!" the man ran toward them, and the woman carried Katie onto the elevator, pressing the button for the ground floor, praying the door closed before he could make it to them._

_"I'm sorry, Johnny." she muttered as the door closed right in his face. Harleen turned, placing Katie's back against the wall, forcing the woman to look at her. "He's been giving you low doses of Benzodiazepine to keep your memories from coming back, and I also believe it's what's keeping you in this state." the doctor pulled a syringe from her pocket. "This is Flumazenil which should bring you back." the woman pulled the cap from the syringe, before sticking in the crook of Katie's neck, releasing every drop of the drug. The door to the elevator opened, and Harleen turned to see the awaiting driver. She gave him a nod, before he stepped forward, and scooped Katie into his arms and carried her to the car. He dropped her in the backseat, and closed the door and Katie simply dropped her head against the cool glass, her eyes looking out to Dr. Harleen Quinnzel who simply gave a small wave as the car drove away._

Katie was cold. It was the first thought that passed through her head as consciousness came back to her. She opened her eyes instantly meeting the unwelcome sight of the familiar pale ceiling of Glades Memorial Hospital.

"No, the doctors say she's fine. I don't think we will have to stay here long." Katie turned at the sound of Oliver's voice. She looked over to see him standing, looking out the window. "Tell Curtis and Paul thanks for watching them. Are you sure you can handle watching them for a little while?" he chuckled. "I know you're the super aunt Thea, but Robyn maybe tiny, but she's a force to be reckoned with sometimes." he slid a hand over his eyes. "Alright, just call if you realized you've bitten more than you can chew." he ended the call, and turned to Katie now seeing her eyes opened and looking at him. "Hey." he walked over taking a seat on the edge of the bed, and taking her hand. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine." she rasped, her mouth dry. She began to sit up from the bed, glancing around the room. "Darhk-" she turned back to Oliver. "What happened?"

"There was an explosion. We all made it out, but Darhk and his goons were last seen inside." Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "His body wasn't found."

"So it's more than likely that he's alive and pissed." she sighed glancing over to the door. "I want to go home, I just want to hold my baby."

"Twinkie, I think we should talk about what happened back there." Oliver said, and Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. "Do you seriously not remember anything that happened while you were in the gas chamber?" Katie turned away, trying to remember, and the only thing she remembered was a flash of the face of the demon.

"I saw him." Katie replies turning back to Oliver. "I remember seeing the demon. I thought I finally got rid of him, but he was there." she noticed the look on Oliver's face knowing something else happened. "What don't I remember?"

"There was a light that came from your hands and it-" Oliver shook his head, not able to shake the image from his brain. "You broke the glass." Katie closed her eyes and brought her hands to cover her face. "Hey, look we will figure this out."

"And what if we don't?" she asked looking back over to the man. "What if I can't control this?" she shook her head and turned away from him. "Three weeks." she glanced back to the man. "I'm sure you're ready to make a run for it." Oliver once again took her hand in his.

"You're Katherine Queen." Oliver declared with a smile, that Katie couldn't help but return. "You're my wife, mother of our beautiful daughter, and the love of my life. There's nothing in this world that will ever make me want to make a run for it." there was a knock at the door, and the couple turned to see someone they didn't expect. Oliver stood to his feet, but Katie quickly grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Hey Kit, Oliver." Ethan greeted, only taking a few steps into the room. "Uh, your admitting doctor, Dr. Hanson was called away for a family emergency and so I-"

"This is not happening." Oliver said and Ethan sighed. "We want another doctor. Anyone but you."

"I'm sorry." Ethan replied politely and calmly as he looked over to Katie. "It has been a busy evening and all of our doctors are busy treating other patients. At the moment I'm free, but if you would like to wait, I can-"

"Talk." Katie said and the doctor simply nodded.

"Well for someone who gave birth less than a month ago, you're very active it seems." Ethan says glancing down to Katie's electronic chart on his tablet. "Blood pressure was high, heart rate was high, and I'm assuming you're probably feeling unbelievably sore right now."

"You said was, have my vitals stabilized?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then I want my release papers please." she replied before turning away from the man. Ethan looked from her, before turning to the scowl on Oliver's face.

"You know how unbelievably hypocritical the two of you are being right now?" Ethan asked, and Katie felt Oliver try to move, but she held on firmly to his hand. "I-"

"Ethan you lied. You made us believe you were someone you weren't." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "You made us believe that there was someone on our team that was better." she once again turned away. "I want the release papers."

"Right away." Ethan muttered before turning and leaving the room. The doctor walked over to the nurse's station, sitting down the tablet and letting out a sigh. "Can I get release papers printed out for twenty, please." the nurse gave a nod before walking over to the computer.

"I'm assuming that wasn't a nice visit." a voice spoke, and Ethan turned to see someone he wasn't supposed to see.

"Martin, what are you-" Ethan glanced around before turning back to the man. "You can't be here. I'm out. You said I was out. So just let me live my miserable life alone."

"I just came to get an update on Katherine."

"She's fine. I want to keep her overnight to observe, but she wants to be released, which I expected." Ethan replied reaching over to take the papers from the nurse. "You shouldn't be here." he glanced back to Martin who gave the man a nod before turning to leave. Martin stood outside the elevator waiting for the doors to open when his cell phone suddenly rang and he brought it to his ear.

"Any sign of Darhk?" the man asked, and of course Damien Darhk was gone, but his eyes widen at the news he received of who was actually discovered.

Oliver and Katie had never been more happy to see their house than the moment they finally stepped in front of it. When the pair walked into the house, neither expected to instantly be struck with the smell of hot chocolate wafting through the air and the sound of Christmas carols softly playing from somewhere. The couple walked further in the house, stopping at their living room where they found Felicity, John, Thea and Laurel moving about hanging decorations on the tree and around the room.

"You're back!" both turned to see Arianna coming from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn. She quickly sat it down before throwing her arms around Katie in a hug the woman definitely didn't expect. Katie glanced over to Oliver who smiled, before she looked back down to the girl and returned the hug. The hug only lasted for about a minute before Ari pulled away and cleared her throat. "I'm glad you're not dead." she turned grabbing the bowl and heads into the living room with the others.

Oliver and Katie walked in as well, and it was John who came over first.

"Thea told us about your sad tree and so we decided to come help out. And after a night like this we thought a nice decorated Christmas tree would be nice to come home to." he said before looking over to Katie. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good. How about you?" she asked before glancing over to Thea and Felicity. "Did you guys go to a hospital? That gas-"

"We got out before it could do it's intended job." John replied glancing from Katie to Oliver. "About that-"

"Later." Oliver said and John simply gave a nod.

"Wait, you want to put the popcorn on the tree?" Ari asked looking over to Felicity who simply laughed. "But why?"

"I don't know, but me and my mom did it all the time." Felicity replied. "We're going to need some yarn and a needle." Arianna looked at the woman like she was crazy. "Trust me, it will work." the girl just shook her head before running off. Felicity walked over to Oliver and Katie, giving a smile. "So, you good?"

"Well she says she is." John says and Katie shakes her head.

"I think I'm going to go upstairs and wash this night away and change in time to see Ari's mind blown by the stringing of popcorn on a tree."

"I'm going to walk you up." Oliver says, and Katie just shakes her head.

"Liver, I'm-"

"I'll do it." Felicity says suddenly and they both turned to her. She walks over and brings an around around Katie. "Me and Twinkie need to catch up anyway." Oliver and John stood there and watched as the women walked up the stairs.

"Still no sign of Darhk?" Oliver asked turning to John who just shook his head.

"No, but it looks like the explosion put an end to whatever he was doing out there." John says and Oliver simply nods before glancing over to Laurel who along with Thea were still hanging ornaments. She glanced over to him for a moment before turning and heading into the kitchen.

"I'll be right back." Oliver says before heading into the kitchen as well to find Laurel sitting on the counter plucking cookies from the cookie jar.

"You know I thought for sure she was going to kick me out." Laurel says glancing over to the man. "I mean what I did was-" she dropped her head and shrugged. "It was stupid and wrong." she glanced back up to the man who stood, arms folded over his chest just watching her. "I don't have those kinds of feelings for you."

"I know." Oliver replied with a nod. "So does Twinkie. It's why she didn't kick you out. It's probably why she's going to pretend as if it didn't happen." the man walked over to her. "We've been married for three weeks, we have an infant who is absolutely beautiful, but who poops and cries at a rate that seems almost alarming. Then there's the teenager who hates us, and has now deemed me bullet magnet which is probably the most accurate nickname I've ever gotten. I'm just trying my hardest not to screw this up. The last thing I can do is screw this up. Laurel you have been one of my dearest friends for a long time, and we've been through a lot together, but I think if you ever put me in a position like that again, a position that could possibly increase the chances of me losing any of this, then that would mark the end our friendship." Oliver reached inside the jar, grabbing a cookie and taking a bite. "Oh and Twinkie still may kick you out tonight." he pointed to the jar. "Those are her favorite cookies and they are off limits to anyone who likes living." the look on Laurel's face made him laugh and so she slipped her phone from her pocket and quickly took a picture of Oliver holding the cookie in his hand, the smile instantly dropping from his face.

"You were saying?" Laurel asked and Oliver reached for her phone, only for Laurel to hop off the counter and run out of the kitchen. Oliver was about to follow but stopped, turning back and placing the lid back on the jar and setting it back in it's place on top of the refrigerator.

Katie sat beside Felicity, eyes wide at the news the woman had just told her. Felicity sat, her face in her hands as Katie rubbed her back.

"I thought this would be happy news." Katie said and Felicity lifted her head to look over to the woman. "You and Bruce are crazy about each other, and I guess the only problem I see is if you're not ready for that step." Felicity shook her head before standing to her feet and walking over to the window. "Apparently he is because he has a ring and bad hiding skills if your mom found it."

"He's being a romantic." Felicity said with shake of her head. "Which is strange because that man usually thinks too much about everything." she glanced over to Katie. "We live in two different cities and neither one of us seems to want to leave. He's still hiding things from me, which I told myself I was alright with because if he's says it's for my own safety, then I believe him."

"So what you're saying is, you're madly in love with him and you would like to marry him?" Katie asked and Felicity looked at her for a moment, a smile suddenly coming to her face. "I mean I think that's what I'm hearing." Felicity's phone suddenly beeped and the woman flipped it over, the smile dropping from her face.

"I don't like that look." Katie says and Felicity glances over to the woman. "Just tell me."

Apparently there was video. A secret video that showed a moment that couldn't have possibly been recorded unless by someone inside the house. After viewing the video, Katie stood to her feet, letting out a sigh.

_"I know I promised you proof that she's a monster, but she hides that very well. But she can't hide the fact that her marriage is simply a tool to help Oliver Queen become mayor. She's pathetic."_

Felicity stopped the video and looked over to Katie unsure what to say to make this situation better.

"Can you take the video down?" Katie simply asked turning to Felicity who stood to her feet and nodded.

"Sure, it's just at this point it's been viewed and shared and-" she noticed the impatient look on Katie's face and nodded once again. "I'm on it." Katie gave a nod before the pair headed downstairs, stopping in the living room where they saw Ari laughing happily as she tossed popcorn at Oliver who sprinkled tinsel in her hair. He turned spotting Katie, and could tell from the look on her face that something was wrong.

"What is it?" Oliver asked suddenly and everyone in the room turned to Katie who looked over to Ari. The smile on Ari's face fell because she just knew the answer to Oliver's question.

Soon the holiday spirit was pushed out of the air. After Felicity took down the video, she along with the others left Oliver and Katie to discuss what they should do about the situation. The couple sat in the living room after sending Ari to her room where she was supposed to be right now, but instead she was eavesdropping.

Arianna's back was pressed against the wall, trying to keep completely still and quiet. If she wanted the couple in the next room to be completely oblivious to her presence, it was absolutely necessary.

"We need to talk about this." she heard Oliver say. "What she did, it was-"

"I know!" Katie interrupted rudely, but she sighed and looked back to the man. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired and trying to think about what needs to happen."

"I thought it was obvious what needs to happen." Oliver replied and there was a brief moment of silence. "Her here is dangerous. For us, for our daughter. It's very clear that she needs to go."

"Well that's not happening." she countered and Ari peeked around the wall a bit surprised by the woman's defense. She expected a moment like this if they ever found out about her vlog. She expected she would've done more damage than a stupid video about revealing their marriage. "Liver, I get you're upset-"

"And you're not?" Oliver asked with a shake of his head. "She brought eyes into our home. Do you have any idea what that could lead to? The kind of danger that could lead to?"

"Probably not more dangerous than saying a madman's name on television. You were just putting tinsel in her hair and laughing, you don't want her to leave, you're just angry." Katie replied and Oliver turned away with a shake of his head.

"I'm not even sure how you can defend this?" he muttered and Katie stood to her feet and walked over to him. "Thousands of people think that I married you because of an election. Think our relationship is just me trying to get a better approval rating."

"I really don't care what they think. I know why you're my husband, and why I'm your wife." she brought her hands to his chest, as his hands slid around her waist. "I also know that Ari isn't going anywhere. She's our family, and I know you do care about her and you're just angry right now. We are going to have to be the adults and deal with this." Oliver let out a sigh before glancing up.

"You can come out now." he said, as they turned to see Ari come out from hiding. He and Katie shared a look unsure where to begin. He nudged his head to Katie who shrugged before clearing her throat and turning back to Ari.

"Um, come sit." Katie says and Ari moved to sit in the chair while Oliver and Katie take a seat on the couch across from her. "Before we start is there anything you want to say?"

"I'm-" Ari glanced between the couple and just shrugged. "I'm sorry, I guess."

"You guess?" Oliver asked and Katie turned placing a hand on his knee hoping to signal him not to blow up.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have posted those videos. I guess I was angry and thought if I showed the world that you were an awful person then there was justice in the world." she replied and Katie nodded silently. "The thing is you haven't been awful. You've been annoyingly nice actually and that didn't help my cause."

"Your cause being to humiliate me? Us?"

"No, it was to show who you really are. I just can't believe you, the annoyingly nice wife, and mother could kill someone and there not be some kind of backstory behind it. I mean c'mon, you shouldn't be so damn well adjusted after doing something like that. You shouldn't be nice or have this perfect life. There just had to be something and I wanted to find it."

"Ari, I'm not well-adjusted. I think about your dad everyday. And I know that probably sounds like an over-exaggeration, but it's not. Literally everyday, at the most random moments, I remember him. I remember when we were kids and how much of a suck up he was to my dad. I remember-" Katie chuckled. "I remember how we were running around the house and broke one my mom's vases, and how we both vowed to never tell anyone about it." she looked over to the girl. "I remember when you were born actually. Your dad called me to gloat." that made Ari laugh. Katie dropped her head and let out a heavy sigh. "And then I think about that moment I pulled the trigger and I-" she felt her throat swell with emotions she hoped would allow her to continue speaking. Oliver brought a hand around her back and she let out a shaky breath. She looked up to the girl. "I wanted to be charged. When Oliver wasn't around I called the SCPD, and the detective in charge of the case, and asked him why wasn't I being charged. I killed my cousin, my-" those emotions began raging inside of her and she dropped her head as she felt tears now pooling in her eyes. "He was my family. He was a bastard and a know it all-" she chuckled as she looked back over to the girl who was crying as well. "You know he was one of those smart people who knew they were smart and wanted everyone to know it." Ari nodded with a slight smile. "I'm not well-adjusted. It takes a lot for me to get up in the morning and look in the mirror and not hate myself for the things I've done."

"I'm sorry." Ari said once again, now drying her eyes with her sleeves.

"Ok." Katie replied and the girl looked back over to her in confusion. Katie dried her eyes before taking a deep breath. "Me too." Ari gave a nod before standing to her feet, assuming this would be the best time to return to her room.

"Ari, that video was dangerous and it was stupid, and you're not stupid and I need you to realize that, so you're grounded for a week. No phone, no laptop, and no television unless told otherwise by me or Katie." Oliver added, and both Katie and Ari looked over to him before the teenager stalked out of the room.

"That wasn't so bad." Katie says dropping back on the couch. Oliver did the same, as they turned to each other. "We make a great team."

"Yeah, now we just have to figure out how deal with this." Oliver sighed sliding a hand over his eyes.

"Way ahead of you." Katie replied and Oliver opened his eyes and looked over to her. "Thea talked to Alex and there's a plan that happens tomorrow night." Oliver's brow furrowed in confusion. "You will have to wear one of those suits you hate, and I will have to put on another dress I will probably hate. But there is a bright side."

"What?" Oliver asked and Katie turned with a smile.

"We finally get to dress Robyn up in one of her Christmas dresses."

Oliver doesn't know how they did it in such a short amount of time, but the next night as he stood on the upper level of RI's atrium looking down to the pool of reporters and just curious citizens, all standing in front of a massive Christmas tree decorated beautifully he still couldn't believe it.

"So what do you think?" Thea asked coming to her brother's side. He turned to her and let out a heavy breath. "It's a lot, I know, but after everything's that's happened, I think everyone just needs to know that you're not backing down."

"Hey, you ready?" Alex asked appearing at Oliver's side. Oliver didn't answer as he turned, letting his eyes scan in search of his wife. "We should get down there."

"I just have to-" Soon Katie appeared pushing Robyn's baby carriage, talking with Ari who walked along side her. "There she is." Oliver walked over meeting them. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, Robyn now has a clean diaper, and Ari's attitude is slightly better than when we left the house. And I think that's in part to the cute boy who caught her eye." Ari rolled her eyes, and Oliver glanced around once again.

"What boy?" he asked, suddenly needing to know who this boy was.

"Are you ready for your speech?" Katie asked glancing back to see Alex and Thea. "I mean from Alex's face, I would say you were late. You should go."

"We should go." Oliver smiled as he moved around to bring his arms around both Katie and Ari and pushed them with him toward the elevator.

"Wait, what?" Katie asked as she looked up to the man who looked up and waved a hand toward Claire who came over.

"I've been dying to steal this wittle cutie all evening." Claire says looking down to the baby, before reaching over to take the handles of the carriage. "Don't worry we'll be up here watching daddy's speech."

Katie turned back in confusion as they along with Thea and Alex filed into the elevator. "Liver, what are you doing?" Suddenly the doors slid open and the moment they did, the flare of flashing lights erupted.

"Something I should've done a long time ago." Oliver replied as they walked down the parted aisle that lead to the stage in front of the Christmas tree. Once on stage, Katie and Ari smiled as they moved to stand further away from the microphone. Oliver stopped and turned to Katie, walking over and leaning into her. "You have to tell the story first." Katie pulled back and looked at the man with a quirked brow, and he simply smiled and she just shook her head before walking over to the microphone. The camera flashes continued, and she had to drop her head for a moment before glancing back up.

"Hi, Happy Holidays. I uh, didn't plan on being in front of any cameras, but I guess Liv- I mean Oliver-" she glanced back to the man. "Had different plans." she turned back to the crowd. "He said I had to tell the story. The story he's talking about is the tale behind Robins Incorporated Christmas tree." she glanced back to the tree and smiled. "You see this tree is a physical symbol of the goodness of this city." She pointed toward the tree. "Do you see all of those ornaments-" she turned back to the crowd with a shake of her head. "Each year we offer personalized ornaments that are placed on this tree and displayed the entire month of December. And I know what you're thinking. Why would anyone pay for an ornament on a tree? It's because they're not just ornaments. They're not just pieces of glass or plastic hanging on a tree. Each ornament on this tree gave someone a hot meal today. It got a little boy a toy truck under a Christmas tree. These ornaments pay for medical treatments that wouldn't be affordable normally. You see I always smile when I look at this tree, because no matter what crisis is happening, no matter what criminal is roaming the streets, this tree shows me that the goodness of this city, the light that is within this city, is far greater than the darkness." she looked out to the many faces and let out a deep breath. "Each year we choose someone, someone who we feel has really made a difference in this city within the year, to light our Christmas tree. This year that person is none other than mayoral candidate, Oliver Queen." the crowd began clapping, and Katie walked to step away, but Oliver took her hand and pulled her with him.

"Thank you. Thank you, everyone. This week, an event just like this was interrupted by terrorists. But all of us are here tonight to send those people a very simple message. We're not gonna let the darkness win." He turned to Katie who smiled as he turned back to the crowd. "I wanted Katie to tell that story, because I remember the first time I heard it. I was a kid, and me and my parents along with the whole city it seemed came here to watch the first tree lighting here at Robins Incorperated." a smile came to his lips suddenly. "And I remember hearing Jacob Robins tell that story and it made me proud. Proud of this city, and proud of the people in it, and it's why I'm here." the man turned, looking up to the gigantic Christmas tree. "This tree represents the truth of our city. Together we inspire hope." he looked back up to the crowd with a firm nod. "United we create hope, and because of that I am grateful to each and everyone of you." Oliver turned, looking over to Katie who turned to him with a smile. "I am grateful to one person in particular." he looked back out to the many eyes on them. "I know a lot of you are here because of a video that has been circulating and even though I promised myself I would try to keep my personal life and this mayoral campaign separate, I thought it only right to clear a few things up. I would like to take this moment to introduce to you my wife." there were sudden murmurs and camera flashes. "Katherine Queen and I recently got married in a small ceremony following the birth of our daughter." they turned to the monitor beside the stage that suddenly held a picture of baby Robyn in a beautiful red, white and green dress, with a red flower head band around her little head. "We debated bringing her down here today, but inevitably decided that it was too soon to be put in front of your bright cameras. Her name is Robyn Maisie Queen, and she has been the best thing that has happened to us this entire year. What you saw in that video didn't show a complete story. Yes, one of the ideas tossed around for my campaign was not revealing that we were married yet, and that maybe we should have some big televised wedding for the world to see in hopes that it pushes me forward in the polls. What you didn't see was me adamantly shoot that idea down, because this-" he turned to Katie and looked at her not even able to imagine tempting fate. "This has nothing to do with my candidacy and everything to do with the fact that I am madly in love with this woman and thought the only solution to that was to do everything in my power to never let her go." he looked back out to the crowd who took pictures or were recording him for whatever affiliation they were representing. He turned glancing back to Ari who stood in the back, glancing out to the crowd, before turning to meet his eyes in confusion as he gestured for her to come closer, but she simply shook her head. "And the teenager refusing to come forward is also a new addition to our family as well. Her name is Arianna Locke." Oliver turned back to the crowd and smiled. Only causing more camera flashes as the crowd made the connection between Ari and her parents. "This is my family and today I am honored to light Robins Incorporated's Christmas Tree of Hope this year." soon one of the assistants walked on stage with the light switch, handing it to Oliver. They all turned to the tree, before Oliver flicked on the switch illuminating the tree, and the sight was completely breathtaking.

"Nice speech, Mr. Queen." Katie whispered over to him and Oliver turned to the woman with a smile as he brought his arm around her, pulling her to his side leaning in to rest his forehead against hers. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Queen." he replied placing a kiss to her lips as they turned back to the tree.

It was inevitable when Katie stepped foot back into her company, she would have to meet with someone she wasn't overly fond of. She stepped outside of her office that currently has a new name pasted on the door. She rolled her eyes before lifting her fist to knock.

"Come in!" a voice called from the other side of the door, and Katie walked inside where she found the man currently in charge standing in front of the grand window, phone pressed to his ear. "Of course I knew about this. I agree, this does open new doors for the company, doors I plan on being the one to open." the man turned and smiled. "She's actually here now, let me call you back." he ended the call, and walked around to lean back against the desk to look at her. "Mrs. Queen."

"Mr. Carroll." Katie replied walking further inside, and glancing around the newly decorated office. "I see you're making yourself at home."

"Yeah, well atmosphere is everything." the man replied, and Katie turned to see that annoying smile on his face. "So you got married and didn't think that was news you should share with me."

"I didn't know I was supposed to run my life decisions by you Michael." Katie sighed as she walked over to stand near the window to look out to the city that always seems lit up like Christmas lights at night.

"Well when you're the CEO, press releases need to be made, proper announcements in reputable papers need to be made, photo shoots with you and the husband, and the baby. If this was properly handled, we could've spun this to actually make money instead of the millions we just lost."

"Thanks for the congratulations and well wishes, Michael." Katie says with a smile as she turns back to the man. "It really means a lot to me." the man just shook his head before walking over to stand beside her at the window. "So how's my company? I mean the building isn't on fire, so you're already exceeding my expectations as an interim CEO."

"In all the years I've known you, your sense of humor has not gotten better at all. It's really sad actually, because you lean on it so much." the man said, and Katie chuckled. "Everything is going good, people have stopped giving me the death glare whenever I pass them in the hallway, your assistant hasn't tried to poison me which I appreciate, and despite how totally out of the blue your announcement was, I think it will be good publicity."

"Which is the most important thing." Katie replied sarcastically glancing over to the man. "Well I just wanted to stop in, check in to make sure you're not getting too comfortable. I'm sure the UK office is missing you dearly." she gave the man a nudge before heading for the door.

"Feeling threatened, doctor?" Michael asked, and Katie laughed as she stopped to turn to the man who smiled. "You should've brought the hubby, I would love to meet him."

"That's never happening." she replied turning to leave.

"Never say never!" he called after her.

Katie rode the elevator alone, glancing up to the numbers, when she was struck with a sudden chill. She turned her head to see the demon, standing there leaning against the wall. She turned to face him, folding her arms over her chest and he smiled back to her.

"Why did you trick me?"

" _Not trick. Just another test. One you failed."_ the demon sighed with a shake of his head.

"Why can't I remember what happened in that chamber?" she asked, still nervous about missing a very eventful moment.

" _Because until you learn to control it, it will control you."_ he replied meeting the woman's eyes with a look of seriousness " _You think I'm here to haunt you, but the truth is, I'm the only one who can help you."_

"Help me what?" Katie asked and the demon pushed himself from the wall and walked over to her.

" _Prevent the total decimation of your soul."_

Katie heard the ring of the elevator and turned to the doors, before turning back to see the demon was gone. The woman shook her head before turning and walking out to find Oliver standing alone in the atrium, looking up to the tree. She appeared beside him, and he looked over to her with a smile before taking her hand in his and looking back up to the tree.

"Thea volunteered to take the kids home." Oliver said and Katie looked over to him with a quirked brow. "And by volunteered I mean she graciously accepted my request to give me a little bit of time alone with my wife." he turned to the woman fully, bringing his arms around her. "It's been an interesting couple of days, and I wanted to stop and ask how are you doing?" Katie sighed turning away and looking up to the tree. "Twinkie?"

"I don't know." she replied turning back to the man. She couldn't help but notice that look in his eyes as he looked at her. The demon was right, something had controlled her, and whatever it was, Oliver got to see first hand and it scared him. "I'm a wife and a mother, and I get to hide in those things. But then there's the weird lights and the moving things with my mind that I'm going to have to start looking into at some point." she shook her head at the thought. "Right now we are celebrating our first Christmas as Mr. and Mrs. Queen, with our daughter and surly cousin and that's what I want to focus on." she leaned in, placing a kiss to his lips. "So how are we getting home?"

"We're sharing a car because Alex made a deal with my worst enemy." Oliver said and Katie looked at him in confusion, before turning at the sound of the elevator. Both turned to see Felicity and Bruce in a very intense make out session.

"Is this how uncomfortable people are when we kiss?"

"I think so." Katie replied lifting her hand and snapping her fingers. "Hey cut it out!" the couple on the elevator pulled back and turned to their audience. Bruce snaked his arm around Felicity, who looked up to the man all smiles as they walked over to Oliver and Katie. "You two look sickenly happy right now." Felicity turned to Katie with a bright smile. "It's happening isn't it?"

"What's happening?" Oliver asked in confusion, when Felicity suddenly lifted her hand to reveal a very large diamond ring. "Oh—" he turned back to Bruce with a furrowed brow. "Congratulations?" Katie gave the man a slap to the chest for his lack of enthusiasm before bringing Felicity into a hug.

"I'm so happy for you two." Katie replied, not seeing the looks being passed between Oliver and Bruce. Once they pulled back, Katie turned to Bruce, pulling him into a hug as well. "I'm glad you found a brain rolling around in that big head of yours." she pulled back and giving the man a smile. "This is really good news."

"Then why does Oliver look like someone just ate his candy cane?" Felicity asked and their eyes turned to Oliver who tried masking his true feelings with a smile.

"Oliver doesn't like change." Katie replied and the man turned to her with a shake of his head. "I mean look how long it took him to admit he had feelings for me." she turned back to the engaged couple. "Why are we sharing a car? I'm sure you two want to be annoyingly happy alone?"

"Well Oliver and I have to discuss a business venture." Bruce replied looking over to Oliver who sighed. "You see I was the highest bidder on this year's Christmas Tree of Hope." Bruce says glancing up to the tree. "I actually donated this year's star." they all looked up to the beautiful tree topper. "And I might have talked to a couple of people to get me on that stage to flick the switch at the ceremony."

"Why?" Katie asked.

"Because right there in front of that tree was going to be the moment I proposed, and then some guy who works for Oliver asks if I would do him the favor of letting him do it in hopes of helping his image."

"And you said yes?"

"Well no. He refused, Thea came to me and I made him do it, not knowing the bigger plan at play." Felicity said with a smile that she turned to the man. "Proposal on the roof, with the fireworks was nice too though."

"You had fireworks?" Katie asked with a shake of her head. "I got three proposals out of this guy, and not one had fireworks." she looked over to Oliver.

"Well our love creates our fireworks, Twinkie." Oliver replied leaning into place a kiss to the woman's cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Katie replied before turning back to Bruce. "So what's this business venture?"

"Wayne Enterprises is expanding its subsidiary here in Star City." Bruce said before turning to Oliver. "And having a good relationship with the city's officials is just good business."

"I've already told him that at this point I have no power to anything."

"And I told him that he shouldn't sell himself short. It's just a conversation." Bruce replied, and Oliver simply nodded.

"Oh, have you told your mom, yet?" Katie asked and Felicity shook her head.

"She's going to freak, so I'm going to need some ideas on how to tell her." Felicity replied walking over and looping her arm with Katie's as the two women headed for the door. Bruce moved to follow, but Oliver took a step forward to stop him.

"So this is happening?" Oliver asked and Bruce looked at him in confusion. "Marriage is big, and shouldn't be entered without you being completely serious about it."

"I didn't know you became a marriage expert in the five minutes you and Robins have been married." Bruce replied sliding his hands into his pockets. "What's this about?"

"This is about me not wanting Felicity to get hurt. She's my friend and I just want to make sure-"

"She's your tech girl and you want to make sure I'm not going to steal her away and take her to Gotham." Bruce replied with a shake of his head. Oliver didn't want to admit how true it was, but Felicity had become an integral part of the team, and he wasn't sure how it worked without her. "Oliver, we're getting married, and whatever happens in our lives will not concern you or what you want. I mean if that was how life worked, you definitely wouldn't be married to Robins right now." and with that the man moved around Oliver to catch up to the girls. Oliver let out annoyed sigh as he glanced back up to the tree, before turning and heading out as well.

The two couples all sat in the back of Bruce's limousine, silence seeming to fill the air between them. Katie smiled over to the couple across from them, seeing just how happy they were before looking over to Oliver and seeing the slight frown on his face.

"Hey, look at me." she whispered and the man turned to her, the frown changing to a slight smile. "Everything will be ok. Change is good sometimes." she placed a hand to his cheek. "I mean look at us."

"You know, I am looking at you." Oliver replied leaning into kiss the woman, just as the car suddenly came to a stop. They all turned to see a car stopped in front of the limousine, before more cars seemed to pull up as well. "What's going on?" Oliver asked the driver. Katie glanced out the window to see men in ski masks, holding rifles run out of the cars, and she gasped turning to Oliver. "Guns!" Oliver tossed his body over Katie, and Bruce did the same completely covering Felicity as a hail of bullets shot into the car.

Katie held onto Oliver's jacket tight, afraid one of the bullets would hit him while he's trying to protect her. The shooting seemed relentless and never ending, and it's Bruce who looked up, and noticed the driver had been shot.

"You stay down." he whispered down to Felicity, before placing a kiss to her head.

"Bruce, what are you-" before she could even ask the question, Bruce had climbed over the seat, and got behind the wheel before speeding off. The bullets didn't stop as they began moving, and it was a sudden bump when Katie heard a slight pained grunt. It wasn't until the car stopped and Oliver lifted off of her did she see Felicity lying in the seat across from them, blood spilling from her mouth.

"Smoaks!" Katie pushed Oliver off of her and scrambled to Felicity's side. "Felicity!" The back door opened, and Oliver quickly turned only to see Bruce whose eyes immediately went to an unconscious Felicity.

And that's when Bruce felt that familiar twinge inside of him.

It was the Dark Knight and he was begging to be let out.


	14. Broken Chains

**Chapter 14**

**Broken Chains**

_"It takes strength to make your way through grief,_

_to grab hold of life and let it pull you forward."_

_-Patti_ _Davis_

* * *

It took Katie only a few moments after the attack and finding Felicity unconscious did she realize it was she who had the skills to help her.

"We should move her, right?" Oliver asked, glancing over to Katie before turning to Bruce who stood silently, eyes still on Felicity.

"No, I'm not sure where that bullet went." Katie says looking over the woman searching for the wound. "There doesn't seem to be wound that I can see, which means she was shot in the back, and the bullet is still inside, causing internal bleeding." she glanced over to Oliver. "Call that ambulance again, she needs-" soon they heard the nearing sirens. "Good. you and Bruce need to clear the area, we're going to have to move her very carefully." she glanced back to Bruce who seemed frozen in his spot, his eyes still on Felicity's unmoving body. "Hey Wayne-" not a word came from the man and Katie moved in front of him, "Hey, look at me." despite everything Bruce was feeling, he turned to the woman. "I need you to stay here. I need Bruce right now, and Bruce needs to stay calm." the man shook his head slightly, his eyes going back to the woman lying on the seat.

Soon the paramedics arrived, able to extract Felicity from the car without too much movement to her body. Katie and Bruce rode along with the woman while Oliver hitched a ride with Quentin who arrived with the EMTs.

"Hey Smoaks." Katie says glancing over to the monitor, before looking back down to the woman. "I know you can hear me. I need you to stay with us, because it's really not your time to go, just-" there was a sudden long beep, and Katie's eyes went to the monitor. "Shit!"

"She's V FIB!" one of the ETM's called and Katie shot a glare his way.

"I can see that!" she snapped standing slightly and leaning down to Felicity's chest. "No breath sound, I need to intubate." she quickly pushed the EMT sitting at Felicity's head aside. "Give me a chest tube." she held out her hand, and when nothing was immediately placed she looked up.

"Ma'am, we can't let you-"

"Put the damn chest tube in my hand, before she dies!" Katie snapped angrily. Bruce lifted his head, and the paired glares from them seemed to push the EMTs into action. Once the tube was in Katie's hand, she carefully inserted it into Felicity's throat, attaching the bag valve mask. She glanced up to the EMT who still sat nervously and she just shook her head before pointing to the one at Felicity's side. "You squeeze." he simply nodded before grabbing the bag and squeezing, just as Katie plucked his flashlight from his pocket, and shined it in Felicity's eyes. "Pupils aren't responding." she turned back to the driver. "Why are we not at the fucking hospital?!"

Dr. Christian James was on his way home when the call came in. There weren't many details, but he knew a critical GSW victim was on the way in and that meant he wasn't going home any time soon. The moment the call ended, he assembled a team who were waiting at the entrance of the ER.

"Here we go!" he called the moment he spotted the ambulance heading their way. When it stopped he rushed over to the door, and the moment it opened he was surprised at the familiar faces inside. The shock only lasted about a second before he was back in the moment.

"Patient name Felicity Smoak-" Katie announced as they slid the gurney from the back on the van. "GSW to her upper posterior. I wasn't able to fully examine the wound, but it has to be near an artery, because the bleeding hasn't stopped." Katie turned to Bruce who still held onto the woman's hand as they rushed into the ER. "Bruce, I'm going to need you let her go." he looked up to Katie with a look that broke her heart. "Trust me, I got her." it was those words that gave Bruce the will power to let Felicity's hand go and watch as she's rushed away.

"When did she lose consciousness?" James asked.

"She passed out from shot." Katie replied looking down to the woman. "I lost breath sounds a mile from the hospital so I intubated, and I got a heart beat, but it's weak. We need to get a CT scan to find that bullet."

"We?" James asked and Katie looked over to the man with a quirked brow.

"I will kill you, you know that right?" the moment was serious, and every moment counted, but amusement passed over his face at the question.

"Dr. Robins, I hereby give you hospital privileges at Star City General Hospital." the man said, before looking over to one of the nurses. " Can we get Dr. Robins some scrubs, and some shoes that aren't heels." he turned back to Katie with a slight smile. "Let's see what you can do doc."

Hours later Katie stood in a small bathroom staring back at herself in a mirror as tears streamed down her cheeks. She closed her eyes, dropping her head before reaching over and grabbing some paper towel to dry her eyes. She was exhausted, and she still didn't know how exactly she was even able to stand up straight.

With a deep breath, she turned walking out of the bathroom, only to see Christian standing there waiting for her.

"You didn't have to wait for me." she said sliding a hand over her face. "I told you I'm fine." she looked back over to the man. "Have you talked to her mother, yet?"

"I thought you would want to be the one to do it." Christian replied still watching the woman. He noticed that look in her eyes, that nervousness one only gets when awaiting news they already had. "She's alive."

"Yeah, and she may never walk again." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "I can't wait for that bastard to get what's coming to him." she sighed giving the man a nod before turning down another hall, and he was right beside her.

"This may be a wildly inappropriate time to ask this question, but how would you like a job?" he asked and Katie turned to the man with a furrowed brow.

"My friend was just fighting for her life-"

"And you pulled yourself from the moment. You made yourself objective, and you kept her alive enough to get her to this hospital." Christian said and Katie shook her head as she turned away from him as they stepped onto the elevator.

"A couple of years ago, you were bribed not to hire me." Katie said glancing over to the man. "I mean yeah, I'm over it, I forgive you, but I haven't forgotten." she turned away from the man and looked back to the elevator doors. "Doesn't change the fact that I now know you're a bit of an opportunist."

"Well that hurt." Christian said and Katie turned to him. "And fine, I know what I did was messed up, but I was never able to really forgive myself for it. I always regretted not hiring you." Katie sighed turning away from the man. "Take some time to think about it. I mean we would love to have you here." the door finally opened and they stepped off. "They're in the private waiting room down the hall." Katie stopped and turned to the man.

"You're not coming with me?" she asked and the man shook his head. "You do know I haven't done this in a while."

"I do, but I've seen you do a lot of things today you haven't done in a while." Christian nudged his head down the hall. "Go reassure and inform." Katie sighed, but gave a nod before turning and heading down the hall.

Katie stood outside that door for a few moments before finally walking inside where she found all of her friends, along with Felicity's mom who seemed to pull from a hug from Bruce before rushing over to Katie.

"How is she, how is my baby?" Donna asked, and Katie reached up and took the woman's hands in hers.

"First things first, Felicity is alive, and she's breathing on her own." Katie says and she saw the relief that washed over everyone in the room.

"What's the but?" Bruce asked walking over to Donna's side.

"The bullet nicked her spinal cord. There's a chance it can be repaired surgically, but there's a chance it can't."

"So you're saying Felicity may never walk again?" Donna asked and Katie turned to the woman with a nod.

"It's very possible. But we haven't exhausted all options yet, and there's always hope." Katie says before looking over to Bruce, who slid a hand over his face. She could see the tension in his jaw, the subtle twitch of his hand.

"Can I see her?" Donna asked and Katie turned back to her with a nod.

"Yeah, she just came out of recovery. But before you do-" there was a knock at the door and Katie turned to see the nurse. "They need you to fill out some forms." she turned back to Donna. "Standard stuff and then nurse Joy here will take you to Felicity's room." Donna simply nodded before following behind the nurse. "I'm not sure anyone else will be able to visit tonight, most likely tomorrow if you all want to go home. I will make sure you're all informed if anything changes." Katie turned back to Bruce, walking over and taking his hand in hers. "And I need you to pull yourself out of it."

"I don't think I can do that right now. Right now I need to be in it." Bruce said before glancing over to Oliver. "I'm going to need access to those calls that came through the hot line."

"I can get those to you." Laurel said and Bruce turned to her with a nod.

"Tonight." he said before he simply turned and stalked from the room.

"I'm going to just-" Laurel nudged her head to the door.

"I'll come with you to keep an eye on him." John said before the pair turned and left the room as well.

Soon Katie and Oliver were the only people left in the room. Katie turned to Oliver and she could see that same tension in his jaw. That anger he felt for Darhk and himself in this moment, and she couldn't help but feel the same.

"Have you talked to Thea?"

"Uh, yeah, she says she fine staying late with the girls." Oliver replied walking over and bringing his arms around the woman. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty much how everyone else is doing right now." Katie sighed, dropping her head to the man's chest and closing her eyes. "I think I will stick around here for a while."

"Ok, I guess I can find somewhere to hold up until you're ready to go and-"

"Liver you don't have to stay here." the woman says pulling back to look to the man's eyes. "Right now you don't want to stand still. You want to be doing something, probably want to be helping Bruce get a lead on where Darhk is right now."

"Right now I also don't want to let you out of my sight." Oliver dropped his head to Katie, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. "He hurt my friend. Could've killed her, you, me, or Bruce."

"And holding onto me doesn't change the fact that he's still out there." Katie dropped her head to Oliver's chest and let out a tired breath. "I need to make sure Felicity is alright and you need to make sure Bruce doesn't go off the rails. Maybe stop by the house first, just to make sure everything is alright there." there was a knock at the door, and the couple pulled apart and turned to see Christian at the door.

"Sorry, but she's awake, and I thought you would want to know." the doctor said.

"Thanks." Katie replied before the doctor, turned and left. "Now's probably not the best time, but I think later-" she turned back to Oliver. "We're going to need to have a conversation."

"Is it bad?" Oliver asked and Katie shook her head.

"Depends on how you look at it. Christian offered me a job here." Katie says and Oliver's eyes widened a bit. "Don't worry, we have bigger fish to fry, but it's a conversation I think me and my husband should have."

"What's one more to add to the list?" Oliver muttered sliding hand against Katie's cheek. "Stay inside, stay in crowded areas, and I will come back in a couple of hours to pick you up."

"Stay alive, make smart choices, and make sure you're back to pick me up in a couple of hours." Katie replied and Oliver dropped his lips to meet hers, and short, sweet kiss that neither wanted to end. Katie groaned before pulling away from Oliver and heading toward the door.

"Hey Twinkie," Katie stopped and turned back to the man with a smile. "I love you."

"Well I'm a lovable person." Katie replied giving the man a wink, before turning and leaving.

When Katie walked into Felicity's room, she walked into see the nurse checking the woman's vitals.

"She was awake, but only for a little bit before falling back asleep." the nurse said and Katie simply gave a nod before walking over to the other side of Felicity's bed.

"Rest is good." Katie replied before looking over to the nurse. "Can you let me know when the Chief surgeon returns." the nurse gave a nod before leaving the two women. Katie looked down to Felicity, taking her hand before dropping to the seat beside her bed. "I never had a sister, but I always wanted one." the woman shook her head. "Someone who understood why I'm so screwed up." Katie looked back up to the woman's closed eyes. "I'm going to make sure you leave this hospital Felicity Smoak." the door to Felicity's room opened and Katie looked up to see Donna, whose eyes sadly looked upon her daughter." Katie stood to her feet, and walked over to take the woman's hand and help her over to sit.

"Oh baby." Donna cried, taking Felicity's hand.

"I'm going to give you two some privacy." Katie says turning and heading for the door. She stopped and looked back to the sad scene, and she felt the knotting in her stomach. Her fist clenched at her side, and she shook her head before turning and finally leaving. Katie pulled her phone from her pocket, dialing a familiar number before bringing the phone to her ear.

 _"Your father said you'd call._ " Martin greeted. _"I heard about Ms. Smoak's shooting. I'm so sorry."_

"Do you know where Darhk is?"

 _"You're asking questions you shouldn't be asking."_ Martin replied. _"You're forgetting the overall goal has always been keeping you away from Damien Darhk. That hasn't changed."_

"You see my friend may never walk again, so the days of you trying to keep me and Darhk away from each other is over. It's time to finally make this Damien Darhk problem disappear."

" _And you think you can do that?_ "

"You know I believe I am capable of doing a lot more than either one of us will ever believe. Do you have a location?"

_"I'm sorry Ms. Rob-" the man sighed. "I mean I am sorry Mrs. Queen, but your anger doesn't change the fact that Damien Darhk is extremely dangerous. I'm not-"_

Katie ended the call before the man could finish his sentence. She let out a low growl as she walked over to the window that looked out to the city. Katie closed her eyes, dropping her head to the cool glass of the window.

" _It's happening._ " the moment she heard the voice, she instantly tensed. She lifted her head and looked over to see the demon leaning against the wall beside her. " _That darkness inside of you. Twisting up your insides. You're trying to fight it, trying to ignore it, but you feel it."_

"Do you know where I can find Darhk?" she asked foolishly. Here she was, standing in a hospital hallway talking to a dead man.

 _"Avoidance only digs you deeper, my dear Nura."_ he replied and Katie turned meeting his eyes.

"Hey Doc." Katie turned to see Lance standing there behind her. She glanced back to see the demon was once again gone. "How's she doing?"

"She's sleeping." Katie replies turning back to the man. "Did you get anything from the accident?"

"The shooters were gone, and the surrounding cameras didn't catch anything." Lance says and Katie just shook her head. "How you doing?" she glanced over to him with a quirked brow. "You've been through a lot recently and I just thought-"

"Where would you meet him?" Katie asked walking over the man. "When you would meet with your evil boss, where would you go?"

"Look Doc, I know-"

"Do you?" Katie asked with a slight tilt of her head. "Do you know how it feels to be me right now? To find out that a man you've admired for a long time turned out to be-" she shook her head. "So weak." the man dropped his head.

"You have to understand, I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was protecting my daughter and I would do anything to protect my little girl. Even you have to understand that."

"I do understand wanting to do anything to protect my daughter. That's why I would like you to tell me where exactly you met with Darhk."

"I can't do that." Lance replied with a shake of his head. "This is not the moment for you to go off and try to play the hero. That man may be the most dangerous-"

"No Captain." Katie took a step toward the man. "He's dangerous, but he's not the most dangerous."

"Katie!" both turned to see Donna rushing over to them with a smile on her face. "She's awake!"

Katie was aware of the eyes on her as she examined Felicity. She looked over to the clock on the wall as she listened to Felicity's steady heart beat through the stethoscope.

"So how's she doing?" Donna asked, tired of the silent waiting. "I mean she's awake and I mean sure she's a little pale, but she gets that from her great grandmother, god rest her soul who-"

"Mom." Felicity interrupted taking her mother's hand. "I'm fine. Why don't you go get some coffee?" the look on Donna's face showed how much she didn't want to leave. "Mom, please."

"Ok." Donna leans forward placing a kiss to her daughter's head before standing and leaving the room.

"As a mother, I have to say, that was a bit hurtful." Katie says pulling the stethoscope and bringing it around her neck. "She's scared. Everyone is."

"He's not here, is he?" Felicity asked and Katie sighed as she turned away. "He's-"

"He's angry. And we both know the type of anger he's feeling right now isn't going to just go away." Katie says standing to her feet and walking to the end of Felicity's bed, and pulling the blankets from her feet. She pulled a pen from her pocket, before dragging it across the sole of Felicity's foot. She looked back over to the woman. "You feel anything?" Felicity shook her head, and Katie just gave a nod before covering the woman's feet once again.

"Will I ever walk again?" Felicity asked and Katie came back to the woman's side, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and grasping Felicity's hand.

"I will do everything in my power to ensure that will happen." Katie promised.

Days bled into weeks as Felicity remained in a hospital bed, her mother never left her side except for now. For the first time in ages, Felicity sat in the silence of her hospital room. Her mother had ventured off for a cup of coffee, giving the blonde a few moments without her worrying. Felicity looked over to the window, her thumb sliding over the ring on her finger. There was a sudden knock at her door, and Felicity turned quickly, sitting up in her bed. Every time there's a knock on that damn door, she hopes there's only one person on the other side. The one person she knows has been torturing himself since she was shot. She knows she probably looked horrible, but she slides her fingers through her hair in hopes of looking a little bit presentable.

"Come in." she called, her voice not as strong as she hoped it was at this point. When the door opened, and she saw who it was, she visibly deflated. "Dr. Mills, what are you doing here?"

"Dr. Mills, huh?" Ethan said with a shake of his head. "Well Ms. Smoak, I traveled all the way to General to check in on you. I mean I know you hate me and all, but it doesn't change the fact that I still care about you." the woman looked over to him with a look of annoyance before letting out a sigh.

"I don't hate you, I just don't trust you." Felicity replied with a shake of her head.

"I hear you have another surgery soon. They talked to you about it, right?"

"You mean did the explain the risks?" Felicity asked and Ethan nodded. "I know how potentially dangerous this surgery could be. I also know that I have to take this chance." Ethan gave another nod before dropping his head. "You don't think I should do it?"

"I think that this surgery could positively influence your quality of life if performed successfully. I also think that there are far more outcomes that can happen, if it isn't." Ethan walked around to the side of Felicity's bed. "Before any major surgery, I always tell my patients to have hope. No matter the outcome, just have hope."

"What are you doing here?" a voice suddenly spoke from the door, and Ethan and Felicity turned to see Laurel, John and Thea standing there. "You shouldn't-"

"I'm leaving, Laur. Don't worry." Ethan replied before turning back to Felicity. "I'm supposed to tell you that my mom lit a candle for you at her church."

"Tell your mom I said thanks." Felicity said and the man gave her a smile before turning to leave. He passed by Laurel, consciously avoiding her gaze as he slips out the door. Felicity looked over to the woman who dropped her head slightly before turning her head. "That was weird." Laurel turned to Felicity. "I mean he walked out of here like he was upset with you."

"He did, didn't he?" Laurel said glancing over her shoulder before looking back to Felicity. "I'll be right back." and without another word Laurel turned and rushed from the room.

"Not even a hospital bed can stop Star City's number one meddler." John says and Felicity turned with a slight smile as the man held out a bouquet of flowers. "These are from Bruce."

"I mean I'm sure a personal delivery would've been better-"

"It's ok, Thea." Felicity sighed as she watched the woman take the flowers for her and sit them on the table beside her. They all turned as Donna walked inside, going to her daughter's side.

"Oh, pretty flowers." Donna says with a smile as she takes Felicity's hand. "From Bruce?"

"Mom." Felicity said, her mother hearing the warning in her daughter's tone. "It's fine, I know he's doing everything he can to track down-" she suddenly stopped herself from revealing the truth. "The flowers." she turned away with a sigh. "Which is more important."

Laurel stalked down the halls, her eyes darting across the faces that passed her in search of Ethan. She stopped when she saw him further down the hall, speaking with Christian. He must've felt her eyes, because he turned and met her gaze for a moment before saying something to Christian and turning and walking away. Laurel quickly hurried to follow him. She watched as he stepped onto an empty elevator, and she moved quickly to slip inside.

Ethan let out a sigh before pulling his phone from his pocket in hopes of avoiding the impending conversation. He felt her eyes, and couldn't not look at her, and so he lifted his head to see that familiar annoyed look on her face.

"You appeared in a room, and I left. I thought that was the extent of our relationship?" he asked and the woman scoffed.

"You shouldn't be here."

"And why is that?" Ethan asked. "Felicity is my friend. She was hurt and so I came to make sure she was ok. I'm allowed to do that and she didn't seem to mind."

"Well I mind!"

"Well sucks for you!" Ethan snapped just as the doors to the elevator slipped open. He slipped out easily, and for some reason Laurel just couldn't let him get away.

"Ethan!" she called after him, but the man didn't stop walking. "Ethan, will you-" she moved quicker to keep up with him. "Will you stop walking?!"

"Why?" Ethan asked stopping and turning to the woman. "What is this Laurel? I messed up, I apologized, I asked you to marry me, and you said no." the man shrugged with a shake of his head. "I took that as we no longer have conversations. I took that as when you want me to listen to you, I no longer have to. Am I wrong?" Laurel looked at the man, not giving an immediate response, because despite how angry she was with him, she couldn't just cut him out completely. Laurel opened her mouth, only to stop at the sight of her father walking toward them.

"Laurel," Quentin's glare turned to Ethan who let out a sigh as he shook his head. "Is everything alright?"

"Dad, everything's fine, we were just-" she turned back to Ethan who glanced over to her, waiting for something. Something she couldn't give him.

"Finished." Ethan replied looking over to the Captain with a nod. "Sir." and with that he turned and continued down the hall, before finally leaving.

Laurel stood there, feeling her heart break with every step he took and she didn't understand it He lied to her about everything, and she shouldn't still miss him, shouldn't still love him and yet, none of those things went away.

"Hey." Quentin walked over to her placing a hand to her shoulder. "You alright?"

"Yeah." she replied, and plastering on a smile her father saw right through. "I'm fine. I should get back up there to see Felicity before her surgery." Quentin gave a nod before walking along with the woman toward the elevator. Neither expected the doctor standing waiting for the doors to open.

"Doc?" Katie lifted her eyes from the tablet to Quentin and Laurel.

"You two on your way up to see Felicity?" Katie asked and the pair gave a nod. "Ok-" the doors opened and Katie took a step back before glancing over to them. "I think I will take the next one." Katie turned and headed down the hall, and Laurel just shook her head before following after the woman.

"Katie, wait!" Laurel called, and Katie stopped for the simple fact that they were catching the eyes of too many people by their scene. "We should talk." Katie turned to the woman and just shook her head.

"We're not talking in the middle of a public hospital hallway." Katie replied before nudging her head behind her. "So I am going to grab an elevator from down the hall, and you can go back to your dad." Katie turned and continued walking. She let out a sigh as she heard Laurel's steps behind her. The moment she reached the elevator, the doors were just opening as everyone inside stepped off. Katie slipped inside and to her annoyance, so did Laurel.

"This better?" Laurel asked once the doors were closed. Katie kept her eyes to the doors, hoping they opened soon. "Look about what happened-"

"You mean you trying to kiss my husband out of spite?" Katie asked glancing over to the woman. "While my baby was in the same room." Katie turned away with a shake of her head. "Look Laurel I assumed we would just steer clear of each other. I'm fine with being in the same room with you and not acknowledging your existence."

"Well I'm not." Laurel countered before reaching over and pressing the emergency stop button.. "I was angry and sad, and Oliver was being nice and I just-" she looked over to the woman who refused to look at her. "I wanted to hurt you, and I wanted to hurt Ethan. I just-" the woman shook her head. "I wanted someone to hurt as much as me."

"I don't know what that would've accomplished, but a bunch of sad people." Katie replied reaching forward to release the elevator. "It's going to take more than an elevator ride to get me to trust you again." the doors finally opened, and Katie stalked off quickly.

Felicity's surgery would probably last hours, so their friends went back to the lair in hopes of helping Bruce and Oliver get a location on Darhk. Katie sat in the waiting room, clutching the hands of the woman beside her. She glanced over to Donna who sat with her eyes closed, her lips silently muttering a prayer. Katie turned away, feeling so sad for the woman. She couldn't imagine being strong enough to be in her shoes. Katie lifted her head to impending footsteps to see Quentin. Donna lifted her head as well and jumped to her feet to throw her arms around the man in a hug.

The surprise relationship of Quentin Lance and Donna Smoak was very unexpected, but everyone could see the happiness it created for them.

"I think I'm going to see how things are coming along." Katie said leaving to give the pair privacy.

The woman ended up in the the surgical observation deck, looking down to her friend who was opened up on the table with hands inside of her.

"I thought we had a deal." a voice spoke, and Katie turned to see Christian walking over to take the seat beside her. "You're not supposed to be in here."

"Well fire me." she replied looking back down to the surgery. Christian looked down as well to see the surgeons beginning to close the woman up. "He couldn't repair the damage."

"Which you knew was a possibility." the man said looking over to the woman. "Which you knew would be the most probable possibility. With the damage she sustained-"

"I know." Katie replies with a shake of her head. "I just had hope that a woman who has done nothing but try to help people could have a miracle of her own." she glanced over to the man and shrugged. "I had hope that for once good could win out over evil." Katie stood to her feet and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Christian asked and Katie stopped, but didn't turn to him. "I thought you would want to talk to the mother." Katie dropped her head because she knew that would be another conversation that would just break her heart.

Soon Katie once again found herself clutching Donna's hand as the surgeon explained the extensive damage to Felicity's spinal cord, and how repairing it was impossible.

"I'm so sorry." the surgeon said to the woman who was now sobbing. He glanced over to Katie who simply gave him a nod before he stood to his feet and walked away. Katie felt the emotion bubbling inside of her. The anger and the sadness that she was barely keeping contained. Donna dropped her head to Katie's shoulder as the sobs just spilled out of her.

"Donna, I know-"Katie's voice seemed strained. The lump in her own throat taking the strength from her voice. "I know this is sad, and it's unfair, but you have to remember what I told you. Felicity is alive, and I have no doubt that she will ever let something like this stop her from being the kick ass bottle blonde that I have ever met. She is going to get through this, and so are you, ok?" the woman gave a slight nod through her tears.

"I should-" the woman lifted her head. "I should call Bruce."

"No, I know where Bruce is sulking, and I think I will go see him and get him here." Katie replied before standing to her feet. "I will make sure someone gets you when she's out of recovery."

Katie walked into the empty campaign office, the lights dim, but not off completely. She headed to Oliver's office, not expecting to see Ari asleep on the couch, Oliver's jacket covering her. She glanced around the office in search of Robyn, but didn't see her. Katie shook her head before heading out of the office and toward the secret elevator that lead down to the lair.

When the doors opened, she walked inside spotting John, Laurel, Thea and Bruce who didn't look happy at all. They all turned when she walked in, everyone standing up straight as if expecting news they didn't want.

"No." Bruce muttered when he saw Katie. He walked around to her with a shake of his head. "She's not-"

"Bruce, calm down." Katie says placing her hands on the man's shoulders. "Felicity just got out of her surgery and she's in recovery now." the man dropped his head and let out a relieved sigh. "Bruce-" he lifted his eyes back to hers. "Multiple surgeons have looked at Felicity's injuries, and have all come to the conclusion that repairing the damage isn't possible." the look on Bruce's face nearly broke her heart, but she knew she had to tell him. "Bruce, the damage to Felicity's spinal cord is permanent. She's not-" that lump in her throat came back, as the emotions swirling around her were threatening to spill out. "She's not going to be able to walk again." the man took a step back and shook his head. "You should go to the hospital." Bruce's back was to her, and she could see the squaring of his shoulders, and the clenching of his fists at his side. After a moment his shoulders dropped and he turned back to her, and the sadness in his eyes nearly knocked her off her feet. She walked over to the man, bringing her arms around him in a hug. "Bruce she's alive. She still opens her eyes and looks for your face when she does." Bruce pulled from the hug with a nod before heading toward the tunnel exit. Katie turned to her friends whose emotions were written on their faces in this moment. "Where's Oliver?"

She got her answer when Oliver suddenly appeared from the room in the far corner, pushing Robyn's stroller. The man spotted her and hurried over.

"Hey, is everything alright?" he asked looking from Katie to the sad looks on his friends faces. "Is Felicity alright?" he turned back to Katie who sighed.

Bruce could barely feel the air to his lungs when he stepped off the elevator onto Felicity's floor. He promised himself that the next time he saw her, he'd be able to give her justice. He couldn't give her that, because after this whole time, he only had a small clue to get to Darhk. Some guy named Lonnie Machin the team had targeted only months prior. He was the connection, and when he found him he made sure there was no way for him to get away again. The man was currently tied up, and Bruce would be questioning him right now if Oliver and John had not interfered.

Bruce continued down the hall, stopping at the sight of Donna sitting with her face buried in her hands. He let out a deep breath, before walking over to take the seat beside her.

"Hey Donna," the woman lifted her head to look over to the man with glassy eyes and he had to turn away for a moment, because he's always been seconds away from breaking down himself.

"She found you." Donna muttered, sitting back in her seat to look at the man. "Where have you been?" Bruce couldn't look her in the eyes and lie.

"I-" he let out a heavy sigh before turning to the woman with a slight shake of his head. "Robins said Felicity was out of a surgery."

"Yeah," the woman replied turning away from the man. "She's out with her new diagnosis." Donna dropped her face to her palms once again, and Bruce let out another heavy sigh. "Did Katie tell you?"

"Yeah, but I-" the man shook his head, as he turned away. "I'm sure there is something someone can do. This bastard can't just do this and get away with it." it flashed in his head once again. The sight of Felicity lying in that car, blood spilling from her mouth. His fist clenched, before he released it and slid his callused palm over his face.

"What happened?" Donna asked and Bruce turned to her in confusion, before following her eyes to his bruised knuckles. The man just shook his head before turning to the woman.

"It's nothing. I need to see her." he said and Donna sighed before nudging her head toward the nursing station.

"She's still in recovery." Donna replied. "Katie said someone would let me know when she's back to her regular room." Bruce simply nodded before the voice of the television caught his ear.

 _"We have a special report. Lonnie Machin has just been apprehended by the Star City police department."_ Bruce looked over to the television to see Lonnie being lead in handcuffs. " _D.A. Laurel Lance was onsite to oversee his detainment. We'll have updated information you upon his release."_

"Donna I have to go." Bruce said suddenly and the woman turned to him in confusion. "I promise I will be back once she's out of recovery." he stood to his feet about to leave, but she once again spoke.

"She told me about the engagement." Donna said and Bruce turned away slightly. "Well I knew it was coming when I discovered the ring."

"Donna-"

"Bruce, I know you're hurting," the woman stood to her feet to stand in front of him. "I know not being able to fix this is getting to you. Trust me I understand, but if the only thing we can do for my baby is be there when she needs us, then that's what we do. It upsets me when a door opens, and the sadness comes to her eyes because you're not the one walking in."

"I get it Donna, and I know I should've been here, but I-" he shook his head. "The last time I was forced to wait in a hospital, I was a kid." he turned back to the woman. "I'd just watched my parents gunned down in front of me, and the next thing I know I'm sitting in a hospital waiting room still clutching a handful of my mother's pearls from her necklace, because she-" he turned away, reaching up to slide a hand over his eyes as he felt tears before they could fall. "She loved that necklace." he looked back over to Donna who placed a hand on his arm. "I don't have good memories associated with hospital waiting rooms and the only good thing that will happen here is the moment I finally get to see her. So until that moment, I just can't be here." the man moved around her, rushing toward the elevator before she could try to stop him.

Ari had never been more happy to be at this house then this very moment when Oliver finally pushed open the door and let her inside. Katie pushed the stroller inside, as she and Oliver watched the teen drag her tired feet upstairs to her room.

"I guess I lost track of time." Oliver sighed turning to Katie who was already plucking the baby into her arms and walking into the living room to sit. "I didn't want to leave them here alone, and thought-"

"She'd have fun at your campaign office?" Katie asked looking over to the man who took up the seat beside her.

"At first no, but I had left her for a few minutes, before coming back to check on her, and I found her at my desk proof reading some of our reports and press releases." Oliver chuckled. "I just left her to it."

"I'm not buying it." Katie replied with a shake of her head as she looked down to the Robyn's tiny face meeting the girl's eyes. "Your cousin was hoping to see that cute boy again."

"What boy?" Oliver asked and Katie chuckled as she looked over to him. His tone was very familiar, and reminded her of Jacob's so many years ago when she even mentioned a boy's name. "Does he work in my office? What's his name?"

"Look at you and your dad tone." Katie said with a shake of her head before turning back to Robyn. "Your daddy is going to have lots of experience chasing away possible suitors for you, so I will apologize now for the both of us."

"Well I'm not apologizing." Oliver replied sliding a finger to the little girl's hand. "My daughter is never dating, and any boy who appears at our door will be very sorry." Katie laughed turning to the man and placing a kiss to his cheek.

"I think I will let you keep your delusion for a little while." Katie replied before dropping her head to Oliver's shoulder. Oliver brought his arm around her, not even able to compare this feeling of contentment to anything in this world. It seemed all of his days were spent waiting for this moment. "So do you want to tell me what's going on?"

"In this moment, not particularly." Oliver replied placing a kiss on top of her head. "Right now all I want to do is sit here with my wife and my daughter and be happy."

"And right now I would like to know if there is any lead on the man who stole my friend's ability to walk." Katie replied and Oliver let out a sigh. "Is there a reason you're keeping out of the loop on this?"

"Twinkie, I really don't want to do this now?" Oliver said.

"Fine." Katie says lifting her head and smiling down to the baby. "Lets go get you ready for bed." and with that the woman stood to her feet leaving Oliver who simply shook his head.

Once Katie had Robyn all bathed and dressed in her pajamas, the little girl seemed to fall asleep instantly. Katie walked in the bedroom to find Oliver pulling on his jacket preparing to leave. He turned to her and a flash of guilt moved over his face.

"I have to go." Oliver says walking over and placing a kiss to Katie's cheek.

"Ok, do I get to know why?" she asked looking up to the man who let out a sigh. "I guess that's a no." Katie turned and walking over to close the bedroom door before looking back to the man. "You need to talk to me."

"You didn't see it." Oliver spoke and Katie looked at him in confusion. "I watched you become someone else right in front of my eyes, and the only connection I have for why it happened is because of Darhk."

"Liver-"

"You're staying away from this. We will find Darhk." Oliver replied before walking over to stand in front of the woman blocking the door. "I really have to go." Katie dropped her eyes from his, before she stepped aside so he could leave. Oliver opened the door, but stopped and looked over to the woman who refused to look at him. "Mrs. Queen," Katie let out a sigh before turning to her husband who gave her a small smile. "I love you." the woman narrowed her eyes for a moment before walking over and placing a hand on his cheek.

"Well I guess I love you too, Mr. Queen." she replied, before his lips captured hers. "Be safe." he placed one more kiss to her lips before finally leaving.

Katie knew the last thing she'd be doing tonight was going to sleep and so after showering and changing into her own pajamas, she grabbed the baby monitor and decided to head downstairs for a snack. She peeked inside of Ari's room to see the girl still asleep in the same clothes she'd had on that day. Katie shook her head before continuing down the hall to peek inside Robyn's room, surprised the baby hadn't stirred, but she knew it was coming soon. Katie walked down the stairs about to head toward the kitchen, when the doorbell suddenly rang. Katie turned to the door, immediately standing a bit straighter before walking over to the hallway table, and plucking the glock from underneath it before slowly moving toward the door. The doorbell once again rang, and she stopped just a few feet away.

"It's kind of nippy out here mate, open up." a voice spoke from the other side, and Katie eyes widen before reaching forward to open the door surprised at the face gracing her doorstep. The man didn't wait for an invitation before hurrying inside out of the cold, closing the door behind him before turning to Katie with a wide smile.

"Constantine, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Why yes love, I would love some tea." the man said walking around her, pulling off his coat and tossing it on a nearby chair in the hall. "But let me make it, I have a knack for tea making." Katie turned following the man with her eyes, unsure what the hell was happening.

Lonnie Machin was caught and on his way to prison until the van carrying him was stopped and he was broken free. It was the fact that Bruce was the one behind it that had Oliver more than a little upset. He walked into the lair to see the heated discussion between Bruce and Laurel.

"And when your master plan doesn't work, you just sent a murdering psychotic back on the streets." Laurel said and Bruce shook his head before whipping back around to the woman.

"Like you did with Sara?!" the words seemed to catch Laurel off guard but she wasn't standing down from this.

"That's not fair!"

"Hey, what's going on?" Oliver asked walking over to the pair.

"It's like I told you on the phone, Bruce broke Machin out of custody." Laurel said and they both turned their eyes to Bruce who didn't seem to show an ounce of remorse.

"Using Machin to get to Darhk, period." Bruce countered turning back to the computer where he was following the tracker he placed on Machin. "If either one of you have a problem with that, I can go back to my own base and finish this on my own." he glanced back to Oliver and Laurel. Oliver turned to Laurel.

"Could you give us a moment?" Oliver asked and Laurel gave a nod, casting one final look to Bruce before leaving the men to talk. "Bruce-"

"You tried the heart to heart already Oliver, and I thought we both came to the conclusion that it was pointless." Bruce replies, not even turning to the man.

"Bruce, I'm sorry." Oliver said suddenly, and Bruce let out a huff before turning to the man. "I feel responsible for what's happening, and I-"

"You know you should." Bruce replied glaring over to the man. "The fact that you thought publicly denouncing Darhk as Oliver Queen wouldn't have some sort of push back is just laughable." the man shook his head before turning back to the computer. "But your wife isn't laying in a hospital room about to hear that she'll never walk again and because of that you come in here and judge me for things you'd probably be doing if you were in my shoes."

"You're wrong. Someone shot Katie, and she fell into a coma and I didn't know if she was ever going to wake up again. I remember that feeling in my gut, that tightening and loosening feeling that wouldn't go away because I thought she was gonna die." Oliver let out a sigh as the memories came back to him. "Bruce I know what it's like when you're scared to death that you may lose the one person on this planet you can't live without."

"I'm not stopping, Oliver." Bruce replied refusing to look at the man.

"Fine, but we do this together." Oliver said walking over to stand beside the man. "The truth still remains that Machin is dangerous, and if he somehow slips your tracker-" Oliver was interrupted by his ringing phone. He pulled it from his pocket to see Katie's number and he quickly answered. "Hey," he turned already moving toward the elevator. "What's wrong?"

"Well nothing really, but just odd. I'm actually surprised you're not calling me. There was a visitor after you left."

"Who?"

"Constantine. He-" there was loud noises coming from the line. "Will you keep it down? I will hurt you if you wake my baby." the woman sighed. "He says you called him and left a message."

"I did, but he never returned my call." Oliver replied glancing back over to Bruce, and noticing John and Laurel walking over to him. "Should I come back?"

"At the moment we're fine. Just finish what you're doing, and come back soon."

Oliver pulled the phone from his ear, before looking back over to Bruce. He walked over, glancing down to the computer before noticing a blinking message on one of the monitors. He reached forward to click it, and as expected it was a silent notification that the house's security had been breached.

"Did you alter the security notification for my house?" Oliver asked looking over to Bruce who lifted his head and looked back to the man.

"No, it was just using a lot of RAM that I needed so I just compacted it a bit and-" his eyes caught the message on the screen. "I forgot to restore it back to its original programming." he looked up to the look on Oliver's face. "Sorry."

"Is everything alright?" John asked and Oliver glanced over to him and gave a nod.

"Yeah, everything is fine." Oliver grumbled looking back to Bruce who turned and headed back over to the monitor that was tracking Machin.

Katie looked down to the cup of tea Constantine had prepared with a wary eye. It smelled odd, but he seemed to be enjoying every drop.

"Now will you answer my question." Katie asked once again looking over to the man. "Why are you here?"

"Oh!" he said before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small stuffed teddy bear. "I got this here for the little sprog." Katie tilted her head slightly as she looked down to the tattered bear before looking back up to the man. "What?" she leaned back in her chair and looked over to the man with a quirked brow. "Fine, like I said your Mr. Queen called me, left me a message that you needed my help with something he couldn't say over the phone. And then your father gave me a ring as well. I would've been here sooner, but I was waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"For your call." he said before taking another sip of his tea. "I was wondering why everyone around you seemed to think I needed to help you and yet you weren't the one asking." Katie dropped her eyes back to the brown liquid in the cup. "You should drink the tea."

"You know I would if I wasn't one percent sure you slipped something in this." she replied looking back over to the man before pushing the cup away. "What is it?"

"Just something that will let me know how far its gotten." he said and he noticed the confusion. "The darkness, love. It's swirling around inside of you as we speak, and that tea will let me see how far off you are." Katie's eyes glanced down to the tea before looking back over to the man.

"I need you to tell me what is happening to me." she replied and the man folded his arms over his chest and glanced up to the ceiling as if deciding how to best respond to that request.

"Now that is a story that's hard to begin." he replied with a half smile as he looked back over to her. "I guess the short version is you're special. You have abilities that have been passed down to you."

"From my mother?" she asked and Constantine gave a nod. "How do you even know this?"

"You keep asking me that, and I keep giving you the same answer. She told me." he replied and Katie looked at him for a moment, unsure where to even begin with her line of questioning.

"How do I make it stop?" she asked and he looked at her in confusion. "Like how do I make it go away?"

"Now why would you want to do a thing like that?" he asked and Katie shook her head.

"You mean besides the fact that I keep seeing my dead uncle, or the fact that I've completely blacked out and done things I have no memory of doing." Katie replied meeting the man's eyes. "I don't want whatever this is. My life is complicated enough as is without throwing spoon bending in the mix. So how do I get rid of it?"

"Your abilities can only be passed from blood to blood. There is no way to just getting rid of it and-" he stopped for a moment with a tilt of his head. "Wait, you said you're seeing your uncle? The infamous Ra's Al Ghul?" Katie gave a nod and the man gave a snort with a shake of his head. "Is he here now?"

"No, why, what's going on?"

"I don't know, just be careful with him. If he's still hanging around, he's up to something." the man replied and Katie looked at him in confusion. "Look I know this is a lot to take in, but I promise you once you get a handle on it, it will be one of the best things that could've happened to you. At least that what your mum says." Katie let out a sigh.

"Why can't I see her anymore?" she asked and the man simply pushed the cup of tea back to her.

"That's what I'm here to find out." Katie looked back down to the cup, and for some reason she felt nervous. She was afraid of what he would find. She wasn't crazy. She felt the darkness inside of her. Now she had distractions to hide from it and pretend as if it wasn't there.

"What if I already know what you're going to find out?" she asked looking back over to the man. "I can feel it. I pretend that I don't sometimes, that that thing in the pit of my stomach is just something else."

"Drink the tea, love." he urged once again and Katie sighed before looking at him. Katie turned back to the mug before picking it up in her hands, looking down to the brown liquid before standing to her feet. "Love, wait-" she walked over to the sink, before dumping it down the drain.

"You can't tell me how to get rid of it, and you can't tell me how to fix this, then I think that's why I never called you for help." she turned back to the man who stared at her with a tilted head as the woman stared back to him with folded arms. "Do you know where I can find Damien Darhk?"

"That's the last person I will help get you into a room with, mate." he stood to his feet and walked over to her, his eyes still watching her closely. "But at this point, the damage is done."

"You officially have no use to me." Katie pointed toward the door. "You're leaving now."

Bruce was rarely at a loss for a next move. He prided himself in always having a plan, but right now, with Machin in the wind, he just had no idea what he should do next. There was only one thing he know he absolutely needed to do, and that was why he currently stood in the doorway of Felicity's room watching the woman as she slept. After a moment he walked over, taking the seat beside her bed. He reached forward taking her hand, and it seemed the sudden contact caused the woman's eyes to flutter open, and the moment they landed on Bruce a tired smile came to her face.

"Well hey there stranger." she greeted, and Bruce gave the woman a small smile.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Smoak, I should've been here sooner, but it's unforgivable." Bruce dropped his head, before letting out a sigh.

"Only if you were in Bali." Felicity joked and the man looked back up to see the small smile on her face, that he could never help but return. "You weren't in Bali, were you?"

"Without you? Never." Bruce replied placing a soft kiss to the back of her hand. "I was just-"

"Beating the streets. Probably a lot of people looking for Darhk." the woman says, sliding a hand along the man's cheek, that he leaned into.

"I didn't want to come and see you until Darhk was off the board." Bruce replied with a shake of his head.

"Any luck?"

"Working some leads."

"Tell me you haven't gone off the rails."

Bruce looked at her for a moment before turning away. He was no where near the rails at this point, and probably would be further if it wasn't for Oliver and John.

"You know I was this close to kidnapping you and bringing you to Gotham against your will." Bruce said looking back over to the woman. "You would love it there and you would be safe there." Bruce shook his head, because up to this point he hadn't really been an active participant in the war against Damien Darhk. But now there was nothing that was going to stop him from putting that bastard down for good.

"It's still possible." Felicity said, and the man turned to the woman. "I mean if I've learned anything, it's that anything is possible. I mean look at me with the Batman at my bedside." Bruce seemed to scoff at the name before turning away. "Bruce-"

"You know I thought I got to the point where he wasn't needed anymore. I mean I slayed my whale, and I thought that now with Richie, I didn't need him." he looked up meeting the woman's eyes. "Because when I'm him, it can get deep." he placed another kiss to her hands. "I can't go back to that place, because it's hard to come back." he gave a shake of his head. "But he's leaving me no other choice."

"Hey, look at me." Felicity said, and the man's eyes met hers. "You don't have to go that place, because I need you right here, I mean if that's still what you want." the man looked at her in confusion. "I just mean, this-" she glanced around the room. "We haven't said any vows yet, but I figure this isn't something someone would want to be tied to."

"Felicity-"

"Bruce, you haven't promised for better or worse yet, so right now-"

"Felicity-" Bruce once again interrupted, lifting her hand that held the engagement ring. "We were supposed to be in a very fancy hotel right now, drinking too much champagne and I was going to tell you the story behind this ring."

"Oh, this ring has a story?"

"It does. You see this ring belonged to my grandmother Alice. Apparently my grandfather searched the ends of the earth for the perfect diamond for the ring, and she said when he saw this one he just knew it was the one."

"And how did he know that?"

"Well grandpa was an architect, so he knew about dimensions, and perfect angles-"

"And this diamond was completely perfect?"

"Actually the opposite. It's a nice diamond, but it's not completely perfect. From the way it's was structured, you can tell that it's seen some pretty rough times, but it still sparkled all the same. Grandma Alice said he told her, this diamond reminded him of her. A woman who has gone through her share of tough times, but still sparkled for the world to see." Bruce lifted his eyes to Felicity who smiled softly back to him. "She actually refused to give it to my father because she didn't like my mother that much, so she gave it to me for the moment I met someone who could sparkle through the toughest times. You're it, Ms. Smoak. You're stuck with me, for better or for worse." the man leaned forward, capturing her lips with his own, a silent promise to back up his words.

Oliver had found himself at the front door of his house. He didn't go in right away, needing to rid himself of the nerves that had been stirring inside of him. The truth was, he is positive he would be doing everything and probably more if he was in Bruce's shoes right now. If it was Twinkie lying in that hospital bed, he'd go out of his mind, and even though it wasn't her, even though they were lucky enough to walk away unharmed, the possibilities still rolled around in his head. Darhk was getting closer and closer, and if they didn't put him down soon he's sure they would lose someone.

Oliver let out a deep sigh before walking into the house, finding the lights out except for the distant orange glow coming from the living room. That's where he found Katie, curled on the couch, a blanket over her legs, and phone to ear.

"I know that, I just want to make sure this is it. There's no hope anywhere." Katie said, which was followed by a sigh when she heard words she didn't seem to want to hear. "No, you're right, I will stop by tomorrow." she ended the call, and looked back to see Oliver. "Please tell me your night has gone better than mine." Oliver simply shook his head before walking around to sit beside the woman, bringing an arm around her.

"We lost Machin, and Bruce is not taking this easy." Oliver sighed, placing a kiss on top of Katie's head before glancing back. "Am I going to find Constantine passed out in the guest room?"

"No, he's gone." Katie replied, and the man turned back to her. "He couldn't help me, so I told him to leave." he looked at the woman for a moment before letting out a sigh and turning away. "Liver-"

"I just don't know what to do." the man said, and there was something behind his words, something Katie noticed. It's why she pulled slightly from his grasp, and met his eyes. "I thought he would be able to help you, and if he can't-"

"If he can't then I'm stuck like this. If he can't then this is something I will get a handle on."

"Did he at least tell you what's going on?" Oliver asked and Katie let out a sigh, but nodded. "This wasn't something that was done to you, was it?"

"Nope. Apparently something I inherited from my mother, but that's all I know at the moment. I sort of shut him down after telling me that there was no way to actually get rid of this." she let out a sigh before looking back up to meet the man's eyes.

"But we need to know more. Mostly because now that I know this was passed down from your mom, there's a chance-"

"This could be passed down to Robyn, I know. I will talk to Constantine again, try to get more answers."

"We'll talk to him together." Oliver added with a nod. "This isn't something that's just happening to you. You're not alone. We can deal with this together." Katie smiled at the man, before placing a hand on his cheek.

"You're going to kiss me now?"

"I was thinking about it." Oliver replied, already easing in closer to the woman's lips until they finally found their target. This moment was rare. With a baby, and a teenager, and running for mayor, or trying to be the hero this city needed, moments like this, his wife in his arms as the world just dissolved around them just didn't happen lately. Now that it was happening, the couple seemed to let the moment take over. It's why Oliver pulled Katie to his lap, so she straddled him. It's why he pulled open her robe, thanking whoever made the big choices in life, that she wasn't wearing anything that couldn't be off in seconds. The only sound that filled that room was the crackling of the fire place mingled with quiet moans of pleasure.

But it seems that whoever made the big choices in life wouldn't allow the moment to last for too much longer, proven by the sudden incessant ringing of Oliver's phone. Oliver had made up in his mind the moment it started ringing that he was going to ignore it. That nothing in this entire world could be more important than what he was doing right now. But it kept ringing, and soon reality crept back into the moment. They lived in a world where evil could be creeping just outside their walls, and this damn ringing phone could be their warning. Katie seemed to mirror Oliver's thought because before he knew it, the woman had reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, parting their lips before bringing the phone to her ear.

"Is the world ending in this very moment and the only person that can stop it is my husband?" she asked, looking down to the smirk on Oliver's face. Soon he noticed the annoyance on her face and he sat up a bit. "Sure." she pulled the phone from her ear and pressed it against her shoulder so the caller couldn't hear. "Do you know what Monday was?" Oliver placed a hand on the side of the woman's face and smiled because he indeed knew what that day signified. "We have been married for a little over six weeks, and I know the world is crumbling around us, and I know we're dealing with people with magic powers, and our friend is in the hospital. But our baby is finally sleeping through the night, that moody teenager is in a deep sleep, and right now we can officially get to third base and hit that home run finally." the woman let out a huff as she looked down to the amusement in her husband's eyes. "I need you to keep that in mind when you take this call from our favorite person at the moment, Laurel."

"I definitely will." Oliver replied as Katie handed him the phone. She watched his face, how an array of emotions seemed to pass over his features, but it's when he turned and met her eyes with a look of guilt did she know how the rest of her evening would be spent. "I'm on my way." Oliver ended the call, just as Katie tried to slide from his lap, but he held onto her waist. "Twinkie-"

"I know wherever you're about to go has to be big if you're leaving your smoking hot wife all hot and bothered." she replied placing her hands on his shoulders and letting out a dramatic sigh. "Are you going to tell me where you're going?" the man didn't reply which only confirmed her suspicions that wherever he was going somehow concerned Damien Darhk. "Liver, I'm not going to just spontaneously combust if you tell me you've gotten a lead on Darhk, and that's where you need to be right now. At some point we're going to have to deal with this, with him and whatever this thing is that makes me go all Linda Blair when he ticks me off."

"Until then, you're going to get some rest, and I will see you when I get back." Oliver replied pulling the woman's lips to his in a kiss both wanted to last longer than it could.

With Oliver gone, turning in and going to bed seemed to be the last thing Katie could do. And so she found herself sitting on the wooden stairs of the basement, baby monitor in hand. With a sigh she stood to her feet and walked over to the dial on the wall that looked like a thermostat. With a twist to the left, and then a twist to the right, the wall began shifting, soon revealing her collection of weapons. She had no idea why she still had them. They once were a symbol of the person she thought she was because of the things that had happened to her. They were a way for her to release all of the anger and aggression that she couldn't seem to get out of her. At some point she just stopped needing them. That anger and aggression was just gone, and she didn't even notice and then at some point it just came back.

She let her finger slide across the cool steel on the blade of one of her sais, a ghost of a smile curling at her lips when flashes of a time long ago came to her.

That's how she knew something was wrong. She remembers when memories of the worst part of her life just turned her stomach, and now the make her smile. She shook her head before turning toward the stairs only to stop half way there, before turning back and holding out her hand toward the wall.

" _The moment you go there-"_ she ignored the demon's voice, because at this point hearing him no longer surprised her. " _The moment you decide that you would like to be more than a doctor, and more than some business woman. The moment you decide you want to be more than a wife and mother, there is no going back."_

"No." she replied with a furrowed brow before glancing over to the ghost. "This is the moment I choose to be what I want to be, and when I want it to be over, it will be." she smiled before turning back to the wall. "Sais!" the dagger flew from the wall to her hand, before she turned back to the demon. "I can see you. Something inside of me allows me to see you, which means there is something inside of me that will let me not see you."

" _You truly are not my Nura, are you?"_ he asked and for some reason the fact that those words just came out of his mouth made her snort. " _What has he done to you?"_

The woman's eyes dropped back to the sais in her hand, focused on the blade. Suddenly the appearance of blood seemed to stream down the blade, and she didn't even flinch at the sight. It wasn't until she heard the shrill sound of Robyn's cries did it seem the switch inside of her flicked and the knife fell from her hand and she turned running up the stairs.

The fact that Damien Darhk had a wife and daughter seemed to be the most confusing thing in the world. It's when they found Darhk's house and saw the woman and child Machin had tied up, and the emotion that seemed to show the monster as a man with the fear that something could have hurt them.

It took a lot for Bruce to not completely immerse himself in the dark knight. To not use Darhk's family as leverage to control the man. He's sure it's what Darhk himself would do if the situation was reversed. But he couldn't find it in himself to do it. They got to the woman in time to free them, and Machin went running. The team chased him, except for Bruce and Oliver who ran into the man they'd been searching all over for.

The moment Darhk saw the men outside of his house, he immediately attacked. The fact that he could go toe to toe with both Oliver and Bruce at the same time was in and of itself surprising. It wasn't until he shoved Bruce to the ground before turning to Oliver, and lifted his hand and made one of his arrows stab him in the side, did he finally speak.

"Where is my family?!" he growled and both men saw something they thought they would never see from the man. It was fear.

"I saved them." Bruce replied standing to his feet. "They're safe." they saw the relief pass over his eyes, but because he was Damien Darhk, still evil, he just had to make something clear.

"I have shown you repeatedly that you cannot beat me." he said, his eyes looking back to Oliver, before turning back to the Batman. "You saved my family. So I'll give you both a few weeks to spend with yours. Enjoy your time. What's left of it." he began backing away before he turned and ran. Bruce growled about to follow, but Oliver quickly brought an arm around him to pull him back.

"It's no use, he's too strong!" Oliver urged. "We have to find another way." Bruce jerked out of Oliver's grasp. He knew Oliver was right, knew that at the moment trying to fight while twisted with sadness and anger was a sure fire way to get yourself killed. "Batman-" Bruce turned back to Oliver for a moment, and neither said a word.

When they returned to the lair, they found the others already waiting. Apparently Darhk's wife told police she wasn't his wife, and now they were no where to be found. The news seemed to anger Bruce who stalked away to get changed.

The moment he came back out, Oliver walked over to the man who shook his head.

"Oliver, right now I need to get back to the hospital to see Felicity. That's the only thing I can do right now."

"I just need one minute." Oliver replied and Bruce let out a sigh, but waited for the man to continue. "I'm sorry. What happened to Felicity, bringing Darhk deeper into our lives, it was stupid and reckless, and I'm sorry." Bruce simply gave a nod, before walking off again. "And that display case on the end there-" Bruce stopped and turned back to the man in confusion." The one Felicity made sure to add, it's for you. Right now, I could use all the help I can get to figure out a way to beat Darhk." Oliver walked over to stand in front of the man. "Bruce-"

"One bad fight won't stop me Oliver. Darhk will pay for what he's done, so I'm here. We will beat this bastard." Bruce replied giving the man a pat on the shoulder before pointing to the wound on Oliver's side. "And I would get that bandaged before heading home or your wife is going get even more scarier than usual." Oliver gave the man a nod, before watching him leave.

Bruce wore a suit that protected him from pretty much anything. But that suit wasn't strong enough to hold him together when his eyes once again found the pale, tired face of the woman he loved. Felicity was sleeping when Bruce entered her room, and took the seat beside her before, taking her hand in his.

She seemed to stir after a few minutes, her eyes opening and smiling at the sight of the man at her beside.

"I had a dream about you." she said and the man smiled, as he leaned in closer to her.

"Was it a good dream?" Bruce asked, reaching forward to push a couple of strands of hair from her face.

"Not really, you kept following me around calling me Ms. Smoak." the woman replied and Bruce chuckled. "And for some reason there was a talking chicken. This place is giving me weird dreams."

"Well you'll be home before you know it." Bruce replied placing a kiss to her hand. "I'm sorry I went away."

"I think you apologized already."

"Nowhere near done apologizing." Bruce said letting out a sigh, and wrapping her hand between his two. "You know, I think I want to go to Bali." he met the woman's eyes. "You want to go with me?"

"Absolutely, I'd go anywhere with you."

"Not anywhere." Bruce muttered and Felicity narrowed her eyes at the man.

"Yes anywhere Bruce." Felicity replied giving his hand a slight squeeze. "Even to Gotham." he lifted his head, and looked to the woman in surprise. "But first there's still a bad guy who really needs to just go away. Oliver is going to need your help."

"So what you're saying is, once Darhk is gone..."

"I'll let you sweep me away to your mansion in Gotham." Felicity sighed with a slight smile. "At least to test it out." Bruce smiled down to the woman before bringing his lips in to meet hers. Suddenly the door to Felicity's room opened and they both turned to see Donna who smiled at the couple.

"Aw, you're awake." the woman said, taking the seat on the other side of Felicity's bed. "Well now that you're both here and have no where else to be-"

"Mom remember that no wedding talk rule. That hasn't changed because Bruce is here." Felicity warned.

"Well I don't know." Bruce said and both women looked over to him before he looked over to Donna. "What did you have in mind?" Donna smiled before continuing and Bruce simply listened while ignoring the scowl of Felicity face.

Oliver grimaced when he pulled his hood from his head, and looked down to the bleeding hole in his side. He headed over to the medical cabinet to try to get it clean and bandaged up.

"Need some help?" Oliver turned at Laurel's voice, to see the woman had already changed as well. He shook his head before turning and grabbing the bandages and saline before tossing them on the table. "I think we still need to talk about Twinkie." the man looked over to her with a furrowed brow. "I saw her at the hospital earlier, and-"

"Laurel, I'm not getting involved." Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "Right now there's way too much happening around us, and if you want to work things out with Twinkie, then you're going to have to figure out how to do that."

"Any suggestions?" Laurel asked and Oliver shrugged. "I mean you've messed more times than anyone could ever count, how do you-" the look on Oliver's face spoke volumes and so the woman just held her hands up. "Fine, I'll figure it out." the woman simply shook her head, before turning and heading out.

Oliver simply chuckled before turning and grabbing the saline. He hissed as he cleaned the wound, tightening his eyes shut.

"You know getting into this place is way too easy." Oliver opened his eyes and turned to see the face of a man he'd hadn't seen in what felt like a lifetime.

"John Constantine." Oliver sighed turning to the man who even seemed to be wearing the same clothes since he last saw him. "Let me guess why you're here?"

"Well first I'm here to congratulate you. I mean first you married a beautiful lady, have an adorable little baby, and you're running for mayor!" Constantine smiled as he pointed toward the man. "I mean who would've thought that some guy on an island would-"

"I am going to assume all the compliments are just leading to something I'm not going to like." Oliver replied walking over to the man. "This is about Katie." the smile on Constantine's face fell. "Tell me." Constantine walked around Oliver, to the display case that held the Guardian's suit. "Constantine?"

"For your whole life you've been told that there is only one race of humans." Constantine started as he let his eyes look over the suit. "The truth is, there are more than one." the man let out a heavy sigh before turning to Oliver. "There is a sub race of people who have been called Homo Magi. The Homo Magi are a species of humans that are able to wield magic. Almost always this ability is passed down through familial relations."

"Grace." Oliver said, and Constantine simply nodded. "Ok, this is a part of her. Fine, we can deal with this. We can figure out a way to-" the look on Constantine's face meant there was more he needed to say. "What?"

"Well I think I may have to stick around a little while longer mate." Constantine replied, turning back to the Guardian's suit. "Your wife is fighting a battle she doesn't even know she's losing."


	15. Dazed and Confused

**Chapter 15**

**Dazed and Confused**

_"The only real things in life is the unexpected things._

_Everything else is just an illusion."_

-Watkin Tudor Jones

* * *

There was a clocking ticking away on the wall, and Katie had her eyes locked on it for some reason. Each tick and tock was another second her husband was late for a meeting he organized.

"Uh, Mrs. Queen-" Katie dropped her eyes to the man sitting in front of her and she gave an apologetic smile before once again pulling her phone from her pocket. Before she could even dial his number, the door had burst open and in rushed the man.

"I'm so sorry, I was in a meeting that ran way over time, and then I had an interview-" he looked over to the annoyed expression of his wife and knew his excuses probably wasn't worth much at the moment. "Twinkie, I'm sorry." the woman let out a sigh, before looking over to the man.

"Liver, we don't have to do this. At this point it doesn't really seem important." Katie says before looking back over to the man who sat observing the couple. "And we're just wasting Pastor Troy's valuable time, right?"

"I uh-"

"Of course it's not a waste of time, right?" Oliver said interrupting the man, before turning back to Katie. "Twinkie, this is something I thought we both agreed on. We wanted the wedding-"

"And we got it. It was small and intimate and-"

"It was in a hospital room where we didn't take any pictures or have this all out day of memories." Oliver sighed taking the seat beside the woman and taking her hand.

"Now is just not the time." Katie replied looking over to the man. "C'mon too much is happening right now, and trying to plan a wedding and deal with a campaign, and raise a baby, and deal with the other stuff." she shook her head before turning back to Pastor Troy who still just silently watched them. "I'm sorry Pastor Troy-" Katie stood to her feet, pulling her purse over her arm before heading for the door.

"June 18th!" Oliver called standing to his feet and the woman stopped. "June 18th at the the Star City Botanical Gardens, and you were going to wear a tasteful yellow wedding dress." she turned back to look at the man who gave her a smile. He always remembered the last time they were engaged how secretly excited she was about planning the wedding. "This isn't pointless Twinkie. It's actually very necessary for a list of reasons, but the most important one is that we get a day to once again vow ourselves to each other." he walked over taking the woman's hands. "Right now we're both here, and now we're truly wasting Pastor Troy's time." she looked into his eyes, seeing the hopefulness they held. She rolled her eyes before walking around the man to once again take her seat. "Alright, Pastor Troy-" Oliver walked around to take his seat as well before looking over to the Pastor. "I-"

"Ok, stop talking." Pastor Troy said holding up his hands and standing to his feet. He walked around his desk to lean on the edge between the couple. "First of all, hello, happy Monday and all that. Second, are we sure we all want a wedding?" Oliver turned to Katie who looked over to the man and gave a smile, before they turned back to the pastor.

"Yes, we do."

"That's great." the pastor said, before glancing down to his watch. "So we scheduled an hour meeting, that is about half over and—"

"And I'm so sorry, like I said I-" Pastor Troy lifted his head to the man who suddenly stopped talking. "Right, I will stop talking."

"Look I get you're a busy man, which is why I have to ask if you can really dedicate yourself to these sessions."

"Sessions?" Oliver asked with a furrowed brow, glancing over to Katie before turning back to the man. "I thought we were meeting to set up a date for the wedding."

"No, this was supposed to be the first of three one hour sessions for me to decide if I can marry you."

"If you can?"

"Marriage is a union that shouldn't be entered into lightly, and the fact that the two of you are already married doesn't change that fact. So no Mr. Queen, this isn't you hiring me for a job, this is me seeing if I believe marriage is a union the two of you are ready for. Now is that something the two of you are alright with before we proceed with?" Katie and Oliver once again shared a look. Neither was sure how this would go, and they really didn't think it would consist of proving that they were ready for marriage, especially since they were legally already married. "Or you can find someone else, who would be less of a hassle to marry you."

"No." Oliver said with a shake of his head still looking to Katie. "We can do this right? Prove that we're ready for this?"

"We kind of have to don't we?" Katie replied with a slight smile. "Seeing as we've already made the leap." they both turned back to the pastor. "We can do this."

"Alright." Pastor Troy says with a smile before standing to his feet and walking around to take a seat behind his desk. "We will start your first session tomorrow. I want you both to create a list of reasons the two of you shouldn't get married." Oliver and Katie looked over to the man in confusion. "Trust me, there is a purpose. I want you to be honest. It's good to know what these things are before it gets too deep. I'm free at 10AM." he looked up to the couple who smiled with a nod. "And we will all be on time, right?" Katie and Pastor Troy turned to Oliver, who chuckled with a nod.

"Yes, I will make sure I am on time." Oliver replied as he and Katie stood to their feet. "And I promise you, by the end of our sessions, you will know what we know. Marriage was the right choice for us."

"Well I hope so." the pastor replied standing up to shake both their hands. "I'll see you tomorrow." and the man watched as the couple left.

"That was a hell of a first impression." Katie said, before clamping a hand over her mouth, and scanning around to make sure no one in the church had heard her. She looked over to Oliver who laughed, and she just lightly swat his arm. "What happened to Oliver Queen's new leaf and being on time?"

"I seriously lost track of time and Thea was supposed to remind me, but she got distracted." Oliver says bringing and arm around the woman. "Which leads to our next topic of discussion-" Katie looked over to the man with a furrowed brow. "I don't think Thea can babysit and run my campaign at the same time. One always suffers, and its usually me." Katie chuckled as she let out a sigh, dropping her head to Oliver's shoulder. "Maybe we should talk about nannies."

"No, no nannies." Katie said instantly.

"I still don't see the problem with a nanny. Me and Thea had nannies growing up and we turned out fine, and still knew our parents loved us."

"Ok, first of all, fine is not a word I would describe for how you and your sister turned out." Katie replied. "Second, I didn't say there was anything wrong with a nanny, I just want us to be the ones who raise her like normal people."

"And my parents weren't normal?" Oliver asked, still a bit offended that she seems to think that there's something wrong with people who hire nannies.

"You know I think I will add our differing opinions on child care to my list." Katie replied turning to the man as they stopped in front of her car.

"Twinkie, Ari is heading back to school in a couple of weeks, and at some point you're going to go back to work, and we're going to need some help." Katie knows he's right, but she still isn't convinced. She hated the idea of some person practically raising their daughter.

"Or I just don't go back to work." she replied with a shrug looking up to meet his eyes. "I can just be a wife and a mom, and that can be my life."

"Who are you and what have you done with my wife?" Oliver replied bringing an arm around her waist and pulling her against his chest. "Twinkie, you like to help people. It's why you became a doctor. It was the basis of your goal for improving RI when you became CEO. It's why you will never be satisfied with your life if you give it all up. There are lots of parents who work and raise children. We knew this was going to be tough, but we can do it. But we can't do it alone. We're going to need help." Katie let out a deep sigh, before turning away from the man. "Just think about it."

"Fine." she said, looking back to the man. "We will figure this out."

"We will figure this out." Oliver says leaning forward to capture the woman's lips. "Plus I will be happy when you return to being CEO of RI, because your interim CEO is a jackass." Katie pulled back and Oliver looked down to her. "What?"

"What did he do?"

"He's just giving us a hard time with the Oliver Queen campaign expansion on the New Beginnings Initiative." Oliver said, looking down to his watch. "Me and Thea are actually meeting with him in an hour to-"

"No." Katie says with a shake of her head. "You can't meet him. " Oliver looked at the woman in confusion and she simply placed her hands on the side of his face. "Trust me, just cancel the meeting. I will talk to him and straighten this out." she gave him a quick kiss before walking around to get into her car. She stopped and looked over to see the man watching her, most likely waiting for her to get in to the car and safely drive off. "Are you sure you want to jump through all these hoops for a-" she shook her head. "A show. You're my husband, and I'm your wife. We don't need the production."

"Except you want the production." Oliver commented and Katie rolled her eyes. "I know you Twinkie, and I know you want the dress, and the flowers. I'm done with letting the craziness of our lives stop our happiness. We are going to have a wedding." She narrowed her eyes at the man before nodding.

"We are going to have a wedding." the man simply smiled back to her, and she simply returned it. "Will it be a late night, Mr. Queen?"

"Did you have something in mind, Mrs. Queen?" he asked, and the mischievous smile on the woman's face was answer enough.

"I did. You should wrap your night up and find out." she gave the man a wink before slipping into her car, and the smile on Oliver's face never left as he watched her drive off.

Arianna Locke rolled her eyes, because there was and endless game of peek a boo happening beside her. She glanced up to see Thea who had Robyn lying on her lap as she covered her eyes, just to reveal them again and scream the now annoying phrase.

"There are hundreds of games you can play with her that's not as annoying as this one." Ari finally said, and Thea lifted her eyes toward the girl and just shook her head.

"Well as long as there's a little smile on her face when we play, then it will never get old." Thea looked back down to the baby before lifting her up, and tucking her securely in her arm, before turning back to the teenager. "So, you nervous about heading back to school?"

"No, it's school." Ari looked back down to her phone.

"Right, but you're a little bit different since you left." Ari looked back up to the woman with a furrowed brow. "I mean you don't hate your cousin, and your mom-" Ari scoffed looking back to her phone. "Look I know what it's like to have a mom in jail for doing something insanely idiotic. When my mom was in jail, I refused to even visit her."

"I don't need a bonding moment Thea." Ari sighed, before standing to her feet about to flee and hideout in her room. "I am in a screwed up family." the girl shrugged. "I've just accepted my place in it." Thea narrowed her eyes at the teen who started out of the living room.

"You know I invented the whole rebellious, teen act. The girl who needs no one, and will be fine all by myself." Ari stopped before actually leaving. "Ari there's nothing wrong with liking it here." Ari shook her head before turning and walking back into the room. Thea watched as she walked over to a spot in the middle of the room, and looked at her in confusion.

"You see this spot where I'm standing?" Ari glanced down to her feet and sighed. "My dad took his last breath in this spot." she looked back up to Thea whose eyes softened. "Fine, my cousin isn't as big a monster as I thought she was and her husband is still a doofus, but he's become tolerable and that little pooper-" Ari looked over to the baby in Thea's arms. "Well she's not bad for a baby, but I walk past this spot, and I just want to run out the door." the girl shook her head. "I can't like being here because this is where all my problems started." Ari stalked out of the living room, and Thea sighed as she looked back down to Robyn.

"You know I forgot how dramatic teens can be." Thea placed a kiss to Robyn's head. "Don't worry, your cool aunt Thea will win her over." The woman lifted her head at the sound of the door opening, and stood to her feet and turned with a smile to see Katie. "You know I thought for sure you and my brother would be stumbling through the door, mauling each other after checking the last box off our wedding list."

"Well your brother is too busy to maul me right now." Katie says dropping her jacket and purse to the couch, before going over to see her daughter. "How was she?"

"Oh she was a little angel." Thea smiled down to the little girl. "The teenager upstairs on the other hand-" Katie frowned as she looked over to the woman. "She's still holding on to a lot of stuff."

"I know." Katie knew that she and Ari's relationship was getting a bit better, but she also knew that there were still some things tugging at the girl. "Hopefully our shopping trip will get her distracted enough to forget she hates it here."

"You know you suck for planning a shopping trip when I have to work." Thea replied before looking back down to the baby. "And I so don't want to leave this adorable little nugget. Can't I just take her with me?" her eyes pleaded up to Katie who chuckled.

"Your brother seems to think we should limit Robyn's time in the office with you guys." Katie laughed even more at the look on Thea's face. "He says she's too distracting."

"So he's trying to take my baby away from me?"

"Well technically she's me and Oliver's-"

"Well we're going to definitely have a conversation about this." Thea handed the baby over to Katie before heading over to pull on her jacket. "Oh, your dress is ready, I will pick it up either tomorrow or the day after."

"Thea you've done a lot, I can get the dress."

"No, I-" Thea pulled her arm through her jacket, and a dizzy spell suddenly hit her making her slightly sway.

"Thea!" Katie hurried over to her, but dizziness went away, and Thea just shook her head. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just got a little dizzy. I skipped lunch, so maybe my blood sugar is a little low." Katie studied the woman for a bit longer before sighing. "Twinkie, really, I'm fine."

"Fine, but I'm making you a sandwich for the road." Katie nudged her head toward the kitchen.

"Fine mom." Thea groaned as she followed after her sister in law.

When Oliver arrived at the lair to meet his sister, he didn't expect to step off the elevator and be instantly hit with an odd smell. He walked inside where he found John and Laurel who both seemed to be pinching their noses as they stared at something. It wasn't until he walked over, did he finally see Constantine who seemed to chanting something as he waved around some kind of incense, eyes closed walking around the lair.

"What the hell?" Oliver asked and John and Laurel turned to him.

"You know when you said he was going to be crashing here for a while, we didn't know that there would be a whole séance involved." John said with a shake of his head as he looked back over to the man. "Everyday he's here, it's just gets weirder and weirder."

"Constantine!" Oliver called out to the man who didn't stop his chanting at all. "Constantine, will you-" he grabbed the man's shoulder, and Constantine's eyes opened, and his chanting stopped as he turned to Oliver, a smile suddenly coming to his face. 

"Oh, hey mate, when did you get here?"

"Just now, what the hell are you doing? I said you can crash here, not-" he turned looking over to notice the candles arranged in a circle on the floor. "not whatever the hell this is." he turned to the man expecting an explanation, instead he just got a nod.

"No worries." Constantine turned, bending down to blow out the candles. Oliver was about to speak when he heard the sound of the elevator in time to see Thea, along with Bruce and a wheel chair bound Felicity. Over the course of the past couple of weeks, he learned not to stare at the woman. Every time he looked at her, it was a constant reminder that Damien Darhk was still out there after what he did to her. It was tough for her at first, coming back and trying to get acclimated to the team after the accident, but now she was assured of her place and her abilities when it concerned the team. And despite the fact that they no longer heard the clicking of her high heels, she always knew how to make her presence known.

"Why does it smell like we just walked into Woodstock?" Felicity asked scrunching her nose. She rolled her chair further inside, but stopped when she spotted Constantine standing in front of recently unlit candles. "Let me guess, our British friend is being weird again?" she turned to Oliver with a tight smile. "He's still here?"

"He's just-" Oliver turned back to Constantine and sighed. He hadn't told them about the man's true reason for sticking around because if he did, he knew he'd have to go into detail about Katie and the craziness that seemed to be surrounding them at the moment.

"You know I think I'm going to go for a walk." Constantine says with a smile as he looks around to everyone. He grabs his jacket before heading out the back entrance through the tunnels.

"Ok, Oliver, enough is enough." John says and Oliver turns to the man. "Are we supposed to pretend like there's no connection between him being here after what happened in that chamber?" all eyes turned to Oliver who didn't say anything.

"Is there a reason we're not talking about it?" Felicity asked and Oliver turned to her with a nod. "Does not talking about it make the situation easier?" Oliver wordlessly sighs, but once again nodded. "Alright, that's good enough for me." the woman turned about to roll her self to her computers. Bruce instinctively grabbed the bars, but she stopped him. "Bruce, how many times do I have to tell you, I got it. I don't need your help. I can do this."

"I know you can do this, but it doesn't stop me from wanting to help you." the man replied.

"So you ready for our meeting with Mr. Dickwad?" Thea asked appearing at her brother's side. "We should leave now if we want to be on time."

"I told Twinkie about the meeting and she told us not to go. That she would handle it." Oliver replied and Thea simply shrugged.

"That's cool with me. If this guy is as rude in person as he is on the phone, there was a good chance that I was going to punch him." the woman replied, but she noticed the look on her brother's face. "What?"

"We're going to the meeting." he said turning to his sister. "She didn't hesitate to tell me not to go to this meeting. For some reason she doesn't want me to meet this guy."

"And you think you should because-"

"I don't know. I'm just curious." Oliver replied before nudging his head toward the elevator. They began walking, when John caught the man's arm.

"Oliver, this isn't going to go away because you're not talking about it. Let us help you."

"John right now, there's nothing anyone can do. Right now everything is fine. I'm taking care of my family." Oliver replied and John could see the man was going to be stubborn, and so he gave a nod before watching the siblings step onto the elevator. Oliver stood there in silence, but he felt his sister's eyes on him. "Speedy, everything is fine." he looked over to her and she just shook her head.

"Twinkie told me about your new rule about me not babysitting my niece." Thea said giving her brother a swat to the arm.

"I didn't say you couldn't babysit, I just said you shouldn't babysit when you're supposed to be managing my campaign."

"I can do both!"

"You can't. You spent fifteen minutes playing peek a boo instead of helping me with the talking points for the meeting." Oliver replied with a shake of his head.

"I only played peek a boo after you played hide the bunny with her." Thea countered.

"Look, I love having Robyn in the office too, but I'm not mayoral candidate Oliver Queen when I'm in a room with her. And you're not Campaign Manager Thea Queen. I'm her dad who watches her nap when I'm supposed to be reading press releases."

"And I'm her aunt who takes hundreds of pictures when I'm supposed to be managing your schedule. Sorry for making you late by the way. Twinkie didn't say much about your meeting with Pastor Troy. So is he in to officiate the wedding?"

"Well apparently after three one hour sessions with us, he will consider it." Oliver said with a shake of his head. "He's making us jump through hoops for something we've already done."

"C'mon, you knew he was old school. He married mom and dad."

"I know, which is why we agreed. We're meeting tomorrow for our first session at 10AM." he said, and Thea gave a nod before pulling out her phone and entering it into her calendar. "And I can't be late this time."

"Don't worry, you won't be." Thea said sliding her phone back into her purse as they stepped off the elevator. "Now are you sure you want to do this? I mean if Twinkie says she will handle this, I don't think we should do anything to jeopardize it. This collaboration is one of the big support builders for your campaign. We can't mess this up."

"We won't, but if Katie isn't going to be running the company for a while, then we're going to have to come to some sort of compromise with this guy."

There was an obvious atmosphere change at Robins Incorporated since Michael was named interim CEO. The place just seemed quieter. That spark that it once had, just seemed gone. Oliver and Thea walked over to the familiar face of Claire Hastings who stood with a smile when they came over.

"I thought your meeting was cancelled." the woman said walking around to greet the pair with hugs. “I feel like its been forever since I seen you two. How's the boss, and that adorable baby of yours?"

"They're great. Robyn seems to be growing everyday-"

"Which is why her spending more time with us would help us not miss the important moments." Thea said, and Oliver only shook his head.

"Please tell me the boss is cutting her maternity leave short and coming back?"

"So is Mr. Carroll that bad?" Oliver asked and Claire just rolled her eyes and she took a step closer to them.

"I mean as a business man, he's good, our numbers are up and our stocks are rising." she whispered with a shake of her head. "But as a person, he's rude, and pompous, he's just an all out ass."

"I knew my ears were burning." they all turned at the slightly accented voice to see the man standing at the door of his office.

"Whoa." Thea said looking the man over. He was wearing slim fit suit, with a dress shirt and a skinny tie. Thea's eyes seemed to dance across the man's muscular body, until her eyes landed back on to his clean shaven face. "I think I know why Twinkie didn't want you to meet him. He's a hunk." Thea whispers over to her brother who ignored her comments.

"You know I was made to believe that this meeting was cancelled." Michael says walking over to Oliver. Both men seemed to stand at their full height as if sizing each other up, and Thea just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well that was just a misunderstanding." Oliver replied before holding out his hand. "Oliver Queen, and this is my campaign manager, Thea Queen, my sister." Michael shook both Oliver and Thea's hands before nudging his head back to his office.

"Well then, lets not waste any time then. Follow me." the pair followed the man into the office. Both Oliver and Thea noticed how drastically different the décor of the office was compared to when Katie was CEO. There were more awards on the walls, and business degrees. Lots of abstract artwork. It definitely looked liked the office of a man. "Can I offer either of you anything, water, coffee?" Oliver and Thea just shook their heads before Michael pointed to the seats in front of his desk.

"Mr. Carroll-" Thea started, but the man interrupted.

"Look, don't worry, mommy has already called to fix your little problem."

"Excuse me?" Oliver asked and the man turned to him.

"You know I didn't think she would marry a wimp of a man, but you told your wife on me, that's just pathetic, you know that right?" Oliver jumped to his feet, and Thea quickly stood to hold him back. "Look, sometimes I have no filter, I'm sorry. It's probably one of the reasons why Sweets asked me to be here."

"Sweets?" Oliver said, now fuming. He'd only met this man a few minutes ago and he already wanted to beat his face in.

"I'm sorry, it's a nickname. Katherine asked me to fill in for her."

"I find it hard to believe that she would even be associated with someone as-"

"Oliver-" Thea's tone was of warning. She could see how upset he was getting and knew if he continued, he'd only make matters worse. Oliver looked over to his sister, and suddenly realized his actions, and so he took a deep breath before turning back to the man.

"We're here to discuss the collaboration between the New Beginnings project and my campaign. We want to work with more local businesses to expand the job market for Star City citizens."

"And I got that from your proposal. I read it, and it's a good idea." Michael replied.

"Then what's the problem?" Oliver asked.

"Well RI is swimming in goodwill projects, and the NBP is fine on its own. This company doesn't gain anything from the collaboration. That being said, it doesn't really matter because it's not my call any more. All proposals for the NBP will be handled by Felicity Smoak over at Palmer Tech while Sweets is out of commission."

"Could you stop calling my wife that?" Oliver asked, feeling his patience running thin with the man. "And there are businesses in this city RI has not been able to reach, and with our conjoined efforts will succeed in bringing them on board. And out of that, RI gets more good press, RI expands its customer base, and in the end RI just does something good for this city, which is why Ray and my wife created it."

"You know you don't have to keep referring to her as your wife. I know the two of you are married. Me, and Sw-" Michael smiled, as he cleared his throat. "Me, and Katherine have already talked about it."

"What was there to talk about? Why is a conversation about our marriage even necessary."

"Because as the CEO of this company, every choice, every remark, every step she takes is a reflection on this company. And as the acting CEO of this company, it is my job to ensure she is making the right ones." Michael stood to his feet and walked around his desk. Thea kept her hand wrapped around her brother's wrist in case she needed to pull him back. "I'm here because she knew I would do everything in my power to protect her and this company."

"Well you worry about the company, and I'll worry my wife." Oliver said, making sure to he kept using the title.

"And you're doing a bang up job. I hear your office Christmas parties are all the ragers. One minute you're sipping the eggnog, the next you're dodging bullets." Oliver pulled out of Thea's grasp, and she grimaced as she saw him take a very dangerous close step toward the man who didn't seem to budge. "Look Mr. Queen, I've known Katherine for a very long time, and I'm only keeping her best interests in mind. Like I said, you can schedule a meeting with Ms. Smoak to present your plan." with that the man turned and walked back around his desk. "You can see yourselves out."

"Oliver, lets go." Thea nudges her brother's arm. She could see that look in his eyes, like he just wanted to jump over that desk and beat the man within an inch of his life. "Oliver-" Oliver grit his teeth before turning and following his sister out of the office.

Michael stood watching as the pair left, before plopping back down in his chair, and sliding a hand across his face.

"She is so gonna kick my ass for that." he muttered as he looked, unable to not chuckle a bit at how much he got under the man's skin. "It was worth it."

Oliver let out a huff the moment he and Thea stepped onto the elevator. Thea watched her brother and just shook her head.

"You need to calm down." she said and his eyes glanced over to her. "That guy baited you and you let him get under your skin."

"I know, it's just that guy-" Oliver shook his head. "I don't get why she chose him as her CEO. It doesn't make any sense." Thea looked at her brother before finally seeing what had him so upset.

"This isn't jealousy, is it?" Thea asked and Oliver turned to her with a furrowed brow. "A guy you barely know can't get under your skin this much unless there's some underlying reason."

"He's an ass!"

"Which we knew before we went in there. But the fact that he's also good looking and has a nickname for your wife, just pushed you over the edge didn't it?" she asked and Oliver turned away with a shake of his head. "Oliver it's too soon in your marriage to turn into the jealous territorial husband." Oliver didn't say anything and Thea just hoped rationale was coming back to him.

Katie didn't want to waste anytime and so they were heading right back out to the mall to take Ari shopping for things she would need for school.

Katie wasn't a very big shopping freak, and so she pushed Robyn in her stroller as they went from store to store behind the teenager. Currently Ari was searching a shoe store for new gym sneakers. It was getting late, and Katie knew she'd have to reign the girl in soon so they could grab dinner and head home. Katie looked down to Robyn who seemed mesmerized by the lights above them, and she couldn't help but smile. Her eyes looked up to the two men circling them, their eyes scanning the store.

It was Oliver's idea to have security with them if they were going to go to a place as public as Star City Mall. She rolled her eyes, as she glanced over to Ari who seemed to have chosen a pair of shoes and glanced over to Katie. Katie was about to head over, when she stopped and glanced over her shoulder. It was strange, but it was as if she could feel someone there, someone's energy.

"It's really growing." an accented voice spoke, and Katie turned to see the familiar face of John Constantine in front of her. "After all this ti-" before the man could finish the sentence, he was tackled to the floor by one of her security guards.

"Crap!" Katie says, pulling the stroller back. "Hey, uh-" she couldn't think of the guard's name right away, and then it hit her. "Steve! Hey, Steve, it's fine, I know him!" the moment Steve heard Katie's words, he looked back to her from his place on the floor where he had Constantine pinned. "He's a friend, you can get off of him."

"Yes ma'am." Steve said, before seeing the look Katie gave him. "I mean yes Katie." he stood to his feet before holding out a hand to Constantine who pushed it aside as he jumped to his feet. "I'm sorry." and with that Steve went back to surveying the store.

"You got your own army now?" Constantine asked as he straightened his clothes and stretched his now sore muscles.

"What the heck was that?!" Ari asked coming over, her eyes turning to Constantine with a furrowed brow. "Who are you?"

"Ari, this is John Constantine. He's an old friend of me and Oliver's." Katie says looking over to the man who pulled on a smile as he turned to the girl. "Constantine, this is Arianna Locke, my cousin."

"Well nice to meet you love." the man held out a hand to the teenager who stared at his hand warily before turning back to Katie.

"I'm not touching the British guy's hand." she said before lifting the shoes. "Can we pay for these?" she nudged her head toward the check out counter before heading over.

"You've taught her well." Constantine chuckled before turning back to Katie.

"Is there a reason you're popping up on me?" Katie asked as she began following after Ari.

"Well I was in the area and thought I'd catch up with my favorite mate." the man replied, moving to follow her, his eyes looking down to the baby in the stroller. "And meet her adorable little baby." he reached down to touch the baby, but Katie quickly caught his hand, bending it at the wrist.

"She doesn't touch the British guy either." Katie said, pushing the man away with a smile. "And you're here to check up on me."

"I mean you can't blame me, after our last meeting. You kicked me out after I offered to help you."

"That's just it, you didn't offer to help me, because you can't give me the help I need." Katie replied stopping and turning to the man. "And because of that, you should probably not surprise me like this. You should leave."

"My presence angers you, doesn't it?" he asked and Katie rolled her eyes before stalking away. "There's a reason for that you know. That reason is why I'm not leaving, no matter how many times you tell me to." he took a step, only to come face to face with his new buddy Steve.

"Actually you will." Steve said, standing up straight so his large frame didn't go missed by the man. "You should leave the store now." Constantine simply smiled, glancing over to Katie, before turning and heading out the store.

Oliver needed this moment. He needed to run, and use the skills that always made so much sense. When they returned back to the lair, Felicity had told them about a break in at Amertek. Right now they had him. He was trying to run, but Oliver knew he wasn't getting away.

John and Laurel appeared right in front of him, prepared to catch him. What they didn't expect was the robber to turn and run up the wall escaping.

"Where did he learn to do that?" Laurel asked, not expecting the move from some burglar.

" I'm thinking Cirque Du Soleil."

"He's headed for the roof!"

" _Thank you Black Canary. That is your cue, Green Arrow and Speedy."_ Felicity said from their coms.

"Is she-" Thea muttered as she ran to catch the guy.

"Overusing our code names? Yep. Indulge her." Oliver replied remembering Bruce's warning before they went out.

"We got him, Overwatch." Thea said when the spotted the guy on the roof.

" _You have no idea how much I love hearing that."_ Felicity spoke, and they could practically see the bright smile on her face. " _But there's one code name I can't wait to say again."_

"I wouldn't hold your breath, Ms. Smoak." Bruce replied from her side, and she just shook her head at the man before glancing over to the Guardian's suit.

"The Guardian will protect her streets again, you just wait and see."

" _Two rooftop doors!"_ Oliver called out, and Felicity eyes went back to the monitor.

"Floor plans show that the staircase splits a level below you. He could come out either door." Felicity replied.

Oliver and Thea shared a look before they gave a nod and each bolted toward one of the doors. It was the door Thea ran toward that the burglar bolted from. She chased the man and when he had no where to run he tried to fight. Thea met every punch and kick until she got the upper hand and is able to kick him over the ledge of the roof. She quickly climbed up above him, and aimed her arrow.

"Got him!" she said. She didn't expect the sudden dizziness. She stared at the man who seemed to be getting fuzzier by the second. Soon the darkness began to settle in and when it happens its easier to just let it happen.

At the moment the house was quiet. They had long eaten their dinner, and now Ari was secluded in her room, and Robyn had nodded off moments later. Katie now sat in the living room staring at the crackling flames of the fireplace. She held a notepad in hand and once again glanced down the empty page. She was still trying to come up with this impossible to think about list. There were a million reasons she and Oliver might not make it, but its none she wanted to think about. Maybe that was the point. She'd soon given up on the list, and nodded off to sleep.

_Katie wasn't sure of anything at the moment. That changed quickly. She no longer felt like a shell, as the world slowly became clearer. It's why she lifted her head from the cold window and glanced over to the driver. It hadn't been long since they left the asylum, but he still didn't tell her where he was taking her._

_"Where are we going?" she finally asked and she saw his eyes glance up to the rear view mirror to meet her eyes. "Stop the car!" he didn't say a word as he continued driving, and Katie sat up from her seat, because if he wasn't going to stop, then she was going to have to make him stop. She still felt weak, and the fuzziness in her brain hadn't gone away, but she would not waste her lucidity being the victim any longer. She didn't expect the car to come to a sudden stop and she didn't expect the obvious sound of the doors unlocking. She glanced out of the window, seeing nothing but trees. She had no idea where she was._

_"You will get out of the car, and you will not return to the asylum." the driver finally spoke. Katie turned back to him, his eyes still staring up ahead, not sparing her a glance. She sat frozen for a moment, unsure if this moment she'd been waiting for could truly be this easy. "You have ten seconds to exit this car, or I put a bullet in you and dump you out there." Katie glanced back out the window._

_"What was the point of all of this?" she asked turning back to the driver. "I gave them no information. Nothing was accomplished and now I'm just being let go. That doesn't make any sense."_

_"Or maybe you're just lucky." he replied. "Five seconds." Katie let out a huff before she grabbed the door and pushed it open and practically stumbled out. The moment she was out of that car, it just peeled away, leaving her in an unfamiliar darkness._

_Katie brought her arm around herself attempting to warm herself from the bitter cold, but it was no use. She was going to have to find help, or she was going to freeze to death._

An audible crunch caused Katie's eyes to snap open. Once she did, she was met with the curious gaze of her cousin who stood watching her as she ate a bowl of cereal.

"Oliver didn't come home last night." the teenager stated. "Are you guys getting a divorce or something?" Katie opened her mouth to respond, when she suddenly heard soft cooing. She turned to see Robyn in her baby seat on the floor beside Ari. "Oh, she's changed, and she's had a bottle." Katie turned back to the teenager with a furrowed brow. "I just figured since your marriage is in shambles, I could at least help out with the little spawn."

"My marriage isn't in shambles, and Oliver probably just got caught up with mayor stuff." Katie replied turning and looking down to her phone, and seeing the time. "Oh crap, I'm going to be late." she turned back to Ari and sighed. "Thanks for taking care of Robyn,-" Katie jumped to her feet. "Is Thea not here yet? She was supposed to baby sit?" she looked back over to Ari who shrugged as she continued to eat her cereal.

"You know I'm fifteen, I can watch the spawn for you?" Ari says squatting down to sit on the floor beside the baby.

"Ari, I'm not leaving you here alone with the baby." Katie says sliding her fingers through her hair trying to think up a solution.

"Well then you guys should just get a nanny." Ari commented, missing the glare Katie sent her. "So what now?" Katie let out a deep sigh because right now there was only one thing she could think of.

It was ten minutes after the scheduled meeting time when she finally stepped into Pastor Troy's office where she found both the pastor and Oliver waiting.

"Hey, I was on my way to find you." Oliver says standing to his feet and walking over to the woman. "I was getting worried."

"Just not worried enough to come home?" she muttered through a smile so only he could hear. She moved around the man and gave an apologetic smile to the pastor who sat behind his desk. "I'm so, so sorry. I woke up late, and my babysitter didn't show up, so I had to make other arrangements."

"What other arrangements?" Oliver asked and Katie didn't turn to him as she shook her head. "Twinkie, I'm sorry, I promise to explain-"

"We should get started!" Katie interrupted before gesturing to Pastor Troy. "Why don't you do your thing." Oliver sighed before turning to the man as well, who sat observing the couple.

"Alright," the pastor says standing to his feet and walking around to sit on the edge of his desk between the couple. "First things first, lets talk about your current problem. The purpose of these sessions is communication, and learning how to effectively communicate with each other will be an important part of your marriage. You can't shut each other out because you're angry." neither Oliver or Katie said a word and Pastor Troy decided to get the ball rolling. "Fine, Katherine, you're upset with Oliver. Do you want to tell him why?"

"He knows why." Katie replied glancing from the pastor to the window, and so she stood to her feet and walked over to stare out. 

"Ok, Oliver, do you know why she's upset right now?"

"I didn't come home last night. I got caught up with work, and there was a very unexpected turn of events and I couldn't-"

"He couldn't come home. That's the reality of our lives now. Oliver now has to deal with situations that force him to choose between dealing with work or coming home."

"Twinkie, that's not fair. You know things have not been easy." Oliver stood to his feet and walked over to her, sliding a hand to her shoulder, but she tensed at his touch. "Everything I'm doing is to keep you and our family safe. I have one mission in life that comes before everything and that is making sure no one hurts you, or our baby, or Ari. You gotta understand that."

"I do." she replied turning back to the man. "A lot is happening, I get it. Which is why I ask again, why are we here? Oliver we're married, you're my husband, and I'm your wife, so this-" she looked around the room with a shake of her head. "It's pointless."

"It is not pointless!" Oliver insisted, surprising Katie. "We need this. You-" he lifted his hand, and rubbed the back of his head.

"What aren't you saying?" Katie asked and the man looked back to her. "Why is all of this so important to you?"

"Because I really want this." Oliver said, reaching forward and taking her hand in his. "Because our lives have been turned upside down by things out of our control, and I want this to be something that we have, that nobody can take away from us. I want a day where nothing else matters but the woman walking toward me down that aisle. This wedding isn't pointless, Twinkie. Our reality will include more happy moments."

"You don't know that." Katie says dropping her head. She had that feeling in the pit of her stomach like something bad was coming. She didn't want to get lost in a fantasy again.

"I kind of do." Oliver replied slipping a hand under her chin and lifting her eyes back to his. "I am going to ensure it and you are going to help me. And the first step is to get through these ridiculous sessions and finally have ourselves a wedding." Katie stared at the man for a long moment, wanting so badly to believe his words, but the feeling wasn't going away and it was scaring her. She let out a sigh, before dropping her head to his chest, and his arms came around her.

A throat cleared, and the couple suddenly remembered they weren't alone. They pulled apart and turned back to Pastor Troy who walked over to the couple.

"Ok, I think I've seen enough. All I need from the two of you is the answer to one question." he asked.

"What?" Oliver asked.

"Why did you get married so soon after your daughter was born?" the man asked with a shake of his head. "When I heard the story, I had already made up in my mind that I wouldn't be able to marry you because I assumed that single decision showed me the type of people the two of you are. Marrying after the birth of a child, it's something I've seen a lot with couples who usually don't last. In their minds, they think because they have a child together, that getting married is just the logical thing to do, for the child or because it makes sense to society. I assumed you were here to gain something you didn't get from your first wedding, but I think I was wrong.

"I guess it did seem like some spur of the moment thing." Katie says glancing over to Oliver. "I mean we literally had just became parents, and then that chaplain showed and boom, we were married." she turned back to Pastor Troy with a slight smile. "The thing is, marriage wasn't some thing we thought we needed to have because of Robyn. We would've been fine raising her without getting married, and probably still be the happiest people in the world."

"Then why'd you do it?"

"Because we had to." Oliver said, his hand still wrapped around Katie's. "Because nothing made more sense than that moment we decided to get married. Because we'd just gone through the fire and the flood before our baby was born."

"We got to a possible end." Katie added. "Like we came to a moment where if one of us decided to just walk away, the other would completely understand, which is a terrible place to be. Especially with a baby coming. We put it all out there, showed each other that other shoe before it dropped. And when we did, neither one of us walked away."

"We know marriage isn't easy. We've seen that in the short time we've been married from, deciding on child care to-"

"Finally having sex." Katie said, and Oliver glanced over to her trying not to look too amused at the response, but he simply gave a nod. "We got married, because we showed each other everything and didn't walk away. We don't completely understand how or where this love came from, and at this point it really doesn't matter, because we have it and we're never letting it go. So if you don't want to marry us, then fine, we'll find someone who sees what this really is."

"We're not here because we think we made a mistake in getting married, we're here because I really want to see this woman in a yellow wedding dress."

Pastor Troy stood there staring at the couple in silence before giving a nod, and walking back over to his desk. Katie and Oliver shared a look unsure what decision was.

"Do you have a date in mind?" the pastor flipped through his schedule before looking over to the couple who once again turned to each other. "I remembered you said something about June 18th. That would be six months-"

"Actually we were thinking sooner." Oliver said as he and Katie walked over.

"Ok, how much sooner?"

"Well we were kind of thinking three weeks." Katie said with a slight smile. "Thanks to my friend Felicity, and sister in law, it's already mostly planned. We just need someone up there to pronounce us man and wife again."

"Three weeks." Pastor Troy said flipping through his calendar, and smiling when he saw an opening. "I actually am free." he looked back up to the couple. "I guess we're having a wedding." Oliver turned to Katie and couldn't help but to bring an arm around her, capturing her lips with his. Once they pulled apart, Oliver looked down to the woman. 

"We're having a wedding."

"We're having a—" Katie's phone suddenly vibrated and she reached into her purse, pulling it out and just shook her head.

"What's wrong?" Oliver asked.

"My other arrangements are falling through." Katie replied.

When Oliver and Katie left Pastor Troy's office, they headed out into the church where Steve seemed to be trying to calm a crying Robyn as Ari sat with her headphones over her ears. The moment Steve looked up and saw the couple, the relief washed over his face.

"I am going to get a list of the best nannies in this city." Oliver said over to Katie, before going to rescue Steve from the crying baby.

When they arrived back to the house, Ari had only gotten halfway up the stairs before her phone beeped.

"Crap!" she says turning to Oliver and Katie. "So I sort of have to ask you guys something." Oliver and Katie shared a look before looking back up to the girl. "Some friends have invited me to go see a movie tonight?"

"Ari, I don't think that's really a good idea right now." Oliver started and the girl simply shook her head before looking over to Katie.

"You're the rational one. Please can I go?" Ari asked, and Oliver shook his head as both turned to Katie who looked up to the girl and seriously didn't want to ruin this relationship they seemed to be building. Plus she was a teenager who wanted to hang out with friends.

"Fine, you can go," the girl's smile brightened. "But you have to choose Henry or Steve to go with you." Ari rolled her eyes, but turned away in thought.

"I choose Henry. Steve's a total hard-ass." the girl said, when her phone suddenly beeped again. "They're here." she skipped down the stairs.

"We should give her like a curfew, right?" Katie whispered over to Oliver who nodded. Katie quickly turned back to the girl before she left. "Well be back by-" Ari turned to the woman with a quirked brow. "Ten." Ari’s face scrunched into frown. "Fine, Eleven, but so help me, you better stay with Henry. If you ditch him, I will find you and you're not going to like it." the girl just muttered an agreement before rushing out the door.

"Aren't you curious about who these friends are?" Oliver asked, knowing once upon a time it would've driven the woman crazy not to know who Ari was with.

"I know who they are, and so do you." Katie says picking up Robyn from her stroller.

"I do?"

"Liver, they work for your campaign." Katie says looking over to the man with a shake of her head. "Uh, Kelsie, Laney, Harrison, and Jamie. That group of high school kids you have that needed volunteer hours so they joined your campaign. Why do you think she likes to go your campaign office?" Katie chuckled as she headed into the kitchen.

"Wait, I think I caught that Jamie kid talking to her in my office. He made up some story about looking for staples." Oliver said as he followed behind the woman. "Wait, is he that boy she likes?" Katie glanced over to him and nodded before strapping Robyn into her baby seat and turning on the little mobile that was above her.

"So do you want to tell me why you didn't come home last night?" Katie asked turning to the man. He looked at his watch as if suddenly remembering something. "Liver-"

"There was a burglar last night. We had him. Thea had him pinned down, and then she just passed out." Oliver said, and Katie's eyes went wide.

"Why the hell didn't you call me?" she asked with a shake of her head. "Where is she now?"

"She's at her and Laurel's place. I was going to check on her later."

"No we are going to check on her later." Katie says smacking the man's arm. "Your sister passed out and you didn't call me. You do know I'm a doctor, right?"

"Twinkie, I know but if this has to do with what I think, then there was nothing you could do."

"You think this has to do with the blood lust?" Katie asked and Oliver's nodded. Katie turned away in thought. "She seemed fine. I thought it was cured."

"So did I. Look, right now we don't know what's going on."

"And I can help with that. Doctor, remember?"

"Twinkie, I just don't think you should get involved unless absolutely necessary."

"I'm sorry, did you just tell me not to get involved when there is something wrong with my sister?" Katie asked and Oliver dropped his head and let out a sigh. "What is this about?"

"Do you trust me?" Oliver asked suddenly looking up to the woman.

"You only ask me that question when there's something you're not telling me about that you don't want me to push. Just tell me."

"Whatever is happening to you seems to be tied to your emotions. I've talked to Constantine-" Katie sneered the moment Oliver said his name. "Twinkie, he wants to help you, but you have to let him."

"Constantine can't help me and you can't shield me from feeling sad or angry. I will have those emotions, so Oliver I am going to see Thea later. If something is wrong, I would like to know how bad it has gotten." with that the woman turned to the baby and smiled. "So are you going to be the bestest baby in the world and go down easy for your nap?" the girl was simply mesmerized by the mobile. "Well you-" Katie didn't expect the yawn that escaped her lips. "You will get more sleep than you did last night hopefully."

"Rough night?" Oliver asked walking over to Katie's side.

"Well at this point, I'm use to it." she replied glancing over to the man before scooping the baby into her arms, and heading for the stairs. She stopped and turned back to Oliver and shook her head. "Oliver I know what you're doing when you're out there. I know who you're fighting for, and I also know it won't always be like this."

"It won't." Oliver promised walking over to the woman, placing his hands on her waist. "I promise it won't. We just need to find a way to stop-"

"He who shall not be named." Katie said with a shake of her head before placing a kiss to the top of Robyn's head. "Well right now she needs to go down for a nap and-"

"Let me do it." Oliver suggested and Katie looked up to him with a furrowed brow. "C'mon, I have been obviously slacking on my responsibilities here and-"

"Liver you don't-"

"Let me put her down for her nap, and maybe mommy can take a nap herself." Oliver replied already plucking the baby from her arms.

"You know you don't have to do this." Katie replied as Oliver settled Robyn in one of his arms, before bringing the other around his wife. The woman dropped her head to his shoulder as they all headed upstairs. "Do you know what I just realized?"

"What?" Oliver asked.

"I actually told Pastor Troy that we haven't had sex." she said, and Oliver couldn't help but to erupt in laughter. "I'm glad I can bring some amusement to your life."

"Aw, Twinkie, you bring so much more." Oliver replied placing a kiss on top of her head.

Robyn had to be use to her nap schedule, because it did not take her long for the little girl to fall asleep. Oliver stood above her crib, a soft smile on his lips as he stared down to his daughter.

"You're getting so big." he whispered, still amazed at how she seemed to be growing everyday when he wasn't looking, and he couldn't help but feel like he was missing it. "I promise you, once we catch this really bad guy, I am going to be around more often. I'm going to be there for you and your mommy, because the two of you are my whole world." the man slid a finger along her tiny belly, before backing out of the room, flicking off the light as he did.

Oliver turned and headed down the hall, pushing open the door to their bedroom, stopping when he saw Katie curled up sleeping as well. The man let out a sigh, before kicking off his shoes and slipping into the bed beside her. She must've felt him beside her, because even in her sleep she seemed to roll over, bringing her arm around his middle, and lying her head on his chest. He brought his arm around her, and letting out a deep sigh, and closing his eyes.

He needed this moment as much as she did. A moment where everything just stopped and he wasn't running for mayor, or searching for Damian Darhk.

Oliver didn't realize he needed sleep until he was jolted awake by his phone vibrating in his pocket. He glanced over to Katie who was still snug in his arms. He didn't want to wake her just yet, and so he carefully slipped from her grasp, and stepped out into the hallway pulling out his phone, sighing at the number. He answered and brought the phone to his ear.

"Malcolm, what do you-" the man was interrupted by news that his sister didn't seem to be getting better. "I'm on my way." he replied before ending the call. He glanced from the nursery door, to their bedroom door, and he couldn't find the will power to move just yet. He turned and it just so happened that one of the pictures on the wall was of him and Thea from a while ago, back when they still lived in the mansion. It looked like an old picture from one of his mother's parties. Both seemed to be smiling, but they were obviously fake smiles. "I will fix this Thea." Oliver let out a deep breath, before turning and heading back into the bedroom. He walked into the room in time to hear the moan that escaped Katie's lips as she tossed and turned. "Hey Twinkie," he rushed to her side, grabbing her arms. "Twinkie, you're alright." the lamp beside the bed suddenly flickered, and Oliver's eyes looked on in confusion before looking back down to his wife. He slid his hand through her hair. "Twinkie," Katie's eyes opened, jilting up with a gasp. Oliver wrapped around her, and her eyes went to his. "You're ok, you're ok." Katie's chest heaved as the remnants of the nightmare still lingered.

"I'm fine." she said placing her hand on Oliver's chest as she took a deep breath to calm the drumming in her chest. "It was just a bad dream." she tried to stand from the bed, but Oliver's arms around her never loosened, and she knew he wasn't going to just let this go. "I'm fine."

"Well I don't think you are." Oliver replied bringing a hand to her cheek. "Talk to me." suddenly the sound of the baby crying cut through the room. Oliver sighed, before releasing his hold on the woman who quickly stood from the bed to check on the baby. He stood to his feet and followed after her in time to see her lifting the baby from her crib.

"Aw, Robyn just needs a new diaper." she cooed softly as she brought the baby over to the changing table.

"What was the dream about?" Oliver asked and Katie glanced over to him with a shake of her head.

"I don't want to talk about it now. Not here, not with her in the room." Katie said looking back down to the baby. Once the baby had on a fresh diaper, Katie lifted her back in her arms, placing a kiss to her forehead. "All better." the woman walked over the rocking chair before sitting down and settling the girl comfortably in her arms as they sway back and forth. "When are we leaving to see Thea?" Katie glanced over to the man, who sighed with a shake of his head. For a few minutes he forgot there was another crisis that needed to be fixed. "Liver?"

"What was the dream about?" he asked once again, and Katie let out a frustrated growl, before looking down to the baby and deciding she was no longer going to talk to the man. "We have to talk about this?"

"We do, but not now." she said glancing over to the man. "Right now the fate of the world does not rest on the fact that I tell you about my dream." the woman stood to her feet and walked over to the man. "I want to check on Thea now." the woman looked down to the baby. "Lets get you ready." Oliver turned watching as the woman walked away from him and the conversation.

The drive was silent on their way to Thea and Laurel's apartment. It wasn't until they were actually on the elevator did Katie finally ask the question that she almost forgot to ask.

"Oh, wait, Laurel is not going to be here, right?" Katie asked turning to Oliver who glanced up from Robyn to look over to Katie. "Well is she?"

"You know you should talk to her." Oliver replied and Katie rose an eye brow at the statement, and Oliver soon remembered why he didn't want to get into the middle of this. "That is in no way me condoning what she did-"

"Well of course it is. She's Laurel, your Laurel and she can do no wrong in your eyes." Katie replied turning away from the man.

"That's really not fair." Oliver said with a shake of his head. "What she did was bad, but she was hurting and that sort of pain can—"

"Cause you to try to kiss married men, apparently." the doors slid opened and the woman stalked off the elevator. Oliver let out a sigh, before glancing down to the baby in her stroller, and just shook his head.

"Try not to be as stubborn as your mommy, please." Oliver whispered to the girl before following after the woman. She lifted her hand to knock, but hesitated for a moment. "Laurel isn't here, she's with the others trying to track down our robber from yesterday." Oliver lifted a fist to lightly knock on the door.

"So Thea's here alone?" Katie asked looking over to the man who shook his head just as the door opened, and Katie's eyes widened at the sight of the man who opened the door.

"Good, you're here." Malcolm said taking a step to the side to let them in, but Katie didn't move as she looked at the man. Malcolm glanced from the woman to Oliver. "You didn't tell her I was here."

"No, he didn't." Katie replies before turning to Oliver, taking the handles of the stroller from his hand and heading off to the elevator. She heard his heavy steps behind her, but she didn't turn back to him. "You didn't want me to come here tonight, so why the hell didn't you ensure I didn't by telling me that bastard was going to be here."

"Because I assumed there was nothing or no one that could stop you from making sure Thea was ok." Oliver replied just as the doors opened, but the woman didn't take a step. "Look I know Malcolm is not a saint, but he has been there for us, and he's been there for Thea. I know he loves her."

"Robyn doesn't go near him." Katie says turning back to face Oliver. "He goes near her, and I become a mean mommy." she sighed before walking back to the apartment.

"Become," Oliver muttered as she walked past him and she stopped and looked over to him before lightly swatting his arm.

"You're not funny, and I'm not joking." she replied walking back over to the door and walking inside. Oliver and Katie walked in to find Thea lying on the couch, Malcolm standing in front of her. They both turned when the couple walked inside.

"Have we realized that I'm not the bad guy here?" Malcolm asked, and Katie glanced from him to Oliver who sighed. "I assume you're here to check on my daughter, so if you don't mind-" the man gestured to Thea, who turned a glare to him.

"You do know me or Oliver won't stop her when she decides to kick your ass, right?" Thea asked, and it was clear in the weakness of her voice that something was definitely wrong. Katie turned to Oliver, passing off Robyn's stroller, and grabbed her medical bag that was stored underneath.

Katie walked over to Thea, squatting down in front of her, placing a hand around her wrist to check her pulse.

"How do you feel?"

"You know I think the answer to that question is fairly self evident." Malcolm said in annoyance. "Thea's bloodlust is the balancing of an equation. She was given life and now she needs to take it." Katie didn't say anything as she looked up to Thea and sighed. "I really don't even understand the reason you're here, there's nothing medically for you to even do." Katie stood up straight, and turned to the man. "My daughter-"

"Malcolm stop talking!" Katie interrupted. "Look I understand you're worried about Thea, but right now while I'm trying to figure out exactly what this is doing to her body, I'm going to need you to stop talking." Katie didn't wait for the man to agree, before turning back to Thea, and taking the seat beside her on the couch. She could feel the heat of anger from the man on the other side of the room. Knew the newly appointed Ra's Al Ghul did not take well to being given orders. "Thea, I want you to tell me how you feel?"

"Not great." Thea, replied and Katie gave a nod before grabbing her medical bag and pulling out her stethoscope.

"This is pointless." Malcolm muttered, as Katie placed the stethoscope to Thea's chest. "Thea collapsed because if the life she owes doesn't come from taking others, it will come from the life of the host."

"Please do not refer to me as the host." Thea grumbled in annoyance looking over to the man.

"This isn't a joke. If you don't indulge this bloodlust, you will die."

"I don't understand." Oliver said, glancing over to Malcolm. "Sara wasn't like this."

"John Constantine made Sara whole and restored the balance."

"Ok, then maybe he can help Thea now. He's in town, maybe he can help restore her balance." Oliver suggested.

"At this point it wouldn't work." Malcolm replied with a shake of his head. "It would have needed to have happened sooner."

"Thea, I thought you were doing ok."

"Because the bloodlust was temporarily blunted." Malcolm said, and Oliver glanced over to him in confusion.

"By what?"

"Damien Darhk." Thea said, and they all turned to her. "When we rescued Andy from HIVE, I ran into him. He tried to kill me with his magic death touch thingie, but it didn't work on me."

"What it did do was stop the bloodlust for a time." Malcolm added.

"We need to find Damien Darhk and make whatever he did to her permanent." Oliver suggested, hoping this could be the solution they were looking for.

"No." Katie said, before letting out a sigh and glancing over her shoulder to Oliver. "I know you want to help your sister, but that option, if there was even the slightest chance it was possible, would only make our lives even more difficult."

"But if it's a chance to help Thea, then I'm willing to take it!" Oliver countered and Katie looked at him for a moment, before turning back to Thea.

"I don't like the sound of your lungs. I want to get you on some oxygen to help you breathe a little bit easier. And I want you to rest. Your body seems to be working over time to just keep up. So I want you to eat something, and then try to sleep." Katie pulled her phone from her pocket and stood to her feet, walking away to dial a familiar number. She listened to the ringing, until the line clicked.

" _Let me guess, the world has ended and I'm the last person on earth."_ the man said. " _That's the only reason I would believe you would call me."_

"Or I needed something." Katie sighed sliding a hand over her face. "And no matter how much I dislike you right now Ethan, it doesn't outrank my need to help Thea."

" _What's wrong?"_ Ethan asked, and Katie glanced over to see the woman and just shook her head.

"She's dying." Katie said quietly before once again turning away. "Look, I need O2, with a mask. Maybe bring an intubation kit just in case."

" _If I suggested you bring her here-"_

"Medically there's nothing that would help her at the hospital. I just need to keep her alive long enough to figure out how to fix this." Katie replied. "Look I'm at Laurel's place-" she heard the man sigh. "She's not here, so you're in there clear."

" _Fine, I will be there soon."_ Ethan said.

"Just like that, huh?" Katie asked with furrowed brow. "After everything, you're just going to help me."

" _Yeah, after everything I'm still going to help you."_ the man replied. _"I know what I did wasn't something everyone was going to forgive. I know I have to regain that trust again. This is one of the ways I do that."_ Katie closed her eyes and dropped her head as she let out a sigh. _"What?"_

"I'll tell you when you get here." she replied before ending the call. She turned in time to see Oliver ending a call as well. "You have to go."

"That was Laurel, they found our robber, he's stolen a weapon. It's just he's quick, and I-"

"Have to go." Katie replied with a nod. "Then you should go." she walked around the man to stand in front of Thea. "I want you to eat something."

"There's soup in the kitchen." Malcolm said, before heading off to get it.

"Ok, now I-" Katie stopped and glanced over to Oliver who still stood watching them. "Your guy is getting further and further away." Katie replied turning to the man. "Fine, we're going to need to have a conversation, but not now. This guy has a weapon, so find him and find out why he has it."

"I'll be back later." Oliver replied, walking over and placing a kiss to Thea's head, before turning to Katie who placed a hand on his chest. "I love you."

"I heart you too, Liver." she replied placing a quick kiss to his lips before the man turned. He walked over, sliding a finger along Robyn's belly, giving her a smile, before he continued out the door.

"Alright," Katie says turning back to Thea and holding out her hands. "You can have your soup in bed."

Thea had only taken a few sips of her soup, before pushing it away. Once the woman had fallen asleep, Malcolm decided to watch her for a bit, while Katie went to check on the baby. Malcolm stared down to his daughter and sighed. He couldn't lose another child, he just couldn't. Malcolm pressed a kiss to the top of his daughter's head, before finally heading back out to the living room where he found Katie standing near the window holding Robyn in her arms. She glanced over to him when she felt his eyes.

"She still sleep?" the man gave a nod, as his eyes drifted to the baby in her arms hungrily drinking from her bottle.

"I remember when Tommy was that tiny." Malcolm mused a ghost of a smile coming to his face at the thought of his son. "I remember his little eyes looking back at me, and I promised I would never let any harm come to him." Katie glanced over to the man once again, this time seeing the sudden sadness that washed over his face.

"Careful." she said, and he looked up meeting her eyes. "You're showing emotions not becoming of the Ra's Al Ghul."

"The last time I saw you, I was actually helping with your escape from Darhk, and yet you can't even show me the slightest kindness. Not even when I know a very big secret you wouldn't want anyone to know about." Katie looked over to the man for a moment. "I saw how how you escaped Darhk's gas chamber."

"And yet you're not afraid." she said with a slight shake of her head before smiling down to her daughter. "You should be afraid." she lifted her eyes to the man who seemed to stand a bit straighter. Katie smirked, before hearing the sound of her vibrating phone. She maneuvered the baby in her arm, snagging it from her pocket before bringing it to her ear. "This is Katie." the next words spoken to her made her freeze. "What do you mean you lost her? The entire scope of your job is to not lose her, and yet-" Katie growled angrily. "Find her." Katie ended the call before lifting the baby higher on her chest and gently patting her back, her eyes closed.

"Is everything alright?" Malcolm asked and Katie sighed, because she really wanted him to stop talking to her. The moment she heard the tiny burp from the baby, she lowered Robyn back into her stroller, before taking out her phone and dialing Oliver's number. She growled when it went to his voice mail.

"Hey, call me back. Henry lost Ari. Just call me back please." Katie sighed, ending the call and deciding to try to call the girl. She listened to the ringing, and wanted to just throw her phone the moment it went to voice mail. "Arianna Locke, you better be physically unable to answer your phone right now, because I promise you if you're not, you are going to wish you were." she ended the line before turning to Malcolm. "I have to go. Look a doctor friend of mine will be here soon. He knows pretty much everything about us, so he knows about Thea and the pit and that it has been affecting her. He will have a breathing mask for Thea if she starts having trouble breathing."

"None of it will make any difference. There's only one thing that can save her and-"

"Killing?" Katie asked. "Don't you see Malcolm, there is something in this world you created that hasn't been completely tainted by your darkness. Your daughter is good, and murder is not in her, so if you truly love her, if you truly want her to remain the only good thing you have in this world, you would help us find another way to help her that doesn't include taking a life." Katie picked up the baby bag, and grabbed the handle of Robyn's stroller before rushing out of the door.

Katie had no idea where to even begin looking for Ari, and so she went to the only person she knew would graciously help her. It's why Katie hurried to the campaign office, heading into the side door, and heading straight down to the lair. She quickly pushed Robyn's stroller out of the elevator, her eyes looking for Felicity, only to see Laurel. Laurel lifted her head from the monitor, her eyes staring in confusion at the woman.

"Please tell me Felicity is just in the bathroom, or something?" Katie asked, glancing around the lair, only to turn back to Laurel who simply shook her head.

"She's on her way from Palmer Tech." Laurel replied stepping around to the woman. "Is everything alright?"

"It's not, but when is it ever?" Katie muttered before taking out her phone and once again dialing Ari's number, only for it to ring and then go straight to the voice mail. "Strike number two!" she ended the call before grabbing the stroller and pushing it up to one of the computers, before taking a seat.

"Well did you need help?" Laurel asked and Katie scoffed. "You know what, fine. I've apologized, and if you can't get over it, then-" Katie turned a glare to the woman before she could even finish the thought.

"There is so much I would say to that right now, but I'm in a bit of a crisis, so I'm just going to settle for ignoring you and I suggest you do the same." Katie turned back to the computer and sighed. "Ok, now how does Felicity do this?" Katie clicked around hoping there was at least something she could click that could help her track Ari's phone. Felicity made this look so easy, but right now Katie just wanted to punch the monitor in frustration. Katie dropped her head to her hands, trying to think of someone else who could help her. The sudden sounds of Robyn's crying pulled Katie from her thoughts, before turning to pick the baby up in to her arms and gently rocking her against her chest. "I know, I know, baby." Katie cooed. She glanced up to see Laurel once again staring, and she simply shook her head. Once she got the baby calmed, Katie placed Robyn back in her stroller, before grabbing the handles about to head toward the back room when she stopped, suddenly feeling something different in the air. She'd only felt it a few times before, all seeming to stem from one man. She turned, suddenly spotting a small circle of candles, and something drawn on the floor. She walked over, peering down, a shiver going down her spine.

"That is from the lair's new house guest." Laurel said, and Katie glanced over to the woman.

"Constantine is staying here." Katie turned back to the candles and just shook her head. She stood to her feet and walked back over to continue to push the stroller toward the elevator.

"Should I tell Oliver you were here?" Laurel called as Katie stepped onto the elevator and glanced over to the woman.

"Tell him whatever you want, apparently I can't." and with that the doors closed. Katie glanced down to her daughter and sighed. "Your cousin is in so much trouble." she shook her head and turned back to the doors. Katie racked her brain trying to decide on a next step, and that is when it hit her. "Of course!" she pulled out her phone and dialed a familiar number hoping the man answered. A relieved smile broke out on her face the moment he did. "Hi, I need your help again. Are you in your lab?"

Felicity arrived first after receiving the text from Laurel when Oliver finally identified their robber as their long lost friend Roy Harper. The woman rolled inside quickly, her eyes looking over to where Laurel stood.

"Hey, where's Oliver?" Felicity asked.

"He's on his way, he wanted to look around some more in case he could find Roy's trail." Laurel said with a shake of her head. "This makes no sense at all." both turned as John walked over, his eyes looking over to Felicity who wheeled around to her computer.

"Tell me about it." Felicity replied, glancing over to one of the computers and frowning. "Were you using this computer?" Laurel glanced over to her and shook her head.

"No, Twinkie was here with the baby. She was looking for you I guess to do something, and when I told her you weren't here, she attempted to do it herself, but I figure it didn't work so she left."

"Did she tell you what was going on?" John asked, and Laurel shook her head once again.

"No, she's not really speaking to me right now."

"Why not?" Felicity asked and Laurel looked between the pair really not wanting to air out about that night.

"Beats me." Laurel replied before glancing up to the elevator that opened, Oliver stalking off, his phone pressed to his ear.

"Twinkie, tell me where you are, just-" he growled in annoyance. "And I apologized, but I told you I was chasing-" he stopped walking and shook his head. "I'm not making excuses, I just would like you to understand that I-" he growled once again because she interrupted him not letting him finish his sentence. "That's not what I said. Just tell me where you are, and we can find her together." the line ended and Oliver let out a heavy sigh before looking up to his friends who were watching him the entire time.

"What's wrong?" Felicity asked as Oliver walked over to them.

"Ari ditched her security, and she's not answering her phone." Oliver said with a shake of his head. "Katie called earlier, but I couldn't answer my phone because-"

"You were chasing someone we thought would steer clear of this city since he revealed himself to be The Arrow." Felicity replied with a shake of her head.

"Oliver, I'm gonna ask this just to ask it. Are you sure that it was- "

"It was Roy. " Oliver answered without hesitation. "Absolutely."

"Or maybe it was just somebody who's able to make themselves look like Roy." Laurel suggested, and Oliver turned to her in confusion. "Don't act like it's the craziest possibility after everything that we've experienced."

"What's crazy is Roy stealing from tech companies." Oliver turned to Felicity. "What did he take this time?"

"A triode capacitor bomb." Felicity said glancing over to the screen. "Tiny device, really huge boom." she looked back over to the man who nodded but the sound of his vibrating phone pulled his attention in hopes that it was Katie, but it wasn't.

"This is Alex texting me for the five hundredth time today." the man said with a shake of his head.

"Yeah, well have a quick chat with Alex, then find your wife, and the teenager roaming this city where there's still a Damien Darhk out there wanting to hurt you." Felicity said and Oliver glanced over to her with a nod before turning and rushing back over to the elevator. Laurel walked over to one of the computers, and Felicity glanced over to her before turning to John nudging her head. John simply shook his head, but complied making himself scarce. Felicity wheeled herself beside Laurel who was looking down to images of the bomb.

"What could Roy want with a bomb?" Laurel muttered and Felicity sighed.

"No idea, but I have an even better question that you have the answer to." Laurel glanced over to the blonde with a furrowed brow. "Twinkie is sort of in a crisis right now and she could've turned to you for help, but didn't. What's going on?"

"Felicity, it's not really something I want to get into, especially now when there is a bomb on the streets." Laurel said backing away from the woman. "That is what we should be focusing on. Not whose talking to who." Laurel turned to the other computer letting out a sigh. She knew the moment the others learned the truth, they would probably hate her too, and so she would prevent that for as long as she could.

Katie was pacing. Despite popular belief, she really did hate pacing. But at this point it was as if it was something out of her control when she found herself in a situation where all she could do was wait.

"You know I think I read somewhere that pacing is a behavioral signal to tell yourself that you're too overwhelmed." Katie glanced over to Curtis who only moments earlier was able to get a trace on Arianna's phone. She'd already called Hank and Steve who were on their way to the location leaving her to wait.

"You know I still don't understand why you just couldn't just watch Robyn for a little while so I could be the one to find Ari." Katie said looking over to the man who chuckled as he looked down to the little disk in his hand he was tinkering with.

"Why don't you just hire a nanny?" Curtis asked and if looks could kill, he'd probably be dead from the look the woman was giving him. "Or not. Did I say something wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong with nannies, hell I had one for a little while. But I missed my parents. I don't want her to miss me." Katie shook her head before glancing over to the man.

"Well she can only miss you if you're like gone all the time, and I get the feeling you're not that type of mom." Curtis said glancing over to the woman. "And seriously, you should have a seat. She's at some teenage club, I'm sure she's fine." Katie just shook her head as she continued pacing. "You know this is the second time you've called me on my personal phone. Am I like in your rolodex of people now. Like a go to person when you need help, because that-" she glanced over to the man with a quirked brow. "I mean needing help is never fun, but the fact that I'm someone you turn to is kind of cool." Katie shook her head, just as her watch suddenly beeped.

"Of course." she replied before looking over to the man. "I'll be right back, I just have to-" she muttered something incoherently as she turned and grabbed her bag, pulling it over her shoulder.

"Wait, what?" Curtis asked and Katie stopped and glanced over to the man.

"I have to go pump, or I will leak." Katie said, and embarrassment washed over the man's face that made Katie lightly chuckle. "I will be right back." she grabbed Robyn's stroller figuring she could check the baby's diaper as well. Curtis watched the woman as she left the lab and he just shook his head.

"Some things are just best not known Curtis." he muttered to himself as he glanced back down to the disk.

A while later, Katie stood washing her hands, before glancing up to the bathroom mirror. She stared at herself for a brief moment before grabbing some paper towel to dry her hands and glanced down Robyn with a smile. Suddenly her phone rang and she quickly answered it.

"Hank, did you find her?"

" _Yeah, we found her, and she's a little-"_ there was a brief pause, and Katie suddenly got worried.

"A little what?"

" _Drunk. I guess some kids at the club snuck in some booze, and when we found her she was on stage singing."_ Katie heard the man chuckle. _"I'm sorry, it's not funny, we're on our way to the house now."_

"Good, get her inside, and this time don't let her out of your sight." Katie ended the call and let out a sigh of relief just as her phone once again rang. She looked down and shook her head before bringing the phone to her ear. "They've found Ari, and she's on her way home, and so am I."

" _Twinkie, I need you to listen to me carefully."_ Oliver said and Katie could hear the seriousness of his tone. _"Are you at Palmer Tech?" Katie turned in confusion._

"How did you—did you trace my phone? I told you not to-"

" _Twinkie, stop talking!"_ Oliver snapped. _"I need you and Robyn out of there right now."_

"What's going on?"

" _Can you find a way out?"_

"I can, but Curtis is here, and if something is-"

" _Don't worry about Curtis, just get out of there."_ Katie turned glancing down to the baby, before she silently nodded and grabbed her bag.

"Alright. Just be careful Liver."

" _You too."_

The moment the line ended, Katie slid her phone in her pocket before looking down to the baby .

"Looks like we have to go." Katie said before grabbing the stroller and pushing it out into the hall. She needed to move quickly, but she knew to move carefully and quietly. She searched the hall, her ears opened when she suddenly heard a crash from behind her. Her eyes landed on the doors that lead to Curtis' lab, and that's when the internal battle happened.

If something was wrong, and if they were truly in danger, she needed to get her baby out of here. Katie's eyes looked back to her squirming daughter who had no idea what was happening around them.

"My job is to keep you safe." she whispered before hearing another crash and she couldn't fight it any longer. She glanced around the hall, spotting a conference room, before pushing the stroller inside. She ensured the baby was tightly strapped inside. "Mommy can't just leave Curtis when he's in trouble." she adjusted the mini mobile above the baby and turned it on so it illuminated and light music played. "Don't worry, this part usually doesn't take that long. I'll be back before you know it." Katie gave the baby a kiss before leaving the room, and closing the door behind her.

The moment she was out of that room, Katie turned and sped down the hall as quickly as she could. She rushed into Curtis' lab in time to see the man being kicked by someone whose face was covered. In that moment, Katie didn't stop and think. Instincts she thought were long gone, kicked in and before she knew it she was running over, dropping and sliding a leg underneath the mask man's feet. The moment he was on the floor, Katie quickly ran over to help Curtis stand.

"You shouldn't be here." Curtis muttered, and Katie glanced down to him and shook her head. "It's too dangerous."

"Yeah, well I'm kind of dangerous too." Katie replied glancing over to see the masked man back on his feet. Katie turned whispering to Curtis where Robyn was. The man gave a nod before limping for the door. The masked man attempted to go after him, but Katie quickly ran to block him. "You just stumbled into the wrong lab and hit the wrong guy." the masked man threw a punch, and the moment he did, Katie dodged it before grabbing his arm and tossing her leg up to kick him in the stomach. He jerked out of her grasp, tossing kick after kick, but Katie kept stumbling back missing each one. "You're good." her back suddenly hit the wall, no where to go as the man eased toward her. He reached forward grabbing her shoulders and tossing her to the floor hard. The man lifted a foot to kick her, but she rolled out of reach before jumping to her feet. Katie ignored the sting from her side, figuring she must've fallen on shards of glass. Right now pain was not her focus. She looked over to the man, lifting her fists in a fighting stance, a smirk coming to her lips. "Is that all you got?" he ran to tackle her, and Katie spun a kick, landing hard to his chest. He stumbled back with a grunt, but quickly recovered about to attack again. "You're persistent. I really like that in a person. And you may not believe this, but I'm kind of having fun, so keep it coming." he threw a punch, that Katie blocked. Soon his moves were one after the other, no stopping, no pausing. It was a fight of wills and only one person would win in the end. Katie was able to land a kick that knocked the man on the floor, her chest heaving as she started toward him. "Alright this has been fun, but I really have to get back to my kid. Leave now, or I will end you." he jumped to his feet, but didn't move right away. Katie noticed his fist clenched at his side, and she just knew he wasn't as smart as she hoped. "Well don't say you weren't warned." Katie bolted toward the man, and before he could grab her, she jumped, clamping her thighs around his neck and forcing them both to the floor with a hard thud.

The man tried pulling at her legs with his free hand as he felt the air getting harder and harder to come to his lungs. Katie held on to the man's other arm, pulling it, as she tightened her legs around his neck. She knew he'd stop resisting soon, knew at some point the lack of oxygen would take that fight right out of him. And she didn't plan on stopping until she felt him stop moving. What she didn't expect was for someone to suddenly grab her shoulders and forcefully pull her across the room. There was a sudden sound of glass crashing, when whoever grabbed her finally let her go. Katie turned, her eyes lifting really not expecting to see John Constantine standing above her.

"Sorry, love, but you were getting too close." she looked up to the man in confusion, before a familiar voice spoke .

"Roy." Katie lifted her head to now see the Green Arrow, Canary and Spartan now surrounding the masked man.

"Did he just call that man Roy?" Katie asked grimacing as she sits up.

"Stand down." the Green Arrow orders. Katie tries to stand to her feet, and Constantine attempts to help her, but she pushes him away. "Let's talk about this Roy." Katie took a step forward before hearing Oliver speak again. "Are you sure?" she looked over to the man in confusion before seeing him pluck an arrow and aim his bow.

"Wait!" Katie yelled taking another step forward, but before she could say another word, the arrow was flying and piercing Roy in the chest. She watched the man tumble to the ground, and without hesitation, she ran over, crouching down beside him.

"Don't pull it out!" Oliver ordered and Katie glanced over to him in confusion before looking back down to the arrow, only now noticing that it was one of his tranquilizer arrows. "We have to get him out of here." Oliver and John came to Roy's side, carefully lifting him up. Oliver cast another glance to Katie. "Are you alright?" she sent a glare to the man before waving him off.

"I'm not unconscious!" she snapped. "Get him to the hide out, and I will meet you there." Oliver shook his head before he and John carefully carried the man. Laurel was about to follow, but she looked back to Katie really seeing how beat up the woman looked.

"Are you hurt?" Laurel asked and Katie grit her teeth, ignoring the question before walking past the woman.

"You should go catch up." she muttered not even glancing at the woman or Constantine who still lingered behind. Katie hurried to the conference room where she found Curtis sitting in the corner of the room gently rocking Robyn in his arms.

"Uh, she started crying, and then stopped when I picked her up." Curtis said looking over to the woman. "You're not dead. I seriously didn't expect you to come back."

"I told you Curtis, I'm kind of dangerous too." she knelt down in front of him looking him over. "Are you alright?"

"A few bruises, but I think I held my own pretty good." the man said looking over to the woman, and noticing the bruising on her knuckles. "So what, you know kung fu or something?" Katie chuckled as she reached forward and took the baby in her hands.

"Or something." she replied bringing Robyn back to her stroller before turning back to the man. "Are you sure you're alright, maybe we should get you to a hospital." Curtis shook his head as he stood to his feet.

"Actually I'm good. Palmer Tech has kind of been a beacon for the weird lately and I'm oddly getting used to it. Which sounds strange now that I've said it out loud." he looked over the woman once again. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm-" the door to the conference room opened and Katie and Curtis turned to see Constantine peeking inside. "Very annoyed." she glanced back to Curtis. "I have to go. Call me if your brain catches up to what just happened and you start to freak out."

"Wait, so that means you're in my rolodex now of people I can call when I need help?" Curtis asked and Katie sighed, but smiled with a nod.

"I thought it was obvious." she replied grabbing the handles of the stroller and pushing her way out toward the elevators, trying to ignore the man walking along side her.

"You're welcome." Constantine said as the elevator doors opened and Katie scoffed before stepping on. He made to do the same, but she looked up to him and shook her head.

"Stop." she said, and the man looked up to her because he couldn't move if he wanted to.

"You're getting the hang of that nifty trick, huh?" he said as she reached forward the press her floor. "You don't get to kill anymore. Not until we get it out of you." she turned back to the man before reaching out to stop the doors from closing.

"Get what out of me?"

"That cold, black, darkness coursing through your veins right now. That feeling inside of you that made you almost kill someone whose face you couldn't even see. I can see it, and I'm not the only one. Why do you think that husband of yours is so hell bent on smothering you with this bright and happy wedding?" Katie turned to him in confusion. "That thing inside of you, it's changing you Katherine, you need to let me help you fight it."

"I can't." she replied dropping her hand from the door. "Whenever I'm near you, I just get this incredible urge to hurt you." and with that the doors slid closed.

Katie knew Constantine was right. She could feel it as she was fighting Roy. That self control she once had seemed to go right out of the window, because letting him live never even crossed her mind. Katie's eyes peeked into the stroller at her daughter whose small face always had a way of erasing the dark feelings if only for a moment.


	16. Who we are

**Chapter 16**

**Who we are**

_"Sometimes, you get tired of fighting._

_I think you just sort of come to this realization that yes,_

_that you will get tired,_

_but that doesn't mean that you can give up the fight."_

_-Jesmyn Ward_

* * *

When Katie had reached Oliver's campaign office, she'd only entered the side door before heading for Oliver's office.

"Mommy knew at some point she would forget something, she just wished it wasn't your bottle. I think daddy may have some stashed away though." Katie had walked into Oliver's office glancing around, before heading over to his desk and pulling open random drawers. She had pulled one open, about to close it because of the absence of the bottle, but something caught her eye on a notepad that seemed to have her name on it. She picked it up, her eyes widening at the title. "Why we shouldn't get married." she closed her eyes and sighed unable to read anything listed further. The soft gurgle of the baby from the stroller reminded her what she was actually doing before stumbling onto something she wish she hadn't. She spotted a spare bottle in the drawer, quickly grabbing it about to fill it when the door to Oliver's office opened.

"Hey, I didn't see you come in." Katie looked up to see Alex who gave a smile. "Your husband totally disappeared, even after I explained our crisis."

"What crisis?" Katie asked walking around the desk, and grabbing Robyn's baby bag.

"He now has an opponent." Katie looked over to the man with a quirked brow. "Her name is Ruvé Adams." there was a slight chill at the mention of the woman's name. Katie turned away, because she instantly knew this was another ploy from Darhk. "That's the same look Oliver had. Do you know her?" Katie turned back to the man with shake of her head before grabbing Robyn's bag.

"No, the name just sounds familiar, that's all." she held up the bottle in her hand. "I found this in Oliver's drawer, do you know if it's been cleaned properly?" Alex looked over to her in confusion and she just shook her head. "Never mind, you're the campaign guy." she slipped the bottle into her bag, before grabbing the handles of stroller.

"Right, I am, and this whole opponent thing is big. Your husband is now going against someone with an actual political background. I mean she's just a novice, but it's still more experience than Oliver has."

"So what's the solution?"

"He's going to have to over compensate majorly. Make the public forget about the experience he doesn't have, and look at the vision he has for the city."

"That sounds time consuming."

"Well it sort of is. I mentioned it to him, but he's been adamant about having a family life outside of this-" he noticed the look on Katie's face and quickly thought he should explain more. "I'm not asking him to choose this campaign over time with his family, what I'm telling him is that he's going to need to put in a lot more effort now more than ever. With an opponent the public will now have someone to compare him to, and right now from the optics, he's lacking."

"Why are you telling me this?" Alex didn't say anything right away, and Katie could tell from the look of nervousness from his face the answer to that question. "You want me to convince him to focus more of his attention to this campaign."

"I just feel that you're the only one who could at this point. This is a decision he's blatantly refusing, but if you explain-"

"Alex, stop talking." Katie said letting out a sigh, before looking down to the wide eyes of her daughter who stared seemingly hypnotized by the mobile above her. "I'm sorry." she shook her head before looking over to the man. "You're not allowed to ask me this, because it puts me in a position I really don't want to be in, and I'm sure if Oliver even got wind of this conversation, he would fire you, hell, I could fire you." the man seemed to tense at the words. "You knew that right? You don't ask me to suggest to my husband to focus on work, and spend less time with me and his daughter. You need to come up with a better plan, do you understand?"

"Yes, Mrs. Queen." the man replied, and Katie shook her head slightly because she knew him calling her by her married name was to signify some sort of power trip he thinks she just pulled, and maybe she did. At the moment this conversation just pulled her head into yet another direction she didn't need right now.

"I need to clean this bottle and feed my daughter, so if you could-" she gestured for him to move aside, and he did without hesitation before watching the woman leave.

Katie ended up in the secret elevator heading down to the lair with the inexplicable urge to fall apart. It was strange, because she could usually take a lot, and she'd wobble, but not fall down, but it seems like lately, all the subtle hits were pushing something inside of her. The elevator doors had opened and she grabbed the handles of the stroller, but she didn't move right away. She actually hesitated, unsure if she could take another moment of the craziness. Suddenly Oliver walked over to the open doors, stopping at the sight of the woman inside who just stood there.

"Hey," he walked over to her, instantly worried. "are you alright?"

"Where's Roy?" she asked turning to the man who seemed to watch her, study her as if looking for an answer to his question.

"He's inside. Are you-" the sound of whimpering from the baby interrupted him and he looked down to the baby, scooping her into his arms without hesitation. "Aw, you're ok." he placed a kiss to the baby's head before turning back to Katie. "Has she eaten?" Katie wanted to scream in that moment, but she took a deep breath before grabbing the baby's bag and handing it to the man.

"There is a bottle that I grabbed from your desk, not sure if it's clean, but clean it again. There's milk in the bag." with that the woman stalked off, only to stop at the sight of her old friend up and walking around. He stopped at the sight of her and smiled, before walking over to bring her into a hug. She didn't return it though, for some reason it just seems strange hugging the guy she just tried to kill. He pulled back, the smile on his face dropping as he looks at her.

"Hey, I'm sorry about before, but I sort of wasn't myself."

"Yeah, but I was, and that's just-" she shook her head and sighed. "So I haven't seen you in ages, and then we're fighting. There's a backstory, right?" Roy opened his mouth to speak, but lifted his eyes to the sight of Oliver holding a baby in his arms. Katie followed his eyes to Oliver who she noticed was looking over to them as well. "I think everyone here has everything under control." Katie turned back to the man who nudged his head toward Oliver and the baby before walking over to them. She turned back to them, almost missing Oliver mutter something over to the man when he walked over, and she figured this was yet another ploy by her husband to keep her away from the hero stuff once again.

"Wait, you were shot." she said and Roy turned back to her and just pointed to Oliver.

"I'm all good, Oliver patched me up." Roy said, before turning back and glancing over to the baby. "See this little cute baby makes everything I did worth it." he looked back over to the woman. "You had a baby, and you two got married."

"And we end up trying to kill each other in Palmer Tech labs. Why the hell weren't Jacob and Martin protecting you from whatever trouble you landed in?" Roy shook his head, glancing away at the question. "Roy?"

"Things just happened." he replied vaguely, and Katie rolled her eyes, sliding her fingers through her hair.

"Hey why don't I get Robyn's bottle ready and you two can get home to get some rest." Oliver suggested and Katie looked over to him in annoyance.

"Actually, I'll do it." she said walking back over to the man, and holding her hands out for the baby.

"Twinkie, I can-"

"If everything is fine here, and you don't need my help with anything, I should head back to Thea's." she gestured again for him to give her the baby. "Liver-"

"Twinkie, I'm going to make my daughter a bottle." he finally said, before walking around the woman toward the back room. Katie stood there for a moment before turning to follow after him.

Once in the room she noticed how it seemed in complete disarray, with clothes strewn about, the bed unmade, and there was an odd smell in the air.

"Let me guess, this is where Constantine is taking up residence?" she asked glancing over to see the man gently lying the baby in the bassinet still in the corner of the room. "You should get rid of him."

"You're angry right now." he said and she looked at him in confusion before he turned to her. "At a lot of things, and I can't help but to feel partly responsible for-" Katie held up her hands to stop him.

"We are not having this argument right now."

"I didn't even know this was an argument. I thought we were just talking." Katie shook her head before turning away from the man and letting out a heavy sigh. She took a seat on the edge of he bed, dropping her head to her hands. "Twinkie?"

"We're not having this conversation right now. Make the bottle, so I can go." she muttered through her hands. Oliver took a step toward the woman, but he once again heard the baby's soft whimpers and knew he'd have to drop it, for now.

The moment the bottle was in the baby's mouth, she hungrily drank, and Oliver couldn't help the smile on his face as he looked down to her in his arms. He walked over to sit beside Katie who still had yet to lift her head, and he was at a loss at trying to understand what was happening with her.

"I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on inside of your head." the woman didn't say anything and he let out a sigh, before leaning over and placing a kiss to the side of his wife's head. "You know you never have to go through this alone. I'm always here for you."

"Well not always." she replied standing to her feet, and going about packing up Robyn's bag. "Ari was missing, and I was going out of my mind, and I just needed to hear your voice, I just needed you to tell me that she was fine, and that we were going to find her, but all I got was your voice mail."

"I don't know how many times I can apologize for that. I can't really answer calls and chase after people at the same time. At the moment Roy was just a guy with a weapon, and so I-"

"You chose." Katie says looking over to the man. "And the thing is, I'm sure later when this day isn't still fresh in my mind, when I've had more than a couple hours of sleep, or maybe even have a little sex, I probably will completely understand your dilemma, hell I'll probably even support your decision completely, but right now I just can't. And so right now, it's just going to be on a list of things I'm upset with you about."

"There's a list?"

"There is, but like I said, later, I'm sure it'll get shorter." she said, before nudging her head toward the baby, "She's done, you should burp her." she placed a burping cloth on his shoulder and watched as he lifted her on his shoulder and gently pat her back. He stood to his feet and walked over to the woman, glancing down to her as well.

"You know there's a list of things I'm upset with you about today too."

"Really, do you keep it hidden in your baby bottle drawer upstairs?" she asked continuing to pack the bag. Oliver seemed confused by the statement, and soon realized what she was talking about.

"Twinkie, that wasn't-" she zipped up the bag, and turned to the man just as the sound of a small burp came from the baby in his arms.

"Great, I should get her ready to go." she plucked the baby from his arms, and began slipping her back into her coat.

"Twinkie, that list, was just-" he shook his head trying to come up with an explanation she would understand and accept. "Pastor Troy told us to be honest, and I was just being honest. I mean given some of the things that have happened, to some, marriage probably wouldn't be the best choice for us."

"And are you apart of that some?" she asked turning to the man before picking the baby up and strapping her back into her stroller. "Did that list open your eyes to something you wished you would've seen earlier before you got tied to me?"

"I'm not tied to you, Twinkie." he walked over to her, placing his hands on her waist. She turned away from him, a sign he knew all too well that she really was upset with him. "Nothing has changed my mind about marrying you. Not even these arguments we've seemed to be having a lot of lately. I know right now things have been crazy, but we will get through this, just like we always do. That I wholeheartedly believe." her eyes turned back to him, let out another sigh. "So did that help get the list shorter?"

"Slightly." she replied, grabbing Robyn's bag, and turning to grab the handle of the stroller. She began walking for the door, but because the man just couldn't let the moment end there he took a step toward her.

"Mrs. Queen." Katie stopped, hating the fact that he probably knew she would. She didn't turn to him though, holding on to her stubbornness for a bit longer. Soon a hand slid around her waist once again, and the man dropped his head to rest on the side of hers, his lips close to her ear. "I want to make you a promise." his hand around her waist, and pulled her closer to his body, leaving no space between them. "Later, you're going to get more than a couple of hours of sleep, I will ensure that happens." he placed a soft kiss to the spot just behind her ear, and he heard a soft gasp escape her lips. "I will also ensure that there is more than just a little sex. Much more." another kiss to the nape of her neck, before he dropped his head to hers and sighed. "And I promise that as long as there is a breath in my body, you will never be alone, and I will prove that everyday until you believe it." Katie turned, meeting his eyes, and he brought a hand to her cheek. "Shorter list?" the woman didn't say anything before she grabbed his shirt, and brought his lips to hers.

Besides the time spent staring down to her daughter, Oliver Queen's kisses also seemed to calm the raging darkness growing inside of her. There was a knock at the door, and as always reality brought them back to real life. They pulled apart, and Katie turned away, once again grabbing the stroller, but stopped and turned back to the man.

"There's still a list, but you're doing a great job of getting it shorter."

"You know I'd probably have better luck if I knew what was on it."

"Like I said, an argument for a different time." she replied before pulling open the door to find Roy standing there, glancing between the couple before glancing in the room.

"Is this like a bedroom?" he asked peeking further, he looked back over to the couple. "Wait you guy's weren't just-" she looked down to the stroller and frowned. "Not with the baby in the room?" he looked back over to them. "I get she's young, but some things will stick and you'll mess her up." Katie and Oliver looked at the man in annoyance and amusement, both realizing how much they truly missed the man. "Trust me, I saw you two fooling around in the old lair, and I've been messed up ever since."

"Roy!" Oliver warned, and Roy seemed to smile because it was a short moment that felt like old times.

"I thought I would ride over with Katie to see Thea." he said turning to the woman who nodded.

"Of course." she replied. "Do you want to hold the baby bag, or push the stroller." the man seemed to scoff as if there was even a real decision. He grabbed the handles of the stroller, and looked down to the baby, and shook his head.

"Your mama is crazy, isn't she kid?" he said before pushing the stroller toward the elevator. Katie laughed before looking back to Oliver, and placing a hand on his chest.

"I am going to hold you to your promises, Mr. Queen."

"Good. I won't let you down." he replied, placing on more kiss to her cheek. "I kind of love you, Mrs. Queen."

"I kind of love you too. Eye make up and all." the last part she muttered as she slipped out of his grasp, and headed for the elevator.

"You're still not funny at all." he said, and the sound of her laughter brought a smile to his face. That sound to him was a small victory.

Felicity sat typing away. Moments earlier she'd pulled some type of tiny contact lens like device from Roy's eye, he said was placed by some tech savvy bad guy who calls himself the calculator. Laurel had been standing at her side, and it was starting to make her feel suffocated.

"Laurel, could you-" she looked over to the woman realizing she was no longer looking over her shoulder. Felicity followed the woman's eyes over to the elevator where Katie and Roy stood as the doors were closing. Laurel turned away, noticing Felicity's eyes.

"Did you say something?" she asked, and Felicity continued to stare. "What?"

"You might as well just tell me what's going on with you and Twinkie. I'm going to find out at some point."

"Felicity, shouldn't you be focusing on tracking that thing back to this guy." the woman said, before turning to get changed. Felicity shook her head before turning to John who walked over.

"It's gotta be bad, right? For her not to just come out with it."

"Or it's just really none of your business. I mean no one's asking you why Bruce has suddenly disappeared from your side." John said, and Felicity rolled her eyes before turning back to the monitor.

"Well it's not a secret. He was coddling, and being over protective, which ok at first, I needed that attention, I needed to know he was there, but then, he was always there and-"

"He became your helicopter caped crusader?" John asked and Felicity turned a glare to the man. "Well give him a break."

"Well I'm the one who almost died, and now has to spend my life in this thing." she shook her head. "Which I've accepted and am fine with, but I'm back. I'm trying to be back to the old me, and I can't do that if he's trying to treat me like glass."

"Felicity I can't imagine what all of this has put you through, but I also know that you didn't go through it alone. Bruce was there. Maybe not physically at your side, but he was out there doing the only thing he knew to do to try to help you. And now that you're here, and you're back, he's still just trying to be there for you. Because what happened to you was horrible, going through it was probably unimaginable , but having to have a front row seat to it all and not be able to fix it is just as tough. So yeah, give him a break."

When Roy and Katie arrived to Thea and Laurel's place, they rode the elevator, and Katie chuckled at the sight of Roy leaning in and talking to the baby.

"This is still so bizarre." he said with a smile as he turned back to the woman. "You and Oliver have a baby, and she's-" he looked back to the little girl. "She has blue eyes like Oliver, but I see some of your features in hers." he shook his head. "You miss a lot when you're gone."

"So did Oliver tell you not to tell me how the hell all of this happened?" Katie asked and Roy looked over to her, and gave her a nod.

"He says you're dealing with stuff, so he wants to keep all the hero stuff away for a while." Katie shook her head, as she turned away. "He didn't really go into details about it, but I'm assuming it's something pretty big." Katie didn't reply. "Let me guess, it has to do with Damien Darhk?" she turned to him with a quirked brow and he shook his head. "This wasn't supposed to happen. That was the whole point of everything."

"What are you talking about?" Katie asked and the doors to the elevator opened, and Roy simply pushed the stroller out. "Roy Harper, what did you mean it wasn't supposed to happen?" Roy looked over to the woman once they were just outside the door. "What do you know about Damien Darhk?"

"More than I wish I did." he replied, before turning at the door suddenly opening and appearing Malcolm.

"Roy Harper." Malcolm said, before glancing over to Katie. "Yet another person whose presence is pointless in helping my daughter."

"Well I disagree." Katie replied as they walked inside. "Her room is just that way, second door on the left." Roy gave a nod before heading off to see the woman. Katie turned at the sight of Ethan who walked in front the kitchen. "You're still here?"

"Yeah, I didn't think I should leave after seeing her." Ethan replied with a shake of his head. "Kit, you said she was bad, but I didn't know she was that bad. Me and this guy have been going back and forth about bringing her into the hospital."

"It's pointless, you-" "Malcolm just shook his head before stalking off out of the room.

"Are all Ra's Al Ghuls assholes, like is it like a job requirement?"

"He was an asshole before he became the Ra's." Katie says sliding a hand across her forehead. "But unfortunately he's right. Medically there's nothing we can give her, no treatment that can help her."

"Kit, she's shutting down. Her pulse is weakening, her lungs sound terrible. Her laid up in that bed isn't going to help her either. At least at a hospital she can be comfortable."

"Thea!" Roy's voice frantically yelled, and both Katie and Ethan went to check it out, just as Malcolm did the same. Katie stopped, and grabbed Ethan's arm pulling him back.

"Watch the baby." she ordered, and he looked totally freaked out by the idea, but he only nodded before watching the woman rush off. The man looked down to the baby, totally nervous, when the door to the apartment opened, and in walked another face that made him nervous.

"Ethan, what the hell are you doing here? Where's-" she turned toward Thea's room, suddenly worried before turning back to the man. "Is she alright?"

"I don't think so." he replied and without another word the woman went rushing down the hall and into Thea's room in time to see Katie sitting on the edge of Thea's bed, holding her shoulders as Thea coughed. She also noticed the hole in her chest that looked like she'd been stabbed.

"Speedy, you're ok." Katie soothed, looking over to the woman. "It's going to pass, it has to." Katie's face tried to remain void of the fear she was feeling, but her eyes glanced down to the wound, and doesn't know why she does it, but she places a hand directly over it.

"What are you doing?" Malcolm asked, but Katie didn't say a worked. "Katherine, what-" there was a sudden light from the woman's hand and the room was totally silent. Soon Thea's coughing stopped and when Katie dropped her hand, the wound was gone. "Thea, how do you feel?" Thea's eyes were on Katie who wanted an answer to that question as well. "Thea-"

"I feel better." she said turning back to her father. "Not one hundred percent, I mean I still feel crappy, but I-" she turned back to Katie's eyes and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know what you did, but I feel better. Thank you."

"I-" Katie closed her eyes and dropped her head, before suddenly jumping to her feet. "I'm going to get Ethan, I want him to check you out." Without another word, Katie rushed out of the room.

"I guess a lot has changed since I've been gone." Roy said, still in a bit of shock at what he'd just witnessed. Malcolm stood there for a moment before heading for the door.

"Dad, don't-" Thea tried to get out of the bed, but despite feeling slightly better she was still too weak to do something so simple. Malcolm didn't stop as he exited the room, passing Ethan as he did.

Katie was pacing near the window, and she glanced over to him already knowing what he was going to say.

"Malcolm, just-" she waved him off as she continued pacing, her mind in a bit of a haze at the moment. The moment is playing over and over in her head, because it was yet another moment where it felt like she wasn't the one in control of what she was doing. It was some sort of instinct that she didn't think about or question, and after it was done she barely realizes what had happened.

"Whatever this is inside of you, it's mystical, and I think it can help my daughter." Malcolm said ignoring the woman's agitation with him. "You need to-"

"To what?" she asked stopping and turning to the man. "Do you know? Because I don't. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Learn what this is, preferably quickly, and use it to save my daughter before she dies."

"It's not that easy."

"Why isn't it?"

"Because I don't know what this is. I don't know what this does to me, or how it will affect me."

"Well right now my only concern is my daughter, and I thought it was one we shared. I would risk my life to save hers. And I assumed that you-"

"Death is just one possible outcome." she closed her eyes, her mind drifting to terrible dreams of a time where this darkness inside of her takes over, and she promised herself she would never let that happen. "You don't even completely understand the entirety of what you're asking and neither do I, but I know it scares the hell out of me and I think it should scare you too."

"Losing my daughter scares me. As you have reminded me, I have one good thing on this earth, and right now I'm slowly losing her, so excuse me if I'm not interested in risks, because if I had what you have right now, my daughter would already be better." and with that the man turns, and heads back to check on Thea.

Katie turned away, sliding her fingers through her hair, hating the guilt now eating away with her. She wasn't lying before when she said she was scared. She truly was terrified, because she knew whatever this was inside of her was fighting to get out. What happened with Thea only proved as much. The sound of gurgling pulled Katie from her thoughts, and she quickly went to pull Robyn into her arms. She went back to the window, and rocked the baby gently in her arms, as her eyes glanced up to the moonlight.

"Are you alright?" Katie sighed at the question and the person who asked it. "Look I get you're still upset with me, but I really would like to believe that despite all of our crap, we're still friends. And because of that, when I see you as freaked out as you were when you left that room, I think I can still come out here and ask if you're alright." Katie didn't say anything, partly because she didn't really have an answer to the question, but also because she seriously didn't want another conversation with Laurel Lance. "You know I can only apologize so much. You have no idea how guilty I feel, because despite what you believe, I really don't have romantic feelings for Oliver. Me trying to kiss him was-"

"What?" Laurel stopped and turned to see Ethan staring at her with wide eyes.

"Ethan-"

"You kissed Oliver?" he asked with a shake of his head. "He's married, that bastard-" he glanced over to Katie holding the baby and got even angrier. "He's married and has a baby, and you-" he turned back to woman suddenly unable to even look at her. He looked back over to Katie. "Thea's vitals are slightly better, but there's no other sign of improvement. Whatever just happened was only temporary." Katie sighed, turning away and beginning to once again pace as she gently rocked Robyn in her arms.

"She needs a hospital, Kit." Katie's head shouldn't have to make so many choices today, not when it was as scattered was it was. She stopped and turned back to the man and just gave a nod.

"Go, get us a room, I will try to convince her and her father that she needs to be brought in." Ethan gave a nod before grabbing her jacket and medical bag. He walked passed Laurel without a spare glance as he left out the door. The woman stood there, practically shaking, her heart breaking in her living room. "Laurel, I'm not trying to be your friend. In a moment of sadness, your instinct was to do something that would've hurt a lot of people, including me. So you can stop apologizing because right now the ball is still in my court, and that means, I have to get to the point where I understand what happened in that room, and can accept and want to be your friend again. That's not happening today. Today though, if you still love that man, you should go tell him the truth." Laurel seemed conflicted with the suggestion, the thought already crossing her mind, but the truth stopped her.

"But he-"

"He lied, and he pretended, and if you believe he did any of that with his love for you then just stand there, but if you don't, go tell him the truth." Laurel looked at the woman for a moment before turning and rushing out the door as well. She saw Ethan just as the elevator doors opened, and so she ran as fast as she could. She barely was able to slip inside, but she did and to Ethan's annoyance.

"You know I get it. I messed up, so you decided to move on, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon and definitely not with the guy I am going to probably beat the shit out of the next time I see him."

"Ethan, I didn't kiss Oliver." the woman said, and Ethan turned to her in confusion. "A few weeks ago at the holiday Christmas party at his campaign office, we were in his office and talking, and I don't why, but I-" she shook her head because even after going over the moment over and over in her head she didn't understand why. Even she thought maybe it was because deep down she had feelings for Oliver, but the thought was gone as quick as it came when realizing that just wasn't it. She knew Oliver loved his wife, and knew she could never even fathom the thought of a relationship with the man again after everything they've been through. "I was sad, and I-" she dropped her head when she felt the tears pooling in her eyes. "I was angry, with you-" she once again met the man's eyes once again seeing his guilt. "For lying and pretending, and for asking me to marry you with your mom's ring after blowing up our world. I just, wanted to feel something else, and Oliver was there, and so I leaned into kiss him, but he backed away just as Katie walked into find us."

"So you and Oliver didn't kiss?" Ethan asked and Laurel just shook her head, and she could see the relief pass over him. "Ok." he said, unsure what else to say. He didn't want to push too much, too soon like he did with that damn engagement in the middle of the airport. "What now?" Laurel looked over to him, before turning away because it was a question she didn't have an answer to in this moment.

"I don't know." she replied softly. "What I do know is that I don't trust you." she looked back over to him. "You broke that trust I had for you and I don't know how to get it back, and before anything else happens between us, that trust has to be back between us."

"That sounds fair." the elevator doors opened, and despite wanting to be close to her, he stepped off, not before stopping and turning back to her as he held the door opened. "I love you Laurel Lance. So I'll do anything and everything I can to get you to trust me. Starting by telling you, I no longer work for Jacob. After my cover was blown, he finally let me go."

"You say that like you didn't have a choice in the matter?"

"Who said I did?" Ethan asked with a shake of his head. "I quit ARGUS long before Kit began working at GMH, and then the moment she did, I became another chess piece."

"Why?"

"You know that story my mom likes to tell about how after months of being on the transplant list for a new heart? She just knew she was going to die, because she knew she wouldn't be able to last much longer, but then one day her doctor strolled through the door and told her she would be finally getting that heart."

"He blackmailed you into working for him?"

"He saved my mother's life, and I had to pay him back." the man shrugged. "But I didn't expect you." he smiled at her and sighed. "I really didn't expect to fall in love, so I promise you're going to trust me again Laur." despite the cluster of emotions ravaging her insides at the moment, Laurel found a smile, and for Ethan, it was all the motivation he needed to fight for the woman he loved. "I should be getting to the hospital." he took a step back. "I'll be seeing you around, Ms. Lance."

"Maybe, doc." she replied stepping back in the elevator as the doors slid closed.

Jacob hadn't left Lois' side since she arrived. It had been months since she was found, and she was still in the coma. None of the medical professionals in the entire building could explain to him why. He felt guilty, because he'd been at the top of too many missions where one of his soldiers ended up in situations like this one, because of his order. He was questioning his choices at this point. She was just a reporter, and Harper just a man looking to have a life, and it was all screwed up because he thought he saw something that probably wasn't even there.

"Sir," Martin rushed inside, out of breath as if he'd been running. "It's him. The burglar behind the recent robberies was Roy Harper. Oliver and his team apprehended him." Jacob turned away in confusion.

"Why?" Jacob asked with a shake of his head. "And how did he get separated from Lane."

"Intel on this is pretty limited. Ms. Smoak seems to have built a program to keep our eyes out of their hideout. We don't have the full story yet."

"Then get it, Martin." Jacob replied turning to the man. "Get the full story. You know better than to come in here and tell me you have nothing when you haven't exhausted all options." Martin lifted his head, before giving a nod and turning to leave. "Wait, she's been out too long." Martin stopped and looked back over to his boss. "I think it's time we made that call."

"He's not going to be happy we kept her hidden away here without telling him."

"Well I'm holding out hope that Clark will be too happy to see her, to be mad with me." the man said looking back over to the woman. "There's nothing medically keeping her in this state, and I can only assume this is her way of protecting herself from whatever Darhk did to her. She needs to believe she's safe, and I know no other person who can do that but Mr. Kent." he looked back over to Martin. "Make the call."

"Yes sir."

Oliver hurried over as soon as Laurel called and told him about what happened to Thea, and what Katie did. He appeared in front of her door, and stopped for a moment unsure what he was going to do when he stepped on the other side of this door. Suddenly the door opened, and Oliver looked up to see Laurel who looked as if she were leaving.

"Oh, hey, I was just headed over to see what Felicity had on this Calculator guy." Laurel said, noticing the worry in the man's eyes. "Ollie?" he took a deep breath, and she placed a hand on his shoulder. "The fight's not over yet." she said with a smile before moving around the man and heading for the elevator. Oliver looked into the apartment before suddenly walking inside.

He spotted Katie in the living room, standing near the window, looking out. He walked over, stopping at the sight of Robyn asleep in her stroller.

"You should head home." he whispered to not wake the baby. "You need sleep, and she needs to be sleeping comfortably in her crib right now." he glanced around to see no one else around.

"Malcolm went for a walk." she said, her back still to him. "He seems to think that I have the power to save his daughter, and he thinks I'm being selfish because I won't."

"Twinkie-"

"And I get it. If my baby was in a room slowly dying, I would want it fixed no matter how it happened. It's just-" she turned to Oliver and shrugged. "Something about it doesn't feel right. Every time it happens, it just feels like-" she shook her head and the man walked over to her, placing a hand on the small of her back. "It feels like I'm losing me, and something else is taking over and whatever that is, is not good." Oliver brought an arm around her and she dropped her head to his chest. "And now it seems like I'm choosing me over her, and that's not-" she looked up to Oliver, and shook her head.

"Twinkie, I know you love her, and I know how much this scares you, so I would never expect you to do something when we're not even completely sure what this even is."

"So I have to find out." Katie said turning away. "I am going to call Constantine, have him come over so he can at least tell me if this is even an option for her."

"Twinkie, you don't have to-"

"Yes I do." she replied meeting Oliver's eyes. "She's my sister too, and you're not the only one who has to take all of the risks." she placed a hand on his chest and let out a deep breath. "Go see her, talk to her, maybe try to convince her to go to the hospital. Her and Malcolm are not even considering it." Oliver gave a nod, before placing a kiss to her head and heading off to see his sister.

The moment he was gone, Katie pulled the phone from her pocket and hesitated for a moment before finally dialing the number.

Felicity's eyes were so focused on the monitor in front of her, that she didn't even turn at the sound of the elevator opening, assuming it was Laurel who'd already texted her plans on coming in.

"This place is really nice." Felicity's hands froze the moment she heard the voice. She grabbed the wheels of her wheelchair and spun them around, her eyes going wide at the sight of the man she didn't expect to be here. She glanced around to find that she was alone. "Don't worry Ms. Smoak, I'm only here to gather information."

"I thought you and your boss had ways of getting information, Martin." she replied watching as he walked further inside. "You know an entire team of people who don't like uninvited guests are on their way here."

"I just wanted to know if you've had any luck tracking the origin of that implant you pulled from Mr. Harper?" Felicity frowned with a shake of her head.

"How the hell did you bug this place? My systems run sweeps every fifteen minutes for breeches, and it's been clean." she turned around before typing away on her computer to check their security, and there was still no sign that they'd been hacked.

"Ms. Smoak, please-" the woman turned back to him and sighed. "The implant, where did it come from?"

"Why does your bug not have that information?" she asked in annoyance.

"Because it has very small ears. This is very important, I need to know how Roy was taken." Felicity looked at the man for a moment and just shook her head. "You don't trust me, I get it, but I hope you can see that we're on the same side here."

"Except I don't know what side you're on, Martin. You and your boss are really big on keeping secrets." she shook her head, before turning at the sound of beeping from her computer. "You need to go."

"Just give me a name."

"Fine, he calls himself the Calculator. I've been searching for him and-" the woman stopped and glanced over in time to see Martin stepping back onto the elevator. "Anything you want to share?!"

"Not particularly! Thanks for your help, Ms. Smoak!" and with that the doors had closed, and Felicity was left in confusion.

Surprisingly it didn't take long for Constantine to show up at the apartment. He had some excuse that he was in the area, but Katie had no doubt that he was still following her. He sat in the chair across from her, waiting for her speak.

"Sitting in silence is always a hoot, but I get the feeling you called me for a reason, love." he looked over to the woman who didn't meet his eyes. "You hate that I'm here, and yet it was you who called me. Let me guess you still have that undeniable urge to hurt me. You do know what that is, don't you?"

"Thea is dying." Katie changed the subject needing to focus on what was important. "The affects of the Lazarus Pit are creating this blood lust inside of her. The fact that she hasn't taken a life-"

"Is now taking her own." he stated and Katie gave a nod. "How long ago was she in the waters?"

"Almost a year, maybe a little more, I don't-" Katie dropped her head, sliding a hand over her face. "I need to know if I can help her." she looked back over to the man. "Earlier, she was having some sort of episode, and I used the light in my hands and she was better. Not healed, but a little bit better."

"And how did you feel?" he asked and she looked at him in confusion, the question not making sense.

"What do you mean how did I feel? This isn't about me, it's about Thea, and if there's a chance I can help her-"

"It's just if you thought you could help her, you would be doing it right now. But the fact that you haven't means there's something else making you hesitate." he replied standing to his feet and walking over to her. She watched as he leaned into her, looking closely into her eyes.

"What are you-" she stood to her feet, and moved away from the man. "What are you doing?"

"I'm assuming after you touched her, you felt off." he said. She didn't answer, but he could tell from the look on her face that he was right. "It's manifesting through your powers now. Just don't use it again on her. I think what happened earlier was a trick."

"A trick? What are you talking about?"

"It wanted you to believe that you could help her, so you would try it again, but I have no doubt that if you did, you'd probably only kill her." Constantine replied moving closer to her. "Your pupils are larger than they normally are." he tilted his head looking over the woman. "And you seem more jittery than usual. Probably more than you've ever been. You're not a jittery person, but for some reason right now something is making you nervous."

"Yeah, and that something is you." she replied turning away from the man, and placing more distance from him. "Look if you can't help me, or you can't help Thea, then you should go." the man stood there for a moment, before turning at the sound of the door opening.

Malcolm walked in, glancing between the man and the woman, figuring Katie was finally going to help her daughter.

"I'm assuming you're here to give her a quick lesson in mystics so she can finally help Thea."

"Actually he was just leaving." Katie says looking over to the man. "He came here only to verify what I already knew. I can't help Thea. These-" she lifted her hands, and glanced down to her palms with a shake of her head. "These abilities aren't reliable, and I don't want to risk hurting her more than she already is." she looked back over to Malcolm, and knew the justification was not enough. He went for a walk because the anger inside of him was becoming too much and he hoped the fresh air would help but it didn't. That's the only reason he figures, he stalks over to the woman.

"Hey, hey!" Constantine takes a step forward, not liking the look in the man's eyes. Malcolm stops dangerously close to the woman who doesn't even inch away.

"You're a coward, you know that?" he sneered with a shake of his head. "You know I thought there really was this fire inside of you. But it's just an act isn't it. You're too afraid of everything to make any kind of difference." Katie simply looked up to the man, biting her tongue in hopes of settling that initial urge to wrap her hand around his neck and hold until he stops breathing. "You're going to help my daughter, or—"

"Or what?" Oliver's voice suddenly spoke, and Malcolm sighed lifting his head and turning to see the man walking over. "Step away from her, right now." Oliver's voice wasn't loud, seemingly still very much aware of his sleeping daughter in the room, but even Malcolm heard the seriousness in the man's tone, and so he took a step back. Oliver moved to stand beside Katie, a glare fixed on the man in front of him.

"Oliver—"

"You're upset, and you're scared for Thea, but Malcolm if you threaten my wife, I promise we will have a very big problem." Oliver looked over to Katie who stared over to Malcolm before glancing over to Constantine. "Please tell me you have some sort of idea of how we can help my sister?" Constantine looks over to the man before turning away in thought. He didn't know much about the affects of the Lazarus Pit, or the blood lust that takes over the person who bathes in its waters.

"I can look into some healing spells that might work, but it's a big might since this thing has been inside of her for months. It's had time to settle and stick and it will take something very powerful to get it out of her and that's not something I'm sure I can get in the time she needs it."

"Well can you at least try?"

"Absolutely, mate." he replied before glancing over to Katie. "And make sure you don't leave these two alone." he looks back over to Oliver who gives the man a nod before Constantine finally leaves. Oliver looks over to Katie, her eyes still on Malcolm and there's something about the look in her eyes that makes him nervous, and so he moves to stand in front of her. She meets him eyes and lets out a heavy sigh.

"So what did she say about your idea?" Malcolm suddenly asks, and Oliver turns to the man with a quirked brow. "Because you're going to go hood in hand to Damien Darhk."

"What?" Oliver turned back to Katie who looked to the man in confusion. "What is he talking about?"

"I set up a meeting with Damien Darhk." Oliver finally admitted and Katie looked at him with wide eyes before turning her back to him. "Twinkie-"

"No," she turned to him and just shook her head. "No, you're not doing this."

"Twinkie, just-"

"You're doing it again." she said looking over to the man. "You're scared you're going to lose your sister, so you choose the deepest, darkest solution to help her. Before it was the demon and now it's Darhk. Tell me, if he grows a heart and actually agrees to help her, what do you think he's going to want from you."

"Twinkie-"

"Maybe he'll ask you to become a member of HIVE, maybe become his right hand man."

"Twinkie, I just can't-"

"Or maybe he'll want a life for a life. He saves Thea, but you have to die. I mean it's morbid, but Darhk likes a good power move."

"Twinkie-" Oliver placed his hands on Katie's shoulders, but she pushed herself out of his grasp. "I can't let my sister die and if I have to take the risks of making a deal with Darhk, then it's what I have to do." Katie looked up to Oliver's eyes, because the statement and the meaning behind the words broke her heart.

"The last time you made a deal for Thea, you were taken from me. And this time if that happens, I'm not the only one that loses you." Oliver sighed, glancing over to the stroller. "So that risk you're willing to take, it's the risk you lose us, and Oliver that was at the top of my list." he turned back to the woman in confusion. "I didn't write it down, because I thought-" she dropped her head and swallowed the lump in her throat before looking back up to the man. "I thought my husband no longer gambled with his life, no longer used it as a bargaining chip to be the hero."

"Twinkie-" Katie shook her head before stepping around the man and looking over to Malcolm who surprisingly hadn't interjected in the conversation at all.

"Your daughter is sick, and because of that, she needs to be in a hospital. I know there's no cure or medicine they can give her to make this go away, but there are machines that will help her breathe, and there are pain meds that will make her more comfortable. If everything fails, if Constantine can't find a spell, or if Damien Darhk refuses to help her, and she still refuses to kill anyone, then that machine and those meds will be a big help. Just think about it, and talk to her." Malcolm simply gave a nod, before Katie turned grabbing Robyn's baby bag.

"Twinkie, you can't just leave. Not now, not right this second. We have to talk about this, we have to-" she grabbed the handle of the stroller and headed for the door, and Oliver stalked after her. "We don't walk away during arguments, remember?"

"You set up a meeting." Katie says stopping and turning to the man. "You already made a decision about your life as if it was only a risk you were taking. I'm your wife, and this baby is your daughter, so you no longer have risks that only affect you. That's why I'm walking away right now, because you can't see that." and with that the woman hurried out the door, and Oliver's feet seemed frozen in that spot, unable to go after her, because he had no idea how to respond to that.

When Katie pulled into the driveway of their house, she didn't get out of the car right away. She sat there and stared up to the house feeling like an eternity since she was last here.

" _It's getting stronger."_

Katie's eyes turned to the seat beside her and she rolled her eyes with an annoyed sigh as her eyes looked upon her uncle.

" _You've been trying to help Thea with her blood lust, and yours is bubbling inside of you, and if you're not careful, it will beat you."_

There is a knock at Katie's window, and she jumps a bit, before turning to see Steve standing there looking down to her. She glances back over to the seat beside her only to find it empty before turning and opening the door.

"You alright?" he asked her, holding open the door.

"Yeah, just really tired. Where's Ari?"

"Upstairs passed out after copious amounts of vomiting." Katie groaned with a shake of her head before grabbing Robyn's car seat. "Let me." Katie handed the car seat to the man, before gabbing the baby's bag and heading inside the house.

"And where's Hank?" she asked glancing around the house before turning back to the man who nudged his head toward the stairs.

After Katie had settle the baby in her crib, she headed over to Ari's slightly opened door, slowly pushing it further open where she saw the teenager dead asleep sprawled across her bed. Her eyes looked over to the corner of the room where Hank sat near the window, also asleep. Katie walked over to the man, before lightly nudging his foot causing the man's eyes to quickly snap open. Katie placed a finger to her lips, and pointed toward the door.

Hank followed Katie out into the hallway already expecting the impending conversation.

"Ma'am, I just want to apologize again. I messed up, and you were right, I had one job and I failed, and if you no longer want me here, I would completely understand." he let out a deep breath and waited for her to respond.

"Was that all?" she asked and the man gave a nod. "Ok, so first all-" she lightly punched his shoulder. "Stop calling me ma'am. Second, you didn't fail your job, because my little cousin is safe in her room right now, but you did mess up, because she's a good kid, but she tests the limits, and today she did that with you. She's a teenager, and she shouldn't need a personal body guard, but it's how it is for now, so she's going to be grounded for a while, and that means she's going to be here until she heads back to school, and I want you here with her." Hank gave a nod. "And Hank this house is like Fort Knox, you didn't have to watch her while she sleeps."

"Yeah, I know, but I know how bad alcohol can hit you, I just didn't want her to wake and like choke on her own vomit or something." the man said with a shake of his head. "She drank a lot." he nudged his head back to her door. "I think I'll sit with her a little while longer, if that's alright with you?" Katie gave the man a smile, before giving a nod and watching the man slips back into the girl's room.

Katie stood there for a moment before turning and going inside their bedroom. She didn't even bother with undressing before crawling into bed and kicking off her shoes. She laid there for a moment, her eyes on the empty side of the bed and closed her eyes.

"Lights off." she muttered, no longer surprised how just the utterance of the words made them happen bringing darkness to the room.

When Oliver walked into the house, it was quiet. He walked further inside, letting his eyes look over the place. It was something he always did when he came home late. It was his own sweep of the house just to make sure everything was alright. When he was satisfied with his search of the first floor, he would go up stairs, first peeking inside of Ari's room. Tonight he didn't see the girl in her bed, and so he stepped further inside.

"She's in the bathroom." Oliver turned finally noticing Hank sitting in the corner of the room. They turned at the sound of the toilet flushing before the girl finally walked back out with a groan. She looked over to Oliver and just shook her head.

"I can't do a lecture right now, I'm pretty sure my head would explode with all the words." she muttered as she climbed back in bed.

"My head would do the same." Oliver sighed with a shake of his head before walking over to look down to the girl. "Are you ok?"

"Besides feeling like crap, well yes, I feel like a ray of sunshine."

"Yeah, well drinking will do that if you drink too much."

"That sounded oddly like the beginnings of a lecture and I thought we both agreed to put a pin in it." she glanced up to the man who shook his head. "Maybe you can even tell the creeper over there to finally leave." Oliver glanced over to Hank who sat up in his chair.

"Sir, I just-"

"Hank, I get it, but she's fine now, or as fine as she can be. You should head home and get some actual sleep." Oliver said, and Hank simply gave a nod before standing to his feet and heading for the door. "And in the morning, you can explain to me in great detail, how you lost her." Hank stopped and turned to the man.

"Uh, yes sir." and with that he finally left.

"It wasn't his fault, I-"

"Defending yourself usually comes after a lecture, which can happen, but I thought we put a pin in it. But I can gladly remove that pin if you want?"

"No, keep the pin and close my door on your way out, BM." she muttered before rolling over so her back was to him. He stared down to her in confusion.

"B-" suddenly he figured out the answer to his question before he even answered. "Bullet Magnet." he shook his head before turning and heading out the room, closing the door behind him.

The man continued down the hall, before walking into the next room. A smile came to his face as he walked inside to see the baby in her crib, her eyes wide open, and yet she wasn't crying which always confused the man.

"You know Robyn, I told you, you don't have to wait up for me." he scooped the baby into his arms and walked over to sit in the rocking chair. He couldn't help the smile as he looked down to her eyes that looked back up to him. "Well maybe you can help me. Mommy's mad with me, because I-" he shook his head and sighed. "Because sometimes I just stop thinking when it comes to my family." he looked back down to the baby. "Your auntie Thea is sick, and I don't know how to make it better. The only person I think could help us, is the one person I don't want in our lives at all." Robyn's eyes seemed to be getting heavier and heavier as he talked. "And your dad's voice is putting you to sleep again, isn't it?" He lifted her up, placing a kiss on top of her head, before standing to his feet and lowering her back into her crib. "At least you're not old enough to tell me to put a pin in it." He slid a hand lightly over her head. Sometimes he thinks she really does stay up to see him, as if she knows how much he needs these moments where it's just him and her. "I love you." and with that he tore himself away, and headed to the last room on his sweep. When Oliver walked into their bedroom, his eyes went to Katie who was in the bed, still in the clothes he'd last seen her in. Oliver let out a sigh, before kicking off his shoes and walking over to lay beside her. He rolled over on his side, his eyes looking over to her, before placing a hand on her cheek.

"It's because you use to talk to her when she was in my stomach. Your voice is calming to her, and so it puts her to sleep." Katie's voice spoke, not even opening her eyes.

"Twinkie, you walked away. I thought we wouldn't do that. We talk through our problems, but we don't run from them."

"Have you talked to him, yet?" she asked and Oliver dropped his eyes. He knew she was going to be upset the moment she found out what he was planning and that's why he didn't say anything. "You kept something that important from me, and if I'm not mistaken, that's also something we promised we wouldn't do."

"Twinkie, I'm not going to meet with Darhk." he sighed, looking back over to her.

"Oliver I know, because I was not going to let you." she placed a hand on his cheek, and felt his hand on top of hers. "I knew you would see how dangerous it was. Sometimes you think with your heart and not your head. Your heart is impulsive, and reckless when it comes to the people you love. Our marriage may be a sign of that."

"No," the man shook his head. "Our marriage wasn't spur of the moment, and it wasn't an impulse because we'd just had Robyn. It's what happens when you heart and your brain agree on the same thing."

"And yet there is a list." she said turning away from the man.

"Did you actually read what was on the list?" he asked and Katie let out sigh.

"I never made it past the title. I don't think I would've been able to take anymore earth shattering news after finding out I almost killed Roy. Maybe my homicidal tendencies were at the top of your list."

"No, the number one thing on my list was your terrible jokes." Oliver said and Katie turned back to him. "Number two was your inability to make a pancake. Third was your beautiful your eyes, and that some times when I'm supposed to be focused on work, I'm thinking about when I will get to look into them again. Number four was your smile, and how the world seems to stop when you smile, and five-"

"I think I get the gist of your supposed list, Romeo."

"Not supposed my dear wife. I stared at that paper and thought about that question, and I honestly couldn't think of a single reason why you shouldn't be my wife and me your husband. What about you?"

"My page was blank." she turned to the man and smiled. "But I should've wrote your incessant need to keep the nickname Twinkie alive and well." Oliver laughed before leaning over and bringing his lips to hers.

"How much sleep have you had?" he muttered between the kisses he trailed along her neck. "Would you say more than a couple of hours?"

"I think I would." Katie replied as the man slid over to rest above her, his lips never parting from her skin. "I guess that's one promise you've satisfied." she felt his hand slide down to pop open the button of her pants, before slipping inside, figuring he was going to satisfy another promise tonight.

The next morning, Katie was awake first, and she couldn't wipe the smile from her face if she wanted to. It was still early, and the troubles and craziness of the world seemed to remain outside of the walls around them, leaving them with their rare moment of happiness.

At the moment, the woman laid beside her sleeping husband just watching him sleep. She could never explain the love she had for this man, or how afraid she was of losing him. She heard a long breath escape his nose, before his eyes opened, and a smile came to his lips when he saw her.

"How did I get lucky enough to have you as the first thing I see when I open my eyes in the morning?" he asked leaning over to her, fully intending to continue where they left off last night, but the sound of a phone interrupted them, and they suddenly remembered reality.

"I think that's mine." she said rolling over and searching for her phone. She spotted her pants across the room and sighed. "Why did you have to throw my clothes so far from the bed?" she slipped out of bed, and rushed over to pluck her phone from her pants pocket.

"Because naked Twinkie, is my favorite Twinkie." the man said, and Katie turned to the man to see him staring at her and she just shook her head before answering the phone.

"This is Katherine." soon words she most certainly didn't want to hear were spoken, and she turned to Oliver.

Ari's head was pounding, and everything just seemed so bright. She could barely keep her head up as she sat at the kitchen table as Katie and Oliver sat across from her. She knew their lecture was coming, but she at least hoped they'd let her sleep for a little while longer.

"Let's just get this over with. Let the lecture begin." the girl said sitting up in her chair and looking over to the couple. "I know I messed up, and it was stupid."

"It was very stupid, and now it is also very public." Katie says before grabbing her tablet and sliding it in front of the girl who looked down to it in horror. There were pictures from last night showing her completely wasted and falling over drunk. "Ari-"

"And this is in the news?" she asked looking up to the couple. "My stupid, drunk filled night is being read, and reposted all over the world right now?" she shook her head before standing to her feet. "My life is over."

"Ari, your life isn't over." Oliver said, and the girl turned to him. "Trust me, I've been where you are. The world getting a front row seat to a bad moment, but time will pass and they will forget."

"But those pictures will be around forever." she growled. "I knew I should've never went to that stupid club. I just wanted him to like me, and now-" her eyes went wide. "I'm going to get kicked out of school!"

"Ari-"

"No, they have zero tolerance policy for these types of things. We are to always represent Havenwood whether on or off campus, and when they see this—"

"Ari, I will talk to your school, but right now we have another problem." Katie says, and Ari wasn't sure what else could go wrong today. "Ms. Sandburg was the one who told us about the pictures." Ari frowned before dropping back into her seat. "She wants to meet with us. She'll be here in about a hour, so you should shower and become as non-hungover as possible."

The main consensus was that this house...their house needed to look as normal as possible. So once everything was clean and put away, everyone went to put on something the hid their crazy.

Oliver walked out of the bathroom, heading over to the bed to grab his suit jacket, but he stopped and looked over to Katie who sat at her vanity staring blankly at the mirror.

"Hey, Twinkie?" she suddenly lifted her head and turned to man, before standing to her feet. "Are you alright?" she opened her mouth to honestly tell him that she really was not alright, but the sound of Robyn's cries came from the baby monitor, so everything else just didn't matter.

"I will check on her." Katie says heading for the door.

"Twinkie-" she stopped and turned back to the man. He wanted to say something to make her less nervous, and there was only one thing that came to mind. "Everything will be alright." she looked at him for a moment, suddenly wanting to punch him for saying something so stupid, but instead she smiles before turning and finally leaving.

When Katie walked into the nursery, she quickly scooped the crying baby into her arms, and gently rocked her.

"Alright little one, lets get you something to eat." Katie whispered.

Soon she sat swaying back and forth in her rocking chair, staring down to the little girl who hungrily drank her milk. It was in these few moments that Katie didn't see it and didn't feel it. She forgot about Thea being sick, and probably not making it, she forgot about the impending meeting with Ms. Sandburg. This little girl's eyes could always suck her out of the world, and it was a feeling she always welcomed.

Suddenly the sound of the doorbell pulled her back, reminding her that she couldn't hide in this room any longer. And so as Robyn finished her bottle, Katie lifted the girl up to her shoulder and gave a gentle pat to her back. Soon she heard a tiny burp, but grimaced at the feeling of something wet now on her shoulder. She pulled the baby back to see the now obvious spit up stain on her dress.

"You better be glad I like you." Katie muttered with a smile.

Oliver walked from the bedroom as he finished clasping the buttons on his suit before looking up to see Katie wiping at something on her shoulder.

"Oh, she got you." Oliver commented, only to receive a glare from his wife.

"I'm going to change, can you grab the door?" Katie asked and Oliver nodded before the pair moved around each other.

Oliver came to the door, taking a deep breath before pulling on a smile and opening the door.

"Ms. Sandburg, good to see you again." Oliver greeted.

"I wish I could say the same." the woman replied and the smile on the man's face fell.

"Please, come in." Oliver took a step aside to let the woman inside. "Uh, Katie is upstairs changing. We never knew how often babies spit up." the woman lightly laughed. "Can I get you something? Water, coffee?"

"Uh, no thank you." the woman said simply, glancing around the house, which made Oliver even more nervous. "Is there some place we can sit until Mrs. Queen joins us?"

"Of course." Oliver replied gesturing for the woman to follow him. He glanced over to the stairs, praying Katie would be joining them soon.

Oliver uncomfortably sat in the silent living room, praying for Katie to finally come downstairs. Soon he heard her footsteps on the stairs and he let out a relieved sigh before standing to his feet as she walked in.

"I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting." Katie says walking over to take the seat beside Oliver. "My daughter didn't like the first dress I was wearing apparently."

"No worries." Ms. Sandburg replied. "As I mentioned in my call this morning, I'm very concerned about Arianna."

"Which makes sense. Those pictures are concerning, but I can assure you nothing like that will happen again. We've talk to her, and she understands the risks involved with drinking."

"In reality the pictures were one of many things that concerns me about Arianna being here." the woman said, and the couple looked at her in confusion as she turned to Oliver. "It's been no secret that since you've began you mayoral campaign that there have been threats to you and your family's lives."

"And I completely understand how concerning that could be, but I promise I'm doing everything to make sure my family is safe and that includes Ari. We've hired security to watch Katie, Ari and my daughter's every move when they step out of this house. Their safety is always my number one concern."

"You know I think I heard there was extra security at your Christmas Party and yet it made no difference. A highly dangerous criminal walked through the doors, sprayed bullets, and kidnapped you." the woman looked to Katie and just shook her head. "And the thing is, we had a file. A file that predicted this moment and yet I went against my gut. I really thought Arianna could thrive with you, could grow and finally feel safe with you, but I was wrong."

"Ms. Sandburg, I take full responsibility for what happened, but I've learned from it, and we plan on taking all the necessary precautions-"

"She's a teenage girl, Mr. Queen. She's a kid. Her life should not be threatened because people dislike you or want to see you hurt." the woman gave a nod. "I think it only best that-"

Katie knew the next words out of her mouth, but this couldn't be happening. "Wait, don't-"

"I'm sorry, but I'm only thinking about Arianna's best interests, and I think the recent couple of weeks have proven-"

"That's just it, they haven't." Katie argued with a shake of her head. "Look, if you just listen-"

"To another promise? Another declaration that your home is safe and that Ari will be safe? I'm sorry-"

"But you're not sorry." Katie interrupted. "You're-" Katie looked over to the woman, feeling the distinctive tingling moving along her skin. She stared at the woman for a moment before her eyes turned to see the ghost of the demon standing behind her. He met Katie's eyes and shook his head, but it made no difference. Katie looked back to the woman and before she could even think about the words, they just came flying out of her mouth. "Stop breathing."

And almost instantly the woman sitting across from her began gasping for air that wasn't coming to her lungs. Ms. Sandburg reached up grabbing her neck trying to breathe. Oliver quickly jumped to his feet, over to the woman's side, before turning to Katie who stared with a slight smirk on her face.

"Twinkie-" a hand touched Katie's shoulder and she turned to see the concerned look on Oliver's face before she turned to see the confused eyes of the social worker.

"The best place for Ari is here, with us. With her family. Sending her to a foster home, or a group home is a bad call."

"Like I said, I'm sorry-"

"What?" they all turned as Ari came into the room, her eyes looking from the social worker, to Katie and Oliver. "What's going on?"

"Arianna, you're coming with me." Ms. Sandburg says standing to her feet, and Ari took a step back before turning to Katie.

"You said you would handle this. The pictures weren't so bad-" she shook her head. "Well they were that bad, but I know I screwed up, and it won't happen again."

"Ari-

"I said I was sorry about that stupid video. I won't do anything like that again."

"Ari, this isn't a punishment for that." Katie says standing to her feet. "This isn't about anything you did." Ari looked confused before glancing over to Oliver, who stood beside Katie and she shook her head.

"This is Bullet magnet's fault." she shook her head before turning back to the social worker. "You don't understand. That guy, uh Damien Darhk. He's a really bad guy and that idiot called him out on television." she glanced over to Oliver who looked slightly offended by the remark. "It was stupid, but it was the bravest thing I've ever seen." she looked back to Ms. Sandburg. "Darhk, and these Ghosts have been doing bad things in this city and Oliver was just trying to stand up to the guy."

"Ari, I understand that-"

"No you don't because if you did, you wouldn't be trying to take me away right now."

"Before you even stepped foot in this house, had you even seen a gun? Been in such close proximity to someone shooting a gun?" Ari dropped her head, because the truth was she hadn't. "I understand what Mr. Queen is doing is noble, and it's brave and could possibly help rid this city of more criminals, but-" she turned to Katie and Oliver. "Sometimes bravery comes with at a cost. And you don't realize it until its too late." the woman turned back to Ari. "Ari, I know you've started to like it here-"

"They grounded me." Ari replied looking back up to the woman. "When I was home, with both my parents I did anything I wanted. Stay out as late as I wanted with whoever I wanted because my father lived and breathed a company that would never be his, and my mother was too depressed about giving up her career to give a damn. And then I posted a stupid video that was reason enough to send me packing, and instead they grounded me. They took my phone and my laptop and make me do chores. And now after those stupid pictures, I assumed there would be more grounding and-"

"Arianna-"

"Fine, yes, I've been in close proximity to gun fire, but do you want to know what else? At the bay, that idiot-" she glanced over to Oliver and let out a sigh. "I mean Oliver threw his body over mine and shielded me." she glanced back to Ms. Sandburg once again. "At that party, John Diggle, the most annoying person in the world, pushed me under a table the moment Damien Darhk and his men crashed. The fact that I'm standing here without any bullet holes should be proof of how safe I really am." the girl let out a heavy breath, looking to her social worker who didn't seemed moved by the words at all. "You can't take me." Ari turned to Katie. "You said-you said that you wouldn't let me go until I told you I was ready, and I'm not ready." Katie took a step toward the girl. "Don't let them take me."

"Ari, I promise, I will handle this."

"Arianna, you should go get your things." Ms. Sandburg said, and the girl just looked to Katie. "Arianna-"

"You know what, no." Katie said suddenly moving to stand in front of Arianna. "I am her legal guardian-"

"You are, but I have the right to remove her from your care if I feel her life is in any danger, and right now I do. Mrs. Queen move out of the way, or I will call the police."

"Would you like my phone?" Katie asked, and this time Oliver walked over bring an arm around her and pulling her back. "Liver-"

"We're not winning this fight, Twinkie." Oliver whispered to her, and she just shook her head. "She already has her mind made up, and there's nothing more we can do right now. We will call our lawyer, we will fight this. We will-" Oliver turned back Ari was standing there, and he can tell from the look on her face that she heard him. The girl just shook her head before turning and running up the stairs.

"I will wait outside for her." the social worker said with a nod. "I will see myself out." the woman turned leaving, and Katie made to follow, only for Oliver to hold her in place.

"Twinkie-" Katie groaned, pulling out of his grasp and turning away from him. "I know this is not what you wanted."

"Why aren't you more upset?" Katie asked turning to the man. "Why aren't you fighting as hard for her as I am right now?"

"That's not fair. I'm upset about this, but I don't see the point in attacking government workers because of it. From the outside looking in, I understand why she's concerned, and it's why I didn't want-"

"Oliver, stop talking. Because whatever you're about to say is going to get you hit really hard." Katie turned at the sound of footsteps and turned to see Ari stalking down the stairs pulling her suit case behind her. "Ari, I promise I will fight this. I will bring you back."

"Whatever." the girl said, before stalking out of the front door.

"Twinkie-" Katie simply held up a hand to stop whatever he was going to say, before turning and stalking upstairs, only to stop at the sound of his phone ringing. She looked back to the man as he pulled the phone from his pocket and quickly answer. "Laurel, now's not a good-" he stopped talking the moment the words came out of her mouth, before looking over to Katie. "When?" Katie began walking back toward him. "I'm on my way." he ended the call, and Katie knew the look on his face could only be caused by one thing.

She placed her hands on his chest, "Thea?"

"She's in the hospital. We have to go."

And so they quickly left, both realizing that for some reason, life was not holding back any punches.


	17. Keep Fighting

**Chapter 17**

**Keep Fighting**

_"You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it."_

_-Margaret Thatcher_

* * *

There was an incessant beeping that came from a monitor that relayed life. Thea Queen's life was in jeopardy once again, and at the moment they had nothing, no solution at all to save her. Oliver held on to his sister's hand, staring in sadness and helplessness because he thought he could stop this. He thought he could fix this, but inevitably he failed. He felt he'd failed his sister countless times and he just wished this wasn't one of them.

"Thea," he whispered, hoping somehow, someway she could hear his voice. Could hear him pleading to her, and begging her. "Please don't go."

"There's only one way to prevent that." Oliver lifted his eyes to the familiar voice, and frowned at the sight of Nyssa Al Ghul. He quickly stood to his feet and walked around to her. "My father once told me of an elixir known as the Lotus, and I will freely give it to you on one condition." Oliver was still trying to process her words, hoping he was hearing her right. That there was something that could save his sister, but this was an Al Ghul he was talking to, there had to be a catch. " I want you to kill Malcolm Merlyn."

And there's the catch.

"If you cared about Thea, then curing her blood-lust wouldn't come with any conditions."

"Thea is my sister-in-law. You are my husband."

"I'm not your husband." Oliver clenched his fist, and lifted his eyes to the door and sighed at the sight of Katie who held a paper cup in her hand. Her eyes seemed locked on the person she really didn't expect to see. Nyssa knew who'd caught Oliver's attention before she turned around, and could only imagine the look on her cousin’s face. The woman sighed, before turning to Katie whose expression was one she didn't expect. She expected a hard glare, one visibly conveying her feelings about seeing the woman.

"Well this is awkward." Katie glanced over to Oliver who watched her carefully as if worried about her reaction as well. She turned back to Nyssa who instantly noticed something different about the woman. "The two wives of Oliver Queen in one room." she turned dropping the cup in her hand in the waste basket near the door, before taking a step toward Nyssa.

"Twinkie," Oliver's voice oozed warning and nervousness.

"Nyssa, you really should've called." Katie says taking one final step placing herself in the woman's personal space. "Today's been really tough, and your face is kind of the last thing I would like to see right now."

"Nura—"

"That will be the last time you call me that." Nyssa's hand slid behind her, hovering about the sais she tucked away in case this simple meeting turned violent. For some reason, Katie's voice, though not loud or overly aggressive, still put Nyssa on the offensive. "Why are you here?"

"I want Malcolm Merlyn dead, and I want Oliver to do it." Nyssa said, plain and simple. There was no time to ease into this to spare feelings. Time was of the essence. Katie watched her expecting more, expecting some grand rhyme and reason for the request and yet Nyssa was silent. "There is an elixir that-"

"Can save Thea's life, and you will give it to Oliver if he kills Malcolm. A life for a life, so to speak." Nyssa felt uneasy, her hand never leaving it's place on her blade. She furrowed her brow, before looking over to Oliver who soon hurried over, grabbing Nyssa's arm and pulling her away from Katie, placing a much needed distance. She turned to him, only slightly, allowing her to look at him and keep Katie in her peripheral at the same time.

"Hey, hey. If you have a problem with Malcolm Merlyn, deal with it yourself. Do not involve me or my sister."

"You put the Demon's Head ring on Malcolm's hand. You- "

"You can't defeat him."

"But you can." Nyssa's eyes were filled with determination. She had the key to get what she wanted, knew Oliver's heart strings were also his puppet strings. "You have."

"And that was before I knew that he was my sister's father."

"So he dies so his child might live."

"Didn't your father make a similar bargain?"

"I'm sorry, Oliver. I would not resort to this if I had any other choice." the words seemed actually genuine, but they still gained a scoff from the woman beside her.

"You know I thought we'd gotten past the phase in our lives when murder was the solution to problems." Nyssa turned away and shook her head at her high and mighty cousin. "Nyssa, Thea is dying, she's—look at me!" Nyssa grit her teeth, but turned to the woman. "You're standing here asking my husband to choose killing a man you don't like in order to save his sister. I really have to believe there had to be other choices than this."

"Nyssa, my sister is dying because of something that your father did. I think you have every choice." Nyssa looked over to Oliver. She knew he'd fight this, knew he'd argue and try to bargain with her, but in the end there was only one solution to her problem, and this was the only way she got it.

"Thea is dying because of what her father did." Nyssa countered. " I am only following events to their inevitable conclusion." she turned back to Katie, studying her once more before heading out of the room.

For some reason, Katie turned about to follow, but an arm slid around her waist, and Oliver pulled her back to his chest.

"You're considering this?" she turned her head, looking over to Oliver. "Another deal with an Al Ghul?"

"There has to be a way that doesn't include murder." Katie spun around in his arms. "If this Lotus could help Thea, maybe that will be reason enough for Malcolm to just hand over the ring."

"So making Malcolm choose between his daughter and power."

"He loves Thea."

"And he loves power. So much so, that he's killed for it, schemed for it." Katie shook her head and sighed, before glancing over to Thea who looked as if she were just sleeping.

"Malcolm loves Thea." Oliver declared again, and Katie turned back to him and simply gave a nod. "I'm going to head over to the hideout, fill everyone in. You should-"

"I'm staying here. Lyla said Robyn can stay as long as we need, so I will stay here if you need to leave." she walked around the man and took up the seat at Thea's bedside. Oliver turned, watching her, as if waiting for that moment. That moment Constantine warned him could come if she's pushed too far. He walked over, leaning over and placing a kiss to the top her Katie's head.

"Twinkie," he whispered, and she turned, lifting her eyes to him. "We will figure this out. All of it. Thea, Ari-" Katie turned away at hearing the name. The sting of having to watch the girl walk out of the door, when she promised so much to the teenager. "This fight is not over."

"Well I'm tired of fighting." she turned back to his eyes. "I've been fighting too long, and I'm sick of it. I just-" she grit her teeth, before turning her eyes back to Thea, looking to the scar on her chest. "We're back to where we started. Battles we thought we won now proving that we actually didn't."

"Twinkie, tell me, how do you fail this city?" Katie let out a sigh, before turning to meet his eyes.

"I'm not the hero of this city. I married the hero of this city."

"Well behind every great hero is an even greater hero."

"That's not a saying." she turned back to Thea, taking the girl's hand in hers.

"Yes it is." Oliver placed one final kiss to Katie's head, before heading for the door. He stopped before actually leaving, realizing he should say the mutually understood suggestion. "Twinkie-"

"I will stay here." she looked over to the man and shrugged. "I'm not leaving her." Oliver glanced over this his sister wanting so badly for her to just open her eyes. He made a promise that he would make that happen, and hopefully so did Malcolm.

Soon the hospital room was silent, filled with the subtle beeping from the monitor beside Thea's bed. Katie's eyes looked down to their still conjoined hands before looking back up to the scar on Thea's chest.

"Do you remember that stupid party Oliver threw when your parents went on their New Years Eve vacation." Katie smiled with a shake of her head. "Your brother being Oliver Queen knew he couldn't waste a parentless mansion and so he decided to throw the party of the year. And I foolishly accepted his invitation because despite knowing my classmates didn't like me, I had this fantasy in my head that some way, somehow at the strike of midnight it would be me Oliver would kiss and not-" Katie let out a deep sigh. "Not Laurel. So I went, and of course got the looks when I walked in. But I was used to the looks. I had one mission and that was to find this boy I had a crush on in hopes that there would be some New Years miracle, and he'd just like me too." Katie laughed at herself, realizing just how incredibly foolish she was. "But when I found him, he was still with Laurel, and they were all over each other and I knew I'd made a mistake so I decided to leave. Until I bumped into this kid with a mess of curly hair carrying a giant bowl of popcorn. You said you always like to watch the ball drop on television, and how your brother usually watched with you, but he was too busy, and so I asked if I could watch with you and the smile on your face turned my entire night around."

_Katie grabbed another handful of popcorn as they looked to the screen once again showing the twinkling New Year's ball._

_"One day I'm going to be there." Thea said smiling at the screen. "I'm going to watch it live. I know it has to be magical."_

_"You think so?" Thea glanced over her shoulder to the girl who stared down to the popcorn in her hand before plucking a few kernels in her mouth. Katie looked back over to see Thea staring and realized she should probably tone down her dark outlook on life. "I mean I'm sure it is."_

" _You don't believe it's magic, do you?" Thea turned to face Katie fully. "That one night a year, people all across the world come together and just stop for ten seconds to welcome a whole new year with someone close to them. That's magic." Thea turned back to the television. "We used to watch every year when I was little."_

_"You're still little Speedy." that gained Katie a glare._

_"Now they're in New York, Oliver's downstairs sucking Laurel's face, and I'm-"_

" _Here with the coolest person in this house." Katie says nudging the girl's shoulder. "And I think you're right, it is magic because now neither one of us will have to spend this night alone." Thea smiled, before dropping her head to Katie's shoulder and letting out a yawn. "Hey none of that. We have another hour, and we're going to make it together."_

“Ok, Thea, so I know you're in there, and I know you can hear me right now, so I need you to listen and listen well." Katie lifted Thea's hand and gave it a squeeze. "You are stronger than this blood lust. It may not seem like it, but I promise you are. You just have to-" Katie dropped her head because it seemed her words for Thea were words she needed as well. "You have to fight. And I know you're tired, and I know you just want to give up, but you're Thea Queen. You're Speedy. You're the heart that beats for many, including your brother. He's not giving up on saving you. So I need you to not give up on you either."

There were some things about America that John Constantine just didn't get no matter how long he'd been in this country. But he'd swear on a stack of bibles that nothing in this country could beat a good hot dog. The man sat on a bench, enjoying his hot dog when he felt the presence of someone sitting beside him.

"You know this hot dog is good, but I was in Chicago once for a possession and-" he turned to see the unamused face of Jacob Robins. "Straight to the point then?"

"Please." Jacob looked over to the man, before glancing over to the hospital across the street. "How's my daughter?"

"Slipping away." Constantine took another bite of his hot dog and Jacob turned his glare to him. "But it's what I expected." he looked over to the man. "What I told you would happen."

"You said you could stop it. You said you could help her."

"I said it was possible depending on how far she's gotten, and Jacob, she's gotten far. I stopped her from killing someone recently." Jacob dropped his head and let out frustrated breath. "But I can't be everywhere. It's going to happen, and I think now-"

"And I said no." Jacob stood to his feet, and buttoned his jacket. "I know my daughter and she is stronger than whatever is happening to her. The fact that she isn't lost right now is proof enough. You stay close, and figure out how to save her." And with those words, Jacob simply walked away. Constantine glanced over to the retreating man with a shake of his head before taking another bite of his hot dog.

Laurel Lance was nervous. For many reasons at the moment. Not only was she going into Nyssa's hideout to try to convince her to hold off whatever attack she has on the city, at least until Oliver could talk to Malcolm, but she was not alone.

"I'm coming in with you." Laurel let out a frustrated breath before turning to the man in the passenger's side of her car.

"Ethan-" He'd stopped by the hide out right as she was leaving and when she told him where she was going he insisted on going with her.

"No, the fact that no one is here to watch your back is questionable enough, but I will not let you go off into the lion's den alone."

"First of all, it's not the lion's den. Nyssa will not hurt me, but she may hurt you if you go in there. So just stay in the car." the man shook his head, and she knew he wasn't listening. "Ethan-"

"So are we going in, or what?" he asked, not even waiting for a response before stepping out of the car. Laurel cursed under her breath before quickly jumping out to catch up to him, and move to stand in front of him. "I'm sorry, but you're not going in there alone." Laurel looked at the man for a moment. He'd always been ridiculously protective, and their time apart somehow made her forget. "Look I know we're not-" Ethan didn't want to have this conversation at the moment, and so he just shook his head. "It doesn't matter, you want to have a meet and greet with the demon's daughter, then I'm going to be there to make sure you come out alive with all of your limbs."

"She really freaks you out, doesn't she?"

"Which is why-" the man reached forward and took Laurel's hand before pulling her toward Nyssa's hideout. "you're not going in there without me." They'd only taken a few more steps before masked assassins appeared.

Bruce Wayne was at an impasse. He stood in the middle of his ship yard hideout looking up to monitors of data, but something was missing. There was a sudden beeping that came from the monitor to his left indicating that someone was coming in, and he knew exactly who it was. He smiled slightly, as he typed a few keys, changing the information on the screens, before turning to the newly installed elevator as the doors opened and in rolled Felicity.

"So I have this theory." she began moving toward him, and he did the same. "When you're upset and don't get your way, you pout and shut yourself away from the world."

"I don't pout and I'm not shutting myself away from the world. You said you needed space, that I was becoming overbearing, and trying to make you a damsel, and I took that as go away."

"Bruce Wayne, you're such a child some times. I just wanted—no I needed to know that I could do this on my own."

"Felicity-"

"And I know it was rough when I got out of the hospital, and I thought I couldn't be me again because of this stupid chair, but you were there and you told me I could, and I believed it. Bruce I never want you to go away, especially not now." Bruce frowned, before kneeling down in front of her.

"What's wrong?"

"My dad came back." and from her tone, he knew that wasn't a good thing.

"Wow. Ok, how did that go?"

"Well it's a long story that ends with me finding out that he's the superhacker who blackmailed Roy." Bruce stared in shock, and Felicity just let out a sigh as he placed a hand on her knee.

"So your dad is this Calculator guy?"

"Yeah, he was at the Palmer Tech presentation." Bruce turned away slightly. He was at the presentation, his eyes scanning the crowd, and no one he saw seemed the type to be some evil computer hacker. He shook his head before turning back to the woman.

"What did he want?"

"Well I had coffee with him and he dropped the whole Calculator bomb on me. Apparently now that he knows what I do, that we're both "vigilantes," we have something in common. The sickest part is I want to believe him." the woman shook her head, unsure what to believe at this point. "I wish there was some sort of test I could do that would prove that he is who he says he is."

"Well then lets figure out a test." Bruce says standing up straight. "I mean unless this is something you want to do alone. I don't want to suffocate you or anything."

"So you're a child and an ass." she replied with a shake her head. "I can't believe I'm voluntarily choosing to enter a marriage with you. I must be crazy." she looked up to the man who smiled before leaning down to bring his lips to hers.

"Well I wasn't going to say anything, but now that you brought it up-" Felicity swat his arm, before pulling his lips down to hers. She still hated this chair so much, especially for moments like this where even kissing her fiance took a bit of adjusting. After a moment she pulled back, and let out a sigh.

"Ms. Smoak-"

"I'm fine." she said looking up and meeting his eyes. "I just keep seeing it."

"What?"

"Me, rolling down an aisle toward you and the train of my dress getting stuck in the wheel." she shook her head at the thought she'd been thinking about lately. It's one of the reasons she doesn't even want to start planning the wedding. "I just-" she dropped her head, her eyes looking down to her legs. "I hate this."

"I know." Bruce dropped down once again in front of her. "But the truth will always be that this will not beat you Ms. Smoak, this is just another battle you will win, and I will be there with you along the way." Felicity looked up to the man, placing a hand on his cheek, once again wondering how the hell she got so lucky. She still couldn't believe he was her guy.

"You know I think I love you."

"Just figured that out, just now, huh?"

"Well better late than never." she said, before grabbing the wheels of her chair and turning. "We have to go. I should head back to see if there's any luck diverting a Star City Massacre." Bruce looked over to the woman with a furrowed brow. "See what happens when you become a child?"

Katie stood at the window of Thea's room. She heard footsteps and turned to see Malcolm whose eyes looked down to his daughter.

"There's no change." Katie looks down to the man who takes Thea's hand in his. "But you knew that. You talked to Oliver."

"That husband of yours lives in a world of his own." Malcolm shakes his head as he looks over to her. "He truly believes Nyssa has some magical potion that can just save my daughter, and all I have to do is just give her my league." he scoffed, his eyes dropping back down to his daughter.

"It's a crazy story, but a part of you believes her. I mean a part of you wants to believe her." Katie sighs, as she looks back down to Thea, wanting some badly for her to just wake up and be ok.

"Do you believe her?" Malcolm asks, looking over to the woman who quirks a brow and shrugs.

"My cousin is every bit of her father. So I take every word out of her mouth with a grain of sand." Katie reaches down and takes Thea's hand in hers and softly smiles. "But if there is any magic in this world, then Thea Queen is one of very few people who deserve it." Katie bit the corner of her lip in thought before raising her eyes to Malcolm. "I have to go." Katie turned grabbing her bag, and jacket and hurrying for the door, before stopping and turning back to the man. "Malcolm-" he looked over to her. "If this is real, that ring is coming off your finger."

"Absolutely." he said without hesitation. Katie gave a nod before rushing from the room.

This was probably a mistake. It was a thought that kept bouncing inside Katie's head ever so often when she decided she was going to pay her cousin a visit. But it seemed the thought would be gone as quick as it came when she thought about Thea, and this game Nyssa seemed to put her in the middle of. She had traveled home to change, and was now sitting in her car that she'd parked a distance from Nyssa’s hideout.

"This is a mistake." she muttered to herself. And the mistake itself wasn't the danger she was putting herself in by venturing into Nyssa secret warehouse hideout alone. It was the fact that she could feel the darkness growing inside of her, controlling her actions and thoughts quite often recently, and she knew the chance of her losing control was that much greater. But just like before, the thought was gone as quick as it floated into her brain, and before she could even think of questioning her decision, she was out of the car and walking.

Nyssa Al Ghul was surrounded by untrained idiots who would be lucky enough to live after one battle against Malcolm and his assassins. She swung her sword, none of them seeming to anticipate her movements. She kicked, and punched, besting them all, each move only frustrating her even more. The last fighter, was too easy to beat, and soon her blade was at his neck.

"Your left-side block is slow. Your next opponent won't have my patience or my mercy." she growled, when suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she quickly jumped back as a sword just missed her. There was no time to question it, or think before she swung her own sword in response. She jumped back, and looked over to the perpetrator, only to see someone dressed in league clothing, but not one of her own. Nyssa's guards all jumped to their feet grabbing their weapons and surrounding assailant. "It was a grave mistake coming here. Reveal yourself before you die." she heard a snort from the assailant, before they reached up and pulled the mask from their face. "Nura-"

"Did you scrape the bottom of league pool when you were choosing your little team, because that guy outside wasn't very hard to take down." Katie rolled her sore shoulders, sword still held firmly in her hand and pointed toward Nyssa despite still being surrounded. "Tell your flunkies they're not ready for this fight."

"I don't believe our husband would send you here?" Nyssa asked, and Katie dropped her head slightly before looking up to meet the woman's eyes once again.

"You shouldn't antagonize me Nyssa. I'm seriously not in the mood for whatever this is. Can the lotus save Thea's life."

"It can."

"Then give it to me."

"You know my terms dear cousin." Katie quirked a brow, her eyes turning to the guards still surrounding her, and she let out a huff.

"This is a family conversation, right? Tell your flunkies to go play with themselves or something." Katie began walking toward the woman, only for the guards to step in closer, and Katie stopped dropping the sword, before lifting her hands. Nyssa took a few steps toward her cousin, her eyes narrowing as she seemed to just look her over.

"What have you done to my cousin, my husband?" Nyssa's eyes lifted to the man who'd just walked in before turning back to Katie who never turned her eyes. "She's broken. More annoying than usual as well."

"You mind telling your friends to stop pointing their swords at my wife?" Nyssa chuckled as she glanced over to the man.

"Well they're not pointing them at me, they're-"

"Nyssa!" the woman simply lifted a hand, and the guards sheath their swords, before leaving the room.

Oliver appeared at Katie's side, grabbing her arm and pulling her back.

"I thought I made myself very clear, my dear husband. You were to bring the magician with you, not my cousin." Nyssa turned a smirk to Katie who attempted to take a step, but Oliver's hand around her arm puled her back.

"Well, I need something from you first-" Oliver said finally releasing the hold on Katie's arm. "proof that what you're offering is real."

"A stalling tactic." Nyssa tsked with a shake of her head. "Al Sa-Her thinks me the fool or that you're one."

"Or maybe he doesn't trust the woman trying to take the Demon's Head ring from him." Oliver replied with just as much annoyance with the woman. "Can't imagine why." Nyssa turned from him, to her cousin who seemed unusually quiet since Oliver arrived. She lifted a hand, and one of her guards walked over .

"Bring me a sample of the Lotus." she ordered and the guard went off to fetch it. "You still have yet to answer my question." Nyssa turned to Oliver who seemed confused. "What have you done to my cousin?" The guard had returned with a small vial of the cure, handing it to Nyssa.

"This amount is not sufficient to cure her permanently, only to provide the assurance Merlyn seeks." Nyssa said holding the vial to Oliver who took it with a nod.

"Thank you, Nyssa."

"As I said, someone is going to die. I pray it won't be your sister." Nyssa spoke before turning at the slight snort that came from her cousin. "And you find amusement in that?"

"No, I find amusement in the fact that you don't seem too worried if that if happens."

"And I should?" A smile curled at Katie's lips as she looked at Nyssa, one that made even made the daughter of the demon feel uneasy.

"Let's just say the moment you stepped into this city and started playing this game, you tied your fate to Thea's." Katie took a step, but Oliver quickly grabbed her arm once again to pull her back, and she once again let him. "If Thea-" Katie grit her teeth because she could feel the darkness inside of her. Really feel it moving, and fighting inside of her, just wanting to be let out. "If Thea dies, I will make sure that fight to the death between us your father always wanted happens." she glanced around to the guards who had flit back into the room. "And after she's dead, you're all next." without another word, Katie turned on her heel heading for the exit. She heard Oliver's footsteps behind her and knew he was not going to like what she did next. Before leaving, Katie stopped walking and turned to Oliver who looked to her in confusion. "Oh, Nyssa one more thing!" Nyssa's eyes looked up just in time to see the blade shoot from Katie's hand. Nyssa quickly jumped high, flipping backwards, barely missing the blade. They all turned at the sound of the blade hitting the wall just behind her. Nyssa's eyes grew dark, turning back to the woman. "Refer to Oliver as your husband again, and I'll give you an answer to that question of yours." she gave the woman a wink, before turning and stalking out of the room.

The moment they stepped foot outside, Katie had no intention of stopping and turning to Oliver, but she also knew he wasn't going to just let her walk away. They'd only walked a few feet away from Nyssa's hideout before Oliver grabbed her arm to stop her, and to his surprise she jerked her arm from his grasp before turning to him.

"Are you crazy?!" Oliver snapped angrily. "You're supposed to be at the hospital. And you come here, alone, to what? What were you going to do?"

"What you should be doing!" Katie shook her head at the man. "Why are you playing this game? Why are you letting Nyssa pull you into this sick power struggle between her and Malcolm?"

"Because my sister is dying and Nyssa has a way to save her!"

"Then lets go back in there and burn that building to the ground until she gives us every last drop of this miracle lotus cure she has. C'mon, we can-" she began walking back toward the hideout, but Oliver caught her arm again, and she snatched away from him. "You can't do it can you?"

"I can, but there is a better way of solving this Which I am doing, and I don't need your help. Whatever the hell that was back there, would not make this situation better."

"Well we would have to agree to disagree then." Katie replied, before sudden chill crept down her spine. She stiffened, before lifting her head and turning to see someone who she would rather not see right now. "You shouldn't be here Constantine."

"Oh, love this is exactly where I need to be." Constantine turned to Oliver who gave the man a nod, and Katie glanced between the two in confusion.

"What the hell is going on?"

Constantine began walking toward the woman before reciting,"Molles somnos, somno iam" Katie suddenly snapped her eyes shut, her head beginning to spin. She snapped open her eyes, and Constantine, looked up to meet her now gray storm colored eyes, and he frowned but soon it was as if a switch inside the woman had suddenly flicked off, because before she knew it, she was unconscious.

Oliver quickly stepped forward catching the woman in his arms, and letting out a sigh before looking back up to the man.

"It's happening isn't it?" Oliver asked as Constantine moved in closer, studying the woman in his arms. "You said-"

"I said I would try to help, and that's what I'm going to do." Constantine held out his arms toward the man. "Now hand her over, and you go help your sister." The last thing Oliver wanted to do in this moment was hand Katie over to the man. He wanted to be there when she woke up, wanted to be the first person she saw so she wouldn't be scared. He wanted her to know that he was there for her, and yet he always ended up with the same problem. He couldn't be in two places at once. He couldn't be there for his wife when he was sure she needed him, and try to save his sister from dying. Oliver was once again brought to a moment where he had to make a choice. He dropped his lips, placing a kiss to her forehead, because he already knew what he had to do. It's the choice even she would make him choose. And so Oliver took a step forward, and let Katie slide from his hands into Constantine's.

"Constantine-"

"I told you-"

"I know what you told me, but this moment, I think I should tell you something." Constantine lifted his eyes to the man. "The woman in your arms means a lot-" Oliver cleared his throat and took a deep breath trying to reel in the multitude of emotions trying to claw their way out of him. "Constantine, you're holding one of two people on this planet who allow me to breathe. So I'm going to need you to do more than try to help her." Constantine silently gave a nod before turning and walking away.

Oliver needed a moment of just silent, nothingness. It's why he sat in his empty, campagin office. His eyes lifted to a picture of himself, and Katie. It was taken at the baby shower, and the moment captured on camera was the moment the pair stood away from the crowd, staring at each other. They were unaware of the camera on them at the time, so the only image it could ever capture was the love they both shared, so unguarded, so blatant and free. Oliver tried to ignore that pit in his stomach, that seemed to be warning him of an impending doom, but he was beginning to realize it just wasn't going away.

A knock at the door caused the man to lift his eyes, and sneered at the sight of the person standing there. "Ethan, if you're here to lecture me again-"

"You know me telling you my medical opinion about the health of your-" Ethan let out a sigh, before lifting his hands. "That's not why I'm here." Ethan walked further inside, taking the seat in front of Oliver's desk. "Your sister is stable at the moment. Are you sure this Lotus will help her."

"I'm not sure of anything at the moment." Oliver said, lifting his eyes to the vial that was sitting on his desk.

"Can I ask why I'm the one doing this, and not your wife?" Oliver's jaw clenched, his eyes looking back to the doctor. "Can I at least ask where she is right now? Because that woman made me give her the entire play by play of all tests and treatments when Thea was brought in and I can't imagine she would be absent to the moment a foreign substance would be given the woman." Ethan shook his head as he looked over to Oliver, knowing he probably wasn't going get an answer and so he sighed and stood to his feet before heading for the door.

"Let's not mistake this for something it isn't, Ethan." Ethan stopped and looked over to the man. "You wormed your way into Katie's life, into our lives, and you gained our trust, and then you turned out to be a fraud. So no you don't get to ask me anything about my wife. You're here only because I have no more options."

"And when you run out of options you bring in that fraud, right." Ethan chuckled to himself with a shake of his head. "You trust that fraud with the life of your sister. Oliver I haven't mistaken this moment, whatever it is. I know where I stand with you, and everyone downstairs who now look at me differently. But do you want to know the truth-" Ethan walked back over to sit, leaning forward in his chair as he looked at Oliver. "When Jacob gave me the option to either infiltrate his daughter's life, or not help save my mother's life, I didn't hesitate. I'd done it before, it was just a job." Ethan slid a hand through his hair as he sat back in his chair. "But I didn't expect what I was going to get pulled into. I didn't expect to be pulled into this family that I didn't even know I needed until I was right in the middle of it. Look I get it, Jacob's actions on the outside looking in paint the guy as a cold hearted bastard. Which he totally was, but there was something you didn't see. What he tries to hide as best he can."

"And what's that?"

Ethan dropped his head, before glancing back up to Oliver with a slight shrug .

"That man is scared to death. Of what, I don't know, but whatever it was made him go to some extreme lengths to make his daughter the person she is. And the thing is, even now, something's got that man shook to his core." Ethan once again stood to his feet, before heading for the door, but he once again stopped before leaving. "In this damn city, of people who need saving, my Kit's still at the top of your list, right?" the doctor glanced over to the man, whose eyes once again drifted to that picture on his desk.

"Until my very last breath." Oliver muttered, believing nothing more in that moment. Ethan simply gave a nod before finally leaving.

Constantine knelt down as he lit the final candle. He took a deep breath before standing up straight and glancing around to see the circle of candles, and the woman who still laid unconscious in their center.

"You're not supposed to be here." the man spoke, turning at the sudden appearance of a ghost he explicitly told not to be here. "Actually there should be a big ball of light with your name on it. Just walk into it and don't look back."

" _You know given the things I've seen on your little missions, I'm really not in a hurry to go up there."_ the woman's eyes looked to Katie, taking a few steps forward. " _My daughter is slipping away, and there's nothing I can do to stop it."_

"Grace-"

" _I don't need a pep talk right now. I don't need promises. I just need her to get through this."_

"And I will do everything I can to help her, but it's not easy. That darkness inside of her knows I'm trying to get rid of it somehow, and soon she won't hesitate to try to kill me."

" _Well it won't get to that point. I believe it won't."_

"And in case it does, you and I both know what needs to happen, right?"

Grace looked down to the woman asleep on the floor, and a soft smile came to her lips at a memory from long ago of holding the girl in her arms when she was just a baby. " _When she was just a baby, I told her I would protect her until the day I died."_

"And then you died, but here you are. Look I know you don't even want to think about the other end of this, but if this goes bad, there's only one solution. Just tell me where it is and-"

" _I told you, I would give you it's location when it was needed, but not before. There's still hope for her. So make her see that." and without a word the ghost was gone._

Constantine let out a exasperated sigh, before pulling off his coat and placing it on a nearby metal drum. He rubbed his hands together as he walked toward the woman, stopping just outside of the circle of candles.

"Alright mate, time to wake up." the man closed his eyes, and held out his hands. "Nunc igitur consurge consurg." the sharp intake of breath happened immediately and the man opened his eyes to look down to the woman who lifted her head.

Katie's eyes lifted the candles around her and she immediately felt nervous. The moment felt reminiscent of her days in Nanda Parbat, after a fight, waking up in a strange place and candles illuminating the room. But this wasn't Nanda Parbat.

"You know for such a thriving city, Star City does have an astronomical amount of ominous abandoned warehouses." Katie turned at the sound of the voice, gritting her teeth at the sight of the man. "Let me guess, you're wondering what you're doing here." Katie quickly stood to her feet, about to charge at the man only to be flung back by some invisible force the moment she got close to him. "To answer your question, you're here because you're falling." he began walking around the candles, keeping his eyes on her as she stands to her feet. "Once upon a time, your problems, your difficulties, they were things you could brush off, and keep fighting the good fight." the woman stood to her feet before once again running to tackle him, only to be flung back again landing on her back. "Now they seem to just be feeding the darkness in you and if you're not careful-"

"It's too late." she said, not even bothering to get to her feet. She simply lays there on her back, looking up to the filthy skylight windows of the warehouse. "I went to see Nyssa tonight with the full intention of tying her up, and cutting off every limb on her body until she gave me this cure that can save Thea. And there was no usual pro and con with the decision, no simpler choice. I was going to hurt her, and not regret it in the least. So whatever you think is happening to me, you're too late."

"Well I don't think I am, love. You see if blood and torture was your chosen poison then why is Nyssa still alive?" the man stopped walking and glanced down to the woman who didn't have an immediate answer. "Let me guess, your husband walked into that room, and all those pros and cons came with him, didn't they? That's how I know it's not too late." he watched as Katie sat up into a sitting position, and brought her knees to her chest. "So how I see it, we have two choices. You and me can stay in this lovely warehouse, you stuck in that circle, or you can start fighting." Katie dropped her head to her knees, looking over to one of the flickering flames of a candle.

"And what if I lose? I feel like I'm losing." Constantine sighed and walked over so he was back in the woman's line of sight.

"I guess I was wrong in telling Oliver not to be here for this. I'm sure he'd have the perfect words to say to you in this moment. But you have me, and I want you to listen very carefully. There is only one way you lose mate, and that's the moment you stop fighting. And as I see it, there's still things here for you to fight for."

There was a sudden flash of Robyn, that made Katie smile. Then a flash of a shared kiss with Oliver, followed by the sudden scene of she and Ari laughing.

With a deep breath, Katie stood to her feet and walked over to Constantine, stopping just at the candles, before looking up to meet his eyes.

"And here I was thinking you couldn't help me." the woman said with a small smile. She gave the man a nod. "I'm ready to do this." Constantine gave a smile, before chanting something Katie couldn't quite understand, it was as if she could just feel that invisible wall keeping her inside was just gone. And when she felt it, she finally took a step outside of the circle, and turned to the man she knew was still studying her in case this was all just a trick . "Look, I'm going to fight this as long and hard as I can, but I can't fight forever. I need a way to get this thing out of me before its too late."

"Well I haven't given up the search, mate. If there is hope out there. I will find it." She gave the man a nod. "Right, well I've been given strict instructions to get you back to that over-protective husband of yours once you were...well you again." he saw a flash of emotion cross her face. "Hey, he's still in this with you, you know. You haven't scared him off."

"Not yet anyways." she replied before nudging her head. "Let's go." she glanced down to her clothes, only now realizing she was still wearing her stolen league garb. "I need a change of clothes."

Katie found herself nervous as she rode the elevator. She was alone, Constantine off trying to find a way to help her, and leaving her to face Oliver alone. When she finally reached the lair, she took one final deep breath, before walking out, her eyes looking for him instantly.

"Oh, hey!" Katie turned to see Felicity and Bruce standing by the computers. Felicity grabbed the wheels of her chair about to come to her but Katie held up her hands, and decided to come to her. "I thought you were...well I didn't really know where you were. We asked Oliver, but he really wasn't forthcoming with the information. He just kept saying you were somewhere safe. I mean I thought for sure you'd be at Thea's side when she was being transported."

"Transported?" Katie asked, before lifting her head to Bruce who walked over to her as well. "Transported where?"

Soon Katie was once again on the elevator, this time standing beside Bruce whose eyes she felt on her, even though he wouldn't say a word.

"Why the hell are you staring at me?" she asked turning to the man.

"Sorry, I just-" he cleared his throat and turned away. "I thought the worse when you weren't here, but I guess it was all for nothing." Katie looked at him in confusion, before turning back to the doors as they opened. Her eyes going wide at the sight of Thea lying in her hospital bed. Monitors and wires connected to her, as she remained unconscious. The moment Katie saw her, she rushed out, going to Thea's side, looking at the monitor next to her bed showing her heart rate. She pulled off her jacket before grabbing Thea's hand.

"Who's down here with-"

"Kit?" Katie turned at the voice and let out a sigh of relief at the sight of Ethan. He glanced over to Bruce before turning back to the woman as he walked over to her. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Not really important right now." Katie says looking back down to Thea. "I need you to tell everything."

"Well there's not much to tell. There've been no changes. Oliver gave her the sample of the Lotus, and she woke up for a bit, but then just returned back to her comatosed state."

"Malcolm was here to see it, now he, Oliver, John and Laurel are meeting with Nyssa to make the exchange." Bruce added and Katie looked over to him with a quirked brow. She was surprised for some reason, not expecting for Malcolm to give up the ring so easily. She turned back to Thea.

"Maybe he has changed." Katie muttered with a smile as she slid her hands through Thea's hair. "And maybe your brother really does know what he's doing." she lifted her head to see the two men still staring at her and she frowned before turning back to Bruce. "Go back to your fiance-" she turned to Ethan. "And you show me Thea's charts."

There was a computer not too far from Thea's bed where Katie sat, reading over Thea's medical records along with research similar symptoms. She knew it would be a long shot trying to find cases similar to the effect of the Lazarus Pit, but she was getting stir crazy and just needed to do something.

Every couple of minutes she would go back over to Thea's side, take her hand, and talk to her. Each time she held the smallest minuscule of hope that the girl would just wake up.

"Just hold on Speedy." Katie whispered, just as the elevator doors opened. She turned to see Oliver, John, Felicity and Laurel. Oliver's eyes went to Katie's, rushing over to her, his hand sliding around her waist. He asked the question with his eyes, 'are you alright?' and she gave him a nod. "I don't see a big bottle of magic wake up potion. What happened?"

"Malcolm diverted from the plan and decided he would try to kill Nyssa instead." John said, "It didn't work, and a fight erupted before Nyssa ran off. She still has the Lotus."

"So we were this close, and Malcolm just couldn't give up that ring." Katie shook her head before turning back to Thea, and she could feel that anger stirring inside of her.

"I can't believe that being Ra's Al Ghul is more important to Malcolm than saving his daughter's life." Oliver said looking down to his sister. Katie slipped her hand into his and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"I know that you're trying a new approach, but just because you've changed, that doesn't mean everybody else has." Laurel said, but Oliver wasn't ready to believe that death would be the way to solve this problem.

"We cannot allow a League civil war. Too many people will be collateral damage." Oliver stated, his eyes still on his sister.

"And the 4 of us definitely can't take on two armies of assassins." John added.

"Five." Katie said, and they all turned to her. "I'm helping." she turned to Oliver and she knew he would object. "Liver—"

"We're going to have to take down the generals." Oliver said looking over to John before turning to Felicity. "We need to work on locating Nyssa and Malcolm."

"But mainly Nyssa because she's got that whole Lotus cure thing." Felicity said, but Oliver shook his head.

"We find both of them. No one else dies tonight." he turned back to his sister and sighed. "Especially Thea." and with those orders, Felicity, John and Laurel stepped back onto the elevator. The moment the doors were closed, Katie knew what was coming.

"Twinkie-"

"I know what you're going to say." Katie said, walking around the bed so she stood across from the man. "And given everything that's happened today, everything I've done, I completely understand, but Liver-"

"The answer is no." Oliver said simply, and Katie scoffed, because he wasn't even going to talk to her about this, wasn't going to come to some compromise. "I'm sorry-"

"No, you don't apologize when you're not actually sorry. Look, Liver, I get it, you're scared-"

"I am scared!" the man said, moving around the bed, so he was once again standing in front of her. "Everyday, I'm scared that one day I'm just going to lose you to whatever this is Darhk has done to you. The only thing I know is that violence and anger feeds it and makes it stronger, and if you go out there, then that's a risk you're going to take that me and our daughter lose you. And as someone ridiculously stubborn and smart once told me you no longer have risks that only affect you." Oliver slipped his hand around Katie's waist, and pulled her to him. "We will figure this out. I just need to know that I won't lose you while trying to hold on to my sister." Katie turned away from the man, knowing everything he was saying was true. She knew his fears were rational, and given everything that's happened, they were expectant. "Twinkie," she chewed on the corner of her lip, and Oliver sighed before bringing his lips crook of her neck.

"Ok." she replied and his lifted his eyes to meet her. "I will stay here." he looked at her as if unsure she was actually being honest with him. He'd heard those words before. She placed her hands on his chest, her eyes looking into his. "I promise, I will stay here, but if this fight gets too big-"

"Twinkie-"

"If this fight litters our streets with the bodies of innocent people, then I will not hide anymore. You didn't marry someone who stands by and watch people get hurt. I know you're scared, I know you're afraid of losing me, but Liver, you will only lose me if I stop fighting this, and I haven't given up." Oliver silently just stared into Katie's eyes. To this day, always mesmerized by the strength she held behind them. He knew at this point everything she said was true, that she would fight this, but if any of what Constantine said was true, then he knew it wouldn't be an easy fight to win.

"I love you, Katherine Queen." the man finally said, and the words would always consume her and fill her with warmth. She wanted to make a joke as she always did, make the moment lighter and not as serious as it really was, but in the end she simply pulled his lips to hers, letting the love she felt for the man simply speak for itself.

To everyone's relief the search didn't take long. Soon they had a lead, and so the team was in action. With Oliver, John and Laurel all out looking for Nyssa and Malcolm, and Felicity and Bruce heading over to Palmer Tech to meet with her dad, Katie and Thea were once again left alone.

"What the hell did you name that hamster?" Katie was on her feet and pacing in front of Thea's bed. She couldn't stop talking, couldn't stop trying to get her mind off the fight outside these walls that she couldn't be a part of. "It doesn't matter, because that little rat always freaked me out." she laughed glancing over to the unconscious woman. "And you and your brother knew it and would torture me every time I was around." Katie finally stopped walking and looked back to the woman's unmoving body and she felt the twinge in her chest before she walked over and took the seat beside Thea's bed.

"You're probably getting tired of the sound of my voice by now. And I promise to shut up, but I need you to just keep holding on."

Bruce stood in the lab of Palmer Tech, standing at the window that over looked the city. He closed his eyes and stretched his neck in exhaustion. He heard the sound of the elevator and took a deep breath before turning to see Felicity along with her father at her side.

"And here he is. "Felicity said with a smile as they came over to Bruce. "Noah, this is my fiancé Bruce Wayne. Bruce this is my father." the two men smiled to each other before taking a step forward to shake each others hand. Both with nice firm grips, as if sending a silent message to the other.

"Well I have to say my daughter being engaged to none other than Bruce Wayne-" Noah shook his head as he looked down to his daughter "It was surprising to say the least."

"You know people keep saying that, and I have no idea why." Bruce said, smiling over to Felicity. "I'm the one out of my league here. Afraid every day she will realize it."

"Oh, I already have, but there's that whole I'm in love with you thing that won't allow me to leave." the man chuckled before they both turned back to Noah who seemed to be watching the exchange. "Why don't I give you the tour." the man nodded, glancing once more to Bruce before walking along side Felicity. Bruce followed behind the pair, and the feeling in his gut was undeniable. This guy was definitely not to be trusted.

It wasn't until the tour was finally over, and Felicity and Bruce stood waving goodbye to the man, could Bruce finally reveal his thoughts. Once the doors were closed, Felicity turned to Bruce who didn't look at her right away.

"Aw, I know that look." Bruce turned to the woman and sighed before pulling a small device from his pocket. Felicity frowned before taking it out of his hand. "Please tell me you were just waiting to surprise me with Wayne Enterprises new design of their IR burst receiver?" she looked back up to the man who shook his head.

"I saw him plant it in the lab during your tour. He didn't think I was paying attention." Bruce said, and he saw the sadness that passed over Felicity's face as she looked back down to the device. He knew she wanted Noah to be the person he said he was...to be her father. Felicity shook her head before going back into the lab.

"I don't even know why I'm surprised."

"You're surprised because you're hoping that he's the parent you've always wanted him to be, the parent you deserve."

"I can't believe my mother was right." Felicity shook her head before looking back down to the device. She looked back over to Bruce, who placed a hand on her shoulder. "She said, "People don't change, no matter how much you want them to."

"Well some people don't." Bruce walked around and knelt down in front of the woman. "But some of us do, I mean I like to think that ever since I met this beautiful woman who can speak a mile a minute if she drinks too much coffee, I'm not the same person I was." Felicity smiled placing a hand on his cheek.

"Aw honey, there's no such thing as too much coffee."

Oliver stood on the elevator alone, his hand twitching at his side. They'd stumbled into another battle between Malcolm and Nyssa in the middle of a block filled with people. People were hurt, scared, and he didn't know how to stop it. The only good thing was that they were able to capture Nyssa, and she was currently locked away in a cage, until they could convince her to give up this fight and give them the Lotus. When the doors finally opened, Oliver stepped out, first looking to Thea, walking over and taking her hand in his before lifting his eyes. He scanned around, his heart now ramming in his chest, because he didn't see Katie at all. He was afraid this would happen. That she would go against her promise, and once again try to handle this on her own. Oliver shook his head about to head back over to the elevator, when his ears heard her voice, and so he walked over.

"Thanks so much Lyla, and I promise I will get her in the morning." Katie turned and saw Oliver. "Alright, goodnight." she ended the call and walked over to him, his hands instantly wrapping around her. She could tell from his eyes that things didn't go as planned. "How did-"

"How's Robyn?" Oliver asked and Katie smiled.

"Lyla says she's being an angel. Still chewing on her foot, still laughing during a game of peekaboo. She and little Sara are hitting it off." Oliver let out a sigh, the news seemingly the only thing keeping him from completely falling a part right now. "How bad did it get?" Oliver closed his eyes and dropped his head.

"People were hurt. We got there in time to minimize it, but there was a league fight in the middle of the city and I-"

"No," Katie says placing her hand on the side his face, his eyes opening. "That doesn't happen now. You will not get lost in guilt and anger. What was accomplished?"

"We have Nyssa. She's being kept in the cage until we can find Malcolm and finally end this. I just don't know how I can do that." Oliver shook his head. "John seems to think I should just kill Malcolm."

"And because of the depths of hatred I have for that man, I would agree. He's been the source of all of this, his need for power has gotten us right here, with Thea lying in that bed and not waking up."

"I know all this. I do, and I'm still holding out hope that with-with- with time and with how much he says that he loves her that maybe they have some chance at some type of normal relationship." Oliver let out a deep sighed. "If I kill him... My sister never gets that chance."

"Then we find another way to end this that doesn't include you killing your sister's father. Death is never the only option. Sometimes you have to really just think to find it."

"You know I never thought I'd hear those words after finding you earlier today." Oliver said, and Katie gave a nod. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"In a nut shell, I stopped wanting to wait for the impending end. I was angry and sad, and the combination of the two just-" she shook her head. "I stopped thinking rationally. That voice in my head that sounds an awful lot like my husband wasn't there and I-" she looked back up to Oliver's eyes and shrugged. "I stopped wanting to play by the rules. And so I just gave into it. Not completely, but just enough." she sighed before dropping her head to his chest. "I promise to try my hardest not to let it happen again, to keep fighting it, but I-"

"Will beat it, and I will be right there to help you." Oliver placed a kiss to her head. Soon they heard the sound of the elevator, and both turned surprised to see Malcolm just walk off. His eyes looked over to them, before going to his daughter's side. "Twinkie, I want you to go upstairs."

"Liver," his eyes looked back down to her, and she let out a sigh, knowing this moment between him and Malcolm was a moment he needed to handle alone. She simply nodded placing a hand to his cheek before walking over, and stepping back on to the elevator.

Once the doors closed, Katie closed her eyes, falling back on the wall behind her. She kept remembering her own words that she'd spoken to Thea, knowing it was advice she would have to follow herself.

"Keep fighting." she muttered just as the doors opened. No one was in sight, but Katie soon remembered Oliver's words about Nyssa's capture and knew John and Laurel were probably watching her. Katie stood there for a moment, knowing she could probably just wait here, just do nothing, but that nagging feeling wouldn't let her go, and so she walked around, spotting John and Laurel who stood outside the doors. John and Laurel who turned looking quite surprised to see Katie.

"I don't think you should be here." John says walking over to her.

"I just want to talk to her. You can even stay." Katie says moving around the pair, and stepping through the doors. She spotted the cage instantly, Nyssa sitting, eyes closed as if not bothered at all by her current predicament. She knew both John and Laurel were behind her, watching her every move, but Katie simply walked over and dropped down to the floor in front of her cousin.

"I expected you sooner." Nyssa opened her eyes and turned back to Katie, a slight frown on her face. It was strange, but it was as if she could sense the difference in her cousin since their earlier meeting. The woman sitting across from her was the woman she knew. "Are you here to waste your breath. I've already told Laurel that the Lotus is hidden, and safe and I'm not relinquishing the only leverage I have." Katie didn't say anything for a moment before dropping her head.

"You're really living up to your name, aren't you?" Katie asked, looking back over to the woman. "Really invoking the spirit of your father." Katie turned, her eyes landing on the demon's ghost, sitting as well beside his daughter, a smile on his face.

"Well his blood runs through both of our veins." Nyssa hissed turning away from the woman. "And to this day I never understood his desire to primp and polish you in his image so he could give that ring to you." Nyssa scoffed at the thought. "You could never be Ra's Al Ghul."

"Yeah, and neither could you. That woman who kept the secret of my baby, who tried to help me escape your father—" Katie shook her head. "That's not the woman who uses someone's life as a bargaining chip. We were both trapped in those walls Nyssa, trapped by your father's incessant need to make us in his image. He's gone, and that means we are free of him and the hand he had over our lives." Katie lifted her eyes once again, this time not seeing the demon any longer. "If Thea dies, if you don't hand over the Lotus, then you will have successfully revived the demon, both inside of you, and me." Nyssa turned back to Katie who placed her hands on the bars of Nyssa's cage. "You're right, his blood is in my veins. It's just I don't think you will want to see what that actually looks like. Because today, we had a little sword fight, and I threw a knife at you, and you got to walk away with all your fingers and toes, you got to walk away with both your eyes and a tongue in your mouth. Nyssa, you got to walk away with the ability to breathe on your own, and that within itself is just a miracle. Because if you want to see me act like an Al Ghul, if you want me to invoke my uncle's spirit, then you better prepare yourself for a whole world of pain."

"You do not scare me, Nura." Nyssa said, and Katie dropped her hands from the bars and stood to her feet.

"Well I'm not trying to scare you Nyssa, I'm trying to educate you. We're never to old to learn." and with that Katie walked past John and Laurel, finally leaving the room.

"Hey!" it was Laurel who thought it wise to go after Katie. "Katie, will you-" Katie stopped and turned to the woman. "What is going on with you?" Katie just rolled her eyes about to just walk away. "I'm sorry!" Laurel said, and Katie stopped and turned back to the woman. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Laurel walked over to the woman. "How many times do I have to say it before you finally believe it? How many times do I have to say it before you actually forgive me? Because I need you to believe it, and I need you to forgive me, so when I ask you, are you alright, or I ask what's going on with you, you actually consider talking to me, being my friend again. I actually liked being your friend. But if my apologies aren't enough, I don't know what else to do." Katie looked at the woman for a moment before shaking her head and walking over to her, closing the distance.

"Stop apologizing Laurel, because despite what you believe, I did believe the sincerity of your apology the first time you said it. But its the forgiveness part that I'm having trouble with. It will take me a while to give that to you, but you're standing here like I'm not giving you something else. Laurel you go out there, and you, John, Thea, and Felicity all watch my husband's back, and ensure he actually comes home to me. I trust you with his life, which compared to forgiveness is a lot. I know it was a mistake Laurel, I know you love Ethan, and that you had a crazy brain moment that made you try to kiss Oliver when you were hurting and feeling betrayed. I know all of it, but because you go out there, and you ensure he comes back to me, I'm actually going give this another chance. I liked being your friend too, Laurel, but this moment, right now when my reality is trying to swallow me up, I just can't." Katie turned about to walk away, but stopped. "That in there was me trying to get Nyssa to see what she was becoming, and what her actions could lead to." she looked back to Laurel . "You and I both know that if Thea dies, far worse will happen."

Katie found herself sitting in the center of the computers, her face covered by her hands. She didn't look up at the sound of the elevator.

"Twinkie?" Felicity's voice was filled with worry as she got closer to the woman.

"You know I will never understand how that stupid nick name has spread so rapidly." Katie says lifting her head and looking over to the woman, and then over to Bruce. "I'm fine, just tired."

"So we have our two heads of state. Any luck breaking either one of them?" Bruce asked, and Katie opened her mouth to answer when the elevator opened and out walked Oliver. Katie stood to her feet and saw the look on his face. John and Laurel soon appeared, and all eyes were on Oliver.

"I have a plan."

Said plan lead them all to the roof because Oliver's brilliant plan was for Malcolm to challenge Nyssa to a trial by combat. Katie watched the entire set up, and couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something. Oliver knew a fight between Nyssa and Malcolm wouldn't end without someone dying, and she knew that was the last thing he wanted.

"You know, I feel like there has to be significant parts of this plan we're not seeing." Katie whispered over to Oliver who turned to her. She narrowed her eyes to the man for a moment. "What are we not seeing?"

"The part where I take a play out of the Katherine Queen playbook." Oliver whispered back, and Katie opened he mouth to ask him what he meant, but it was too late.

"In deference to good taste, we will forego the removal of shirts." Malcolm joked, as if already knowing his victory was imminent.

"Let us be finished with this charade." Nyssa replied unamused, and honestly impatient with all of this and wanting nothing more than to be done. Soon their weapons were brought to them, and the moment they were in hand, Malcolm and Nyssa both took a step forward.

"Hold!" Everyone turned to Oliver not expecting his interruption as he walked over to Nyssa. "In the eyes of the League, this woman is my wife." Katie looked at the man for a moment, before turning away fighting that twinge in her stomach at the man's declaration. She instantly knew his plan, knew what he was going to do, and yet hearing those words come out of his mouth were like jabs to her gut. She took a deep breath, and turned back. "As your husband, I wish to fight on her behalf."

They watched as Oliver, and Nyssa spoke, their voices speaking in whispered tones, before Nyssa hands her sword to Oliver.

"You're not tempted to go out there and take that sword from him, are you?" Bruce whispered over to Katie. "Because I think no one would see that coming." Katie turned a glare toward the man and just shook her head, looking back out to the fight.

"I'm a little disappointed I must say." Malcolm glanced from Nyssa to Oliver with a shake of his head.

"You're the one who put us in this position, Malcolm."

"Can I remind you the role you played in putting this ring on my finger? "

"Oh, I remember. Tonight I correct that mistake."

"I can't believe it. You've grown even more foolish with experience."

"3 years! " Oliver exclaimed in anger as he gripped the sword in his hand. "Let's finish this."

And so a battle with two men and two swords erupted. Katie wanted to stop this, to do something because she hated moments like this. She knew Oliver was a capable fighter, knew he was beyond skilled when it came to swordsmanship, but God help her if every time Malcolm’s blade swung toward Oliver, her heart would nearly lurch out of her chest. She was scared for him, probably always would be in situations like this. She wanted to stop it, and deep down she believed she really could with just the utterance of a couple of words, but she couldn't. Not when using these abilities somehow tapped into the darkness as well, and right now that just couldn't happen. And so she would stand there on the sidelines and just watch and pray.

The fight, the nervousness, the fear...it was too much. Katie had to stop watching, had to not see it anymore, and so she closed her eyes, now forced to listen to the clanking of swords, and grunts of pain. Soon she heard someone fall to the ground, and she forced her eyes open to see Malcolm on his knees and Oliver with a blade to his throat. Katie's eyes went wide, and she took a step forward to stop him, but Bruce quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She turned a dark look to him, now realizing him standing next to her was for a moment just like this one.

"Last chance, Malcolm. Yield!" Oliver ordered giving Malcolm one final chance to be the person he wished he was. To be the father he wished Thea could have.

"Never." Malcolm's said through labored breaths as he looked up to the man's eyes. "To end this, you must kill me." he continued trying to catch his breath, but also made sure his eyes were locked with Oliver's. "But you always knew that, Oliver."

"I didn't want it to end this way."

"Spare me the false sympathy." Malcolm had made his peace with this possibility. Had expected it more times than he would even care to recount. And so he closed his eyes, and waited. "Just do it." Oliver's eyes turned to Katie, now seeing the grasp Bruce had on her arm holding her back. He met her eyes, before turning back to Malcolm. They all stood there waiting, and when Oliver rose the blade of the sword, none of them expected him to just cut off Malcolm's hand instead of killing him.

Malcolm's cry of pain was cut short by Oliver who with one jerk with the butt of the blade just knocked him out. Oliver tossed the sword on the ground before walking over to Malcolm's severed hand and pulling the League ring from the finger, before walking it over to Nyssa.

"Bring me the Lotus." Oliver ordered and Nyssa turned with a nod of her head one of her guards brought over the bottle of the Lotus cure. "You are Ra's Al Ghul." he placed the ring in her hand, and she gave him the cure.

"Thank you, husband." Nyssa said, before slipping the ring on her finger.

Katie pushed Bruce away from her, turning around, and placing a hand above her ramming heart. She let out a breath, she didn't even know why or even when she was holding.

Relief washed over all of them the moment Thea finally opened her eyes and was alright. Laurel had taken the woman off to change out of the hospital gown, John, Felicity and Bruce had headed upstairs to wait for them, while Katie and Oliver remained beside the empty hospital bed.

Oliver looked over to Katie who sat in the chair beside the bed, still looking at it as if Thea was still lying there. She hadn't said anything to him since the fight, and he wasn't sure why that made him nervous.

"I am going to throw my shoe at you if you keep staring at me." she said, before lifting her eyes to him.

"I'm sorry, I'm just waiting." he gestured toward her. "You have to have a reaction to how this all played out, and I was just waiting for it." Katie looked at him for a moment before looking back down to the bed, and then over to the monitors that were now turned off. Katie stood to her feet and walked over to stand in front of the man, placing her hands on his chest.

"No one died." Katie said with a shrug before turning in his arms and looking back down to that damn bed, and thinking about how close they were to losing Thea. "Thea's alive, and she will live a long, full life, to annoy us until we're old and gray." Oliver placed a kiss to her neck, and let out a sigh as well, now feeling that realization of almost losing his sister. "So no reaction." She turned her head to look at him. "I'm proud of you." Oliver leaned into meet her lips, but she pulled away, and he looked at her in confusion. "I don't think we should. As Nyssa's husband, I just think it would be better-" she began pulling away from him, but the man caught her around the waist before pulling her lips to his. She brought her arms up around his neck deepening the kiss. Soon, air was a necessity, and so they pulled apart, their forehead leaning against each others, both trying to catch their breath before resuming what seemed like a need from both their bodies. "I'm just saying this is polygamy, and I for one do not-"

"Twinkie, stop talking." Oliver laughed, before bringing his lips back to hers.

Bruce glanced down to his watch knowing he didn't have much time. It was ridiculously late, and he had snuck away back to his hideout where he was now waiting. He soon heard the sound of beeping signaling a breach, and he walked over to one of the computers, glancing down to see the surveillance video. He let out a sigh as he watched the man aimlessly walk until he appeared outside the correct shipping container. Bruce took a deep breath, before turning and walking over just as the door slid open and down walked the wide eyed man.

"This-" the man didn't quite have words. Well he had lots of words swirling around his brain, but none of them could even come out of his mouth right now. His eyes turned to Bruce who simply stood watching the man. "Bruce, you have a secret hideout in the middle of the Star City shipping yard, and I'm standing in it right now." the man began looking around, before walking further inside, seemingly impressed by Bruce's set up. "I'm standing in Bruce Wayne's super secret hideout in the middle of Star City's shipping yard."

"Is there a reason you keep saying that?" Bruce asked, but the man didn't answer as he continued to snoop around. "Curtis-" Curtis stopped walking and looked back over to the man. "Would you like to know why you're here?"

"You called my personal cell phone." Curtis said instead. Still trying to actually come to grips with the reality of this moment, and now was just sputtering all the thoughts trying to fit into his head. "I didn't even know you had that number."

"Curtis," Bruce once again tried to get the man to focus. He looked down to his watch and sighed. He needed to get back home in hopes of sneaking back in before Felicity noticed. "Look, I don't have time for you to realize that this is really happening." Bruce walked over to the man who seemed to stand up a bit taller. "I was in your lab earlier today and I saw something you were working on." Bruce turned to one of the computers before typing a few keys, and soon the wall of monitors all began to fill with data, and specs Curtis had only seen in his own lab. Curtis' eyes went wide at the information he was looking at, but as he got closer he noticed things he hadn't added.

"That part isn’t my data, and-" he noticed another line of code he didn't recognize. "And neither is that. What-" he turned back to Bruce who was now standing beside him.

"You've been trying to figure out a way to help Felicity walk again, and I have been doing the same thing. And as it seems, your puzzle has pieces missing and so does mine. But I think if we put them together-"

"We can figure out a way to help her." Curtis looked from Bruce back to the screen, taking a step closer as he looked over the information. "This could work." he smiled before turning back to Bruce. "So have you always had a secret layer in the middle of the shipping yard? I just figure with the money you have, you could build your own lab above ground."

"Well this hideout isn't for work for Wayne Enterprises." Bruce says taking a step forward, and looking over the data as well. Curtis looked at him for a moment before chuckling.

"You're not going to tell me you're the Green Arrow, and this is your secret lair, are you?" Bruce let out a chuckle himself.

"No, I'm not the Green Arrow." Bruce replied and Curtis just laughed with a shake of his head knowing the idea really was absurd before turning back to the monitors. "I'm Batman." Curtis froze for a moment before laughing again and looking over to Bruce.

"You're joking, right?" Bruce continued to look up to the screen, ignoring the man who suddenly stopped laughing as the realization that maybe this wasn't a joke hit him. "Bruce?"


	18. Too Close

**Chapter 18**

**  
Too Close**

_"Deep into that darkness peering,_

_long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting,_

_dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before."_

_-Edgar Allan Poe_

* * *

Pureed carrots were evil.

That was the only thought Katie had as she tried to clean the stain it made on her white blouse. She heard the gurgle/laugh of her daughter who sat in her stroller staring at her mother.

"You know at this point one would think I would start matching my clothes to your food now that you're on to the good stuff." she looked back to the mirror, and glared at the blatant orange stain on her blouse. She turned rummaging through her bag until she found her silk scarf. She tied it around her neck, and smiled proudly at the fact that it hid the stain well enough. She turned back to the baby and gave her a wink, before washing her hands. When she was done, she grabbed the handles of the stroller and finally left the small dressing room, but immediately stopped when she nearly bumped into Felicity.

"Oh, hey sorry. I needed your approval-"

"No you don't." Katie says moving around the woman and continuing down the hall. Felicity's quickly grabbed her wheels and moved to keep up with the woman. "This wedding is planned with every detail taken into account. We've already had to push the date twice because of more guests, and Oliver's schedule changes, and just more stuff I don't even want to think about. I've told you not to add anything else."

"But it's an ice sculpture made to look like you and Oliver, and-" Katie stopped and looked over to the woman with a quirked brow. "So no ice sculpture."

"Yeah, no ice sculpture." Katie replies as they continue through double doors where they see Oliver standing on stage,and Thea just below him instructing him on the upcoming debate. "You know one would think you would start focusing on planning your own wedding." that made Felicity groan "How's the engagement party coming along?"

"Well it's proving how insane my mother is." Felicity muttered. "I mean you should see the invitations she's made." Katie only chuckled with a shake of her head. "And Bruce has totally abandoned me." Katie furrowed her brow, only now realizing she hadn't seen Bruce in a while. "He had to fly out to Gotham."

"He will be at the engagement party, right?" Katie asked, glancing over to the woman who gave a snort.

"Well he promised me he would, and also said that he had a surprise for me." Felicity smiled at the thought. She'd been trying to rack her brain trying to figure out just how Bruce Wayne could surprise her, and couldn't come up with anything specific. Bruce Wayne was always unpredictable.

"Well that could be anything, Mrs. Wayne." Felicity smiled even wider at the name, before glancing over to Katie who placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I still plan on making your wedding epic."

"Felicity, this wedding was not supposed to be this big thing. And now I'm afraid I won't even know half the people there."

"Well you'll know me, and that's all that really matters." Felicity gave a bright smile as they got closer to the stage. They both looked up to Oliver whose eyes seemed to be on all the empty seats that will soon be filled with people looking at him. "He's not going to barf while he's up there, is he?"

"I really hope not." Katie replied, and she saw the smile come to Oliver's lips before his eyes dropped to them.

"You know I can hear you, right?"

"I mean we weren't whispering." Felicity said with a shrug. "So I don't mean to interrupt debate prep, but quick question. How awesome would an ice sculpture of you and Twinkie at the wedding sound?" Oliver looked at her for a moment in confusion before looking over to Katie who just shook her head.

"Will an ice sculpture in any way postpone this wedding again?"

"Absolutely not." Felicity smiled in hopefulness. "It's just one call, and then we will have our Twiver Popsicle." Oliver glanced over to Katie who was still shaking her head and he just sighed.

"Whatever Twinkie wants." Oliver replied and Felicity visibly deflated.

"Chicken." she muttered and the man looked over to her with a shake of his head before turning back to his wife who he now noticed was sporting a scarf around her neck.

"Nice scarf." he commented and she dropped her eyes for a moment to the item before looking back up to him with a glare. "Couldn't get the stain out?"

"Someone please tell me why I'm going to marry this guy again?" Katie asked as she looked down to the baby in her stroller before picking her up in her arms. Oliver's smile brightened as it always did at the sight of the baby who was in her own little world as she chewed on her teething ring. "It's probably because he gave me you, huh?" Katie placed a kiss to the baby's cheek who laughed at the feeling.

"Aw, let me-" Thea held out her hands for the baby, but Katie looked over to her and just shook her head.

"Nuh-uh, Sorry Speedy, help your brother prep for the debate. You will not get sucked into baby land when you're working." Katie said before looking up to Oliver who waving at the baby. "And neither will you, mister." she shook her head and sighed. "You see this is why we shouldn't be here." she turned at the sound of her phone before turning to Felicity who gladly took the baby from her hands.

Katie snagged the phone from her purse, peering down to the number with a roll of her eyes before bringing it to her ear.

"Why are you calling me?"

_"Definitely not the greeting you give your oldest and dearest friend, Sweets."_

Katie glanced over her shoulder to see Oliver now talking to Ruvé Adams who must've just came in. She narrowed her eyes at the woman. She was still playing the game that she wasn't married to Darhk, but they knew this whole thing was some sort of ploy. They just had to figure out what.

"Which is why I said them to you. What do you want Michael?"

_"Well how about a legal contract naming me the permanent CEO of Robin's Incorporated."_

Katie frowned at the man words, stepping further away from the others, knowing she was probably about use a lot of profanity.

_"I just assumed since your maternity leave was up about a month ago, that you were hanging up your CEO hat and slipping on the housewife hat. I mean that's what it looks like from the photos I've been seeing in the magazines."_

"Michael I'm going to assume the answer to my question was you just wanted to hear the sound of my voice, and just ignore that other bullshit you just said." Katie shook her head before hearing a beep from her phone. She glanced down to see another call. "Mike, I have another call. I will set up a meeting with you to discuss my return. Oh, and discuss your choice of words with my husband at the meeting you had with him."

_"He ran to mommy again. You know Sweets, I don't think this guy is right for you. I play golf with a wonderful divorce lawyer and-"_

Katie ended the call, before answering the next one.

"Please tell me you got something Craig. I keep calling social services and no one tells me anything about what's happening with Ari, and they won't even tell me where she is."

 _"Calm down, we're still researching ways around this. The problem is Ms. Sandburg has a very strong case against you having custody of Arianna._ "

"You know I don't pay you and your buddies a crap load of money to tell me I can't win this."

" _I didn't say you couldn't win this, I'm just saying it's going to be a tough nut to crack."_

There was an arm around her waist and she turned to see Oliver who looked to her with furrowed brow.

"Well then crack the nut. Find a way to get Ari back to us." Katie ended the call and sighed, turning back to Oliver who brought his arms around her. She dropped her head to his chest and closed her eyes.

"He says our case will be difficult to win. It's been weeks and I haven't even been able to speak to her."

"We're going to get her back, Twinkie." Oliver whispered, and Katie sighed once again before lifting her eyes to meet his. "I should stay and-" Katie glanced over to see Ruvé and her team already heading out the door. There was a plan happening. They would follow Adams in hopes of being lead to Darhk.

"No I'm fine, and you have to go." Katie replied placed a kiss to his lips. "We'll be fine. We're going to head-"

"Home. You are going to go home. I've already told Hank. He should be bringing the car around now." Oliver placed a kiss to her lips again, before catching up to John and Thea.

"That's not what I was going to say!" she called and Oliver glanced over to her with a smile as they rushed out of the auditorium. Katie walked over to Felicity who bounced Robyn in her lap and Katie just shook her head. "I think Overwatch is needed as well for this little shindig, which means-" Katie reached forward and plucked the baby from her hands. "You don't get to get sucked into the baby vortex either." Katie's phone rang once again, and she glanced down and sighed. "And that would be my bodyguard slash babysitter wondering where I am."

Katie's hand unconsciously held onto Robyn's tiny feet as she glanced out at the bustling streets of Star City's night life. The foot in her hand slightly moved, and Katie turned with a smile to see the baby still sleeping. It was something about a nice ride in the car that just knocked her out. Katie removed her hand, not wanting to stir her before she looked out the window, her brow furrowing at the sight of doughnut shop she could've sworn they passed a while ago.

"Please don't me tell after all this time of driving us home, you've actually forgotten where we lived." she turned, meeting the man's gaze in the rear view mirror and she could tell from the seriousness she saw that something was up. He lifted his eyes, and Katie realized he was looking behind them. She turned her head and noticed as they changed lanes, so did a dark SUV a couple of cars back. "We're being followed?" Her heart suddenly raced at the fact, her eyes turning back to the baby still blissfully asleep, before she looked back over to Hank. "Hank-" the man made a sudden sharp turn, that probably would've pulled Katie out of her seat if she weren't wearing a seat belt. He suddenly picked up speed, his eyes glancing behind them, teeth grinding when he spots the SUV gaining on them. "Hank!"

"Don't worry, I can lose them. I've been trained to lose a tail."

"Have you been trained to lose a tail with an infant in the backseat?!" Katie snapped her arm now protectively gripping Robyn's car seat. "Just go to the police station."

"Ma'am-"

"If I have to say it again Hank, that person in that car will be the last person you worry about." Katie replied, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Her heart was still drumming in her chest, and she was trying her best not to think about the possible threat following behind them.

The moment their car stopped in front of the station, they both looked back to see the SUV continue on, turning down at the end of the block. Once they were in the clear, Hank took a deep breath before turning to Katie

"Mrs. Queen-" she simply held up a hand to stop him before she pulled the baby bag up her arm, grabbed a blanket and then stepped out of the car before reaching down and pulling Robyn in her arms. She brought the blanket around the baby, completely covering her before heading inside the station.

Oliver stood in the lair leaning against one of the columns staring up to the ceiling, thinking about the total, utter failure of their night. Ruvé, some how knew they were following her, and in the end they were the ones under attack. They were able to get the upper hand, but by the time they got Darhk's men down, Ruvé was gone, and so was another lead they thought they had to Darhk.

John mentioned Darhk going dark after the whole thing with Manchin holding his family hostage, but Oliver didn't believe it.

"But Darhk is not afraid of Machin." Oliver said with a shake of his head still trying to piece something together to reveal Darhk's motives. "He's just-his plan's gone to a new phase." Oliver seemed so sure that everyone in the room thought he knew something they didn't.

"And how do you know that?" Thea asked the question everyone was thinking.

"Because HIVE spent months trying to cripple this city's leadership. They discouraged people from running for mayor. They even tried to co-opt my candidacy." Oliver still just had pieces to this puzzle, but he couldn't see the whole picture. He couldn't see what Darhk was getting out of this and how it played into the plan.

"Yeah." Felicity said looking over to the man. "Then Mrs. Evil threw her hat in the ring."

Oliver once again shook his head, frustrated that it still wasn't clear. "There has to be a reason. Darhk did not try and destroy Star City so that his wife could be mayor. There's something that we're not seeing." he let out a sigh, taking a step to get changed when he felt the vibrating of his phone on his chest. He stopped, and slipped it from his vest frowning at the number, before quickly answering. "Hank, you didn't check in, I thought-" Oliver stopped talking and his face paled when Hank told him of their car being followed. "Are they-" his chest seemed to start constricting as if he couldn't breathe.

"Oliver, what's wrong?" Thea asked placing a hand on her brother's shoulder. He glanced over to her, but turned away as he listened to Hank recount what happened.

"And you're there now?" once he got the confirmation that they were still at the police station, Oliver simply nodded. "I'm on my way. They don't leave, and you stay close to them, do you understand?" Once Oliver received Hank's confirmation he ended the call, and turned to the eyes on him.

"Oliver what is going on?" Thea asked, now worried at the total mood change of her brother. He was worried, and only one thing could get him this worked up. "Is it Twinkie?"

"They were followed from the auditorium." Oliver said, and everyone moved in closer, ready to to head back out there. "They're fine, they're at the police station, but-" Oliver turned away with a shake of his head. "He's sending a message."

"You mess with his wife and he'll mess with yours." John said, and Oliver let out a huff from his nose, and his jaw clenched.

"My daughter was in that car." saying it out loud, hearing it and completely understanding it and it's implications and possibilities made Oliver's hand grip the cell phone in his hand.

"Where are they now?" Felicity asked, hoping to shift the man's focus from his rage that seemed to be slowly bubbling to the surface.

"She told him to go to the police station."

"That's good thinking." Laurel said with a nod. "Darhk's men are reckless but they wouldn't pull anything with that many cops around." Her eyes looked over to Oliver who looked like he was moments away from his head exploding. "You should go to them. Katie's probably freaking out too." Oliver heard her words and gave a sharp nod before rushing off to get changed.

Hank stood nervously outside Captain Quentin Lance's office. It's was as close as he was going get since Katie ordered him away from her, but it was close enough. His eyes looked over the station, every face, every movement. Suddenly he saw Lance heading back toward his office, a cup of steaming coffee in his hand, and Hank side stepped to block him from entering. Lance frowned looking to the man.

"You do know this is my office?" Hank sighed, with a nod.

"Yes sir, I just wanted to know if you had any luck locating the vehicle." Lance gave a shake of his head. He'd only gave the order for the search a half an hour ago, but he could see the man in front of him was just as upset about this as he was.

"Uh, not yet. But my guys have their eyes opened. We got the description of the vehicle and the license, we're going to find something." he watched the man's shoulders slump, "How long you been working in personal security?" Hank shook his head.

"A few years. I've mostly protected celebrities, and a few politicians. Today was the first time I had to evade someone tailing me, and I thought I had the situation handled. I've trained for it, knew exactly the moves that needed to be made, but then she asked me the question I couldn't answer." the man let out a sigh. "Speed and creating an unpredictable course."

"That doesn't really work with a woman and her baby in the backseat, huh?" Hank looked up to the man and just shook his head. Quentin gave the man a pat on the shoulder before Hank stepped aside. Lance walked into his office to find the woman just as he left her. Pacing back and forth, still gently rocking the baby in her arms.

"When can I go home?" she asked glancing over to him, but not stopping her stride.

"My guys are still checking out your house just to make sure there aren't any more surprise guests." Lance stopped, and continued to watch as she mumbled something but kept pacing. "I know you objected to the search-"

"And yet you did it anyway." Katie rolled her eyes, because she was adamant about not having cops at the house. Not now, not when she was trying to prove that Ari would be safe with them.

"No, I talked to your husband who insisted." he replied and she once again glanced over to him, but decided not to say anything. "So we thinking this was Darhk's guys?"

"I don't know. You know your boss better than I do." she said, and the man let out a sigh. They had yet to have an actual conversation about his working for Darhk, even though the others had known and forgiven him. She was the only one still hanging on to her anger toward him. The man shook his head before walking over and moving to stand in front of her to stop her pace. She stopped and glared up to him before turning and taking the seat in the chair across the room.

"I have no idea what I'm supposed to do for you to forgive me. I know it was wrong, I know I made the worst mistake of my life falling into Darhk's orbit, but I'm making up for it now. I've done everything I can to help Oliver get close enough to bring him down." Katie didn't say anything as she adjusted the baby in her arms, and sighed. The room fell into silence, and Lance wasn't quite sure what to do. "Can I get you something?"

"I'm fine." she replied and Lance stood there for a moment, watching the grasp she had around the baby, knowing this whole thing really did shake her up. He opened his mouth to speak, when the door to his office opened, and in rushed Oliver's whose eyes immediately looked over to Katie and the baby, before hurrying over and kneeling down in front of her.

"Are you alright?" he placed a hand on Robyn's back. "Is she ok?" he tilted his head, pulling back the blanket covering the baby to get a look for himself. "I should've taken you home."

"Liver-" Katie sighed with a shake of her head and his eyes looked back up to her. "We're fine. I just want to go home." Oliver simply gave a nod before standing to his feet and turning to Lance who was looking down to his phone.

"Everything seems to be clear. You should be able to head home, but I still want to assign some officers to stick around, I don't-"

"That's not happening." Katie replied before heading out the door. Oliver glanced over to Lance and gave the man a nod in approval, before rushing off to catch up to the woman. He walked out just in time to see Hank standing in front of her, saying something, but she shook her head and walked away from him. Oliver hurried over, glancing over to Katie standing outside the elevator, waiting for the doors to open. He stopped over to Hank with a questioning gaze.

"She fired me." the man said with shake of his head. "She's right, I was stupid and-"

"Hank, just get in the car and follow us home, ok?" Hank looked up to the man in confusion. "I want to hear the whole story, and then I will determine what happens. She's not-" he heard the elevator doors open, and he turned back to Hank. "Just follow us home." Oliver turned and quickly slipped onto the elevator.

"You fired Hank."

"Yeah, well that moron does not drive like a crazy person when my child is in the car." she said with a shake of her head. "He didn't think, he-"

"Was trying to protect you."

"And yet I don't feel safe, so what's the point of him being around?" Oliver sighed, bringing an arm around the woman, only now realizing that she was shaking.

"Twinkie-" he moved to stand in front of her forcing her to look at him. That's when he saw it. That look in her eyes, the way she was holding Robyn. She was scared. He brought his arms around her, as best he could with the baby between them, placing a kiss to the top of her head.

"He's not supposed to get close to her." she whispered against his chest. "He's not-"

"I know."Oliver placed another kiss to her head.

Oliver actually had to convince Katie to place Robyn in her crib when they got home. A random car on the street just stripped away the protective bubble she thought they had. Darhk had gone underground, not making any moves at all, including any moves on Katie and they assumed that his fascination with her was over. Oliver practically had to pull her out of the room and ensure her that the baby was safe.

At the moment she hid away in the bathroom where she mentioned taking a shower. Oliver sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes on the bathroom door as he sent texts to everyone informing them that they were home before slipping the phone back into his pocket.

Oliver slid his hands over his face still trying release the tension and nervousness that over-took him. Seeing Katie and Robyn, knowing they were close was the biggest help, but he still couldn't believe Darhk would make such a move. Not when it involved their baby. He shook his head, and lifted his eyes when the door opened. Katie walked out and stopped the moment she saw Oliver sitting there as if waiting for her. She continued to dry her hair with the towel before tossing it aside, and walking over to take the seat beside him on the bed. He instantly brought an arm around her, and she dropped her head to his shoulder. He placed a kiss to her forehead, and let out another sigh of relief.

They simply sat like that for a while, finding much needed comfort just being together. Katie shifted a bit more, bringing her arms around him, and Oliver pulled her to his lap. Their eyes met, and it was if no words needed to be spoken in that moment. They knew what the other needed, and it just so happened to be the same thing. Oliver's lips met Katie's in a slow, but passionate kiss as Katie shifted a bit more, now straddling him. His lips trailed along her collar, and down her chest as she worked on unbuttoning his shirt. In one swift move, Oliver stood before turning and placing her back on the bed. He pull off his shirt, tossing it aside, before dropping his lips back down to hers. Her hands worked to getting his belt off, while his hand slid up her leg, and inched under her night gown and— _ **DING DONG!**_

They pulled apart at the sound of the doorbell, both suddenly aware of how late it was, and that no one they knew would be at their door this late. Suddenly they heard the door open and then close, and Oliver was on his feet.

"Ollie, it's me!" Oliver and Katie shared a look before sighing. Of course it was Thea. Katie fell back on the bed, pulling down her night gown before sitting up. She was about to get out of bed, but Oliver simply rose a hand.

"Wait, just-" he placed a kiss to her cheek. "I will talk to her and be right back and we can finish this." he turned grabbing his shirt, before slipping it on and heading out the door. He spotted Thea waiting at the base of the stairs. "Thea," his tone held slight exasperation.

"Hey, I rung the bell before coming in." she said, glancing up the stairs. "Are Twinkie and Robyn ok?" she looked back to her brother.

"They're fine. Twinkie's a bit shaken up about it, but she's fine. They're both safe." it had been a sudden mantra since he saw them in the police station. "Robyn's sleeping, and Katie's uh, we were going to turn in. You could stop by in the morning to visit." Thea looked disappointed, but gave a nod.

"Well there was also another reason for my visit." she said, and Oliver gave a nod, glancing up to the stairs before turning back to his sister. "So Alex got a phone call from one of the lawyers doing research on the opposition, and it looks like they might have found something."

"On Ruvé?"

"On you actually." that got Oliver's attention. He waited for his sister to continue. She looked down to the folder in her hand skimming it for the most important information. "In 2013, Homeland Security did a tax audit after the Undertaking, and looks like mom wrote a million-dollar check to some woman named Samantha Clayton." she looked back up to her brother who tried his best not to show the nervousness he felt in this moment. "I mean, Alex flagged it as something potentially weird for us."

"By weird he means?"

"Well, the check was never cashed, so why would mom write a check for a million dollars to a woman young enough to be her daughter, and why would that woman not cash the check?" She continued to watch her brother, and from what she saw it was as if none of this bothered him.

"I don't know."

"Should I look into this Samantha person?" Oliver shook his head.

"I don't really see the point. I mean, whatever was going on with this Samantha person, clearly she wanted nothing to do with mom, and either way, I don't—just—I don't see how something like this would blow back on me." Thea watched her brother for a moment before giving a nod. "I really should be getting back to Katie."

"Right, well I'll stop by in the morning to check in." Thea said as Oliver walked her to the door. She stopped and turned back to him. "Are you sure they're ok? Because you know Darhk, anything is possible and if he-"

"Thea," Oliver placed a hand on her shoulder and the woman let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, I know. I just-" the woman sighed, glancing back over to the stairs. "I'm going to be back tomorrow, and warn your wife that I'm going to hug her and my niece until my arms are numb." Oliver chuckled before watching his sister turn and leave. The moment he closed the door, he paused, still a bit taken aback by the fact that Samantha's name had come up. Alex and his sister were close to a truth he isn't sure he's ready to share, or even if could given Samantha's terms to allow him a place in his son's life. Oliver shook his head before heading back up stairs. He headed for the bedroom, but stopped when he noticed the door to the nursery open. He walked over, peeking inside and let out a sigh at the sight of Katie just standing there above Robyn's crib, watching her sleep. Oliver walked in, bringing an arm around her from behind, bringing her back to his chest, and he placed a kiss to her shoulder.

"I was scared." Katie said suddenly and she felt Oliver's grasp around her tighten a bit as if to reassure her of their safety. She smiled at the baby below them and she shook her head. "Not of Darhk or whoever was in that car. I was afraid of me, and what I would do if they got near her." she turned her head, and looked up to meet Oliver's eyes. "I'm fighting this darkness Oliver, like I'm really trying my hardest, but if he comes near her, if he puts her life in danger-" Oliver dropped his head to hers, his lips close to her ear.

"If that ever happens, rest assured that I will kill him with my bare hands." Katie gave a nod before turning back to look down to the baby. Oliver placed a kiss to the top of Katie's head before looking down to the baby as well.

Felicity found herself stuck at the door of her apartment. She couldn't move as her eyes looked up to the brightly colored balloons, and flowers. There were nearing footsteps, but Felicity couldn't turn away from the sight in front of her. After a moment, her eyes finally looked over to the man beside her who seemed just as shocked at the sight as she.

"Hey, guys." Donna says appearing with a box. She looked over to the man beside her daughter and smiled. "Bruce you're back."

"Uh, yeah, just got in." Bruce said still letting his eyes roam over the place. Donna noticed and shrugged with a smile.

"I, um-you know, I-I don't know how I'm gonna get everything done in time."

"Maybe we should cancel!" Felicity suddenly said, and Donna turned to her with a frown.

Bruce quickly took Felicity's hand, and turned back to Donna. "What um..I think what Felicity is trying to say is that we-we just don't- we don't want you working too hard."

"I don't consider this work. I-I think of it as a dry run for your wedding." Bruce and Felicity both shared a look, their minds not even able to imagine the type of wedding the woman would plan. Before they knew it, Donna was going on about the party favors, and champagne glass towers, and some game called pin the junk on the hunk.

"It's in the other box, I'll be right back." and with that the woman hurried upstairs.

"You know it's not too late to just elope." Felicity whispered over to Bruce who chuckled before looking down to the woman

"Your mom would kill us both if we did that." the man sighed as they finally walked into the apartment. He shook his head at the decorations, before turning back to Felicity.

"So how was your super secret business trip?" Felicity asked and Bruce went over to take the seat in front of her.

"It wasn't super secret. I barely knew what it was about. You know sometimes I just zone out when Fox is talking." he noticed the woman staring at him with narrowed eyes and he sighed. "You don't believe me."

"You're being awfully secretive lately. I don't like it." Bruce smiled to the woman before sliding forward in his seat and placing a hand on her knee.

"Well you will."

Felicity opened her mouth to reply when her phone suddenly buzzed and she reached into her purse to see a text from Laurel .

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked, seeing the frown take over the woman's face. She looked back up to him and sighed.

"We have to go. Laurel and her dad were attacked."

Oliver assumed when he finally pulled Katie from the nursery and back to the bedroom, they would simply continue where they left off before Thea interrupted them. What he didn't expect was for Katie to grab the note cards Thea made for him, to prep for the debate, sitting on the bed and making him go over them with her.

Oliver laid on the bed beside the woman, he was supposed to be responding to another one of the questions she's just asked, but his eyes kept looking at her bare shoulder as the strap to her night gown kept falling down. Katie assumed Oliver was in deep thought, but when she looked over to him, and noticed he was just staring at her, she sighed. She took the note card and swat the top of his head, pulling him from his trance.

"You have to take this seriously."

"I am taking this serious. But I can't prep for the debate with you." Katie turned a confused looked to the man. He reached forward, and slid the other strap of her night gown from her shoulder and Katie shook her head before pulling them both back to her shoulders and sliding away from the man.

"Oliver, Darhk wants his wife to win this election for a reason. We have to make sure she doesn't. That means you will debate your ass off." she lifted another note card to read, but Oliver pulled it from her hand, and just slid the rest of the cards to the floor, and she glared to the man.

"I told you, I can't prep for the debate with you. Thea will go over all this with me tomorrow."

"Why can't you-" she was about to climb off the bed to collect the cards, but Oliver grabbed her foot, and pulled the woman who yelped as he climbed on top of her. "We used to study all the time in high school."

"Yep, and every time I just wanted to do this," he brought his lips to hers, and he could feel the smile on her lips. Soon his lips trailed to her jaw, then her neck.

"I find it hard to believe you were thinking about making out with me while we were studying." Katie's eyes were closed, reveling in the feel of his lips against her skin. Oliver's hand reached for her leg, pulling it over his hip, making the space between their bodies non existent. He lifted his head, his eyes looking down to her, and to this day still couldn't get over how lucky he was to have her. She smiled placing a hand to his cheek. And for Oliver, it was as if nothing else mattered in the world than this moment. Even after all this time, he never understood how this woman could steal reality from him with just the smile on her face.

"I actually spent an embarrassing amount of our childhood thinking about making out with you." Oliver slid his fingers through her hair. "An embarrassing amount of my adult life thinking about making out with you too." his lips brushed against hers, and he smiled at the sigh that escaped her lips. "I-" Oliver groaned at the sound of his ringing phone, extremely tempted to just let it ring.

"Reality is calling you, Mr. Queen." Katie sighed as Oliver lifted his head.

"Well I'm very comfortable where I am, Mrs. Queen." the woman smiled, as she always did when he called her by her new last name. He dropped his lips down to hers, but the phone just continued to ring. Katie simply pushed the man back, and he frowned as he lifted himself off of her, but barely. She squirmed underneath him, before reaching over to grab his phone from the bedside table, and quickly answered.

"Oliver Queen's phone." she greeted settling on her back, Oliver repositioning himself above her once again. He watched the frown on her face as she looked up to his eyes. "Are they alright?" Katie placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder and the man moved letting her sit up. "Right, we'll be right there." Katie ended the call and looked over to Oliver. "Laurel and her father were attacked. They're alive, but they're injured. We have to go." without another word, Katie was up and getting dressed.

Quentin Lance rolled his eyes. He'd been in worse situations, seen his share of explosions and gun fights. This wasn't his first rodeo. And yet his daughter went into a frenzy. She urged him to go to a hospital, but he refused because he really was alright. She wouldn't let it go, and told him he was going to see a doctor. And since he adamantly refused for that person to be Ethan Mills, he would have to settle for the doctor who currently hated him.

It's how he found himself sitting with a stethoscope moving across his chest. His eyes looked down to the woman who wasn't meeting his eyes.

"Take another deep breath for me." Katie instructed still not looking at him and Lance just shook his head before complying. He looked over to the others currently watching as if this examination was some sort of show.

"I told you, I'm fine. This is completely unnecessary." Quentin once again grumbled.

"Let the doctor determine that dad." Laurel said, staring down to her father who wouldn't give up his protests. The woman turned to Katie who hadn't said much. The moment she arrived, she tended to stitching up the cut on his neck and bandaging the gash on his forehead before focusing on his heart. "How is he?" Katie was silent for a few moments longer before pulling the stethoscope from her ears and taking a step back to look the man in the eyes.

"It was stupid of you to go out on that call." she said bluntly and the man in front of her sighed as he folded his arms over his chest.

"I'm a cop, I'm going to do my job. I'm not letting anything stop that."

"Well you should. That thing in your chest beating to keep you alive should be reason enough." Katie sighed bringing the stethoscope around her neck before looking over to Laurel. "He's fine." she glanced over to Quentin who now wore a cocky smirk and she just shook her head. She turned back to Laurel who was about to go over to Felicity who sat behind her computer attempting to find any surveillance footage that captured who could've done this. "Hey!" Laurel stopped and turned back to the woman who pointed to her head. "Your head, the cut." Laurel reached up as if only now noticing the cut on her forehead. The adrenaline pumping through her veins must've blocked out the pain. She looked over to Katie and just shook her head.

"It's fine, I'm good."

"Why don't you let the doctor determine that sweetie." Her father said walking past her, gaining her glare. Lance lifted his eyes to see Oliver who seemed to appear from a room, a baby monitor in his hands before walking over to him.

"He's right." Katie says and Laurel turns back to her with a furrowed brow. Katie waved her over to sit. "Let me take a look." Laurel seemed unsure what to do, but let out a sigh before walking over and taking a seat.

An awkward silence befell them as Katie cleaned the scar on Laurel's head. Laurel felt the need to fill the silence, because it was becoming unbearable.

"Uh, thanks," she finally said, and Katie looked down to her in confusion. "For checking on my dad." Katie rolled her eyes and simply looked back to the scar. Laurel let out a sigh, still wanting to fill the silence. "Uh, I heard about earlier. The car following you and Robyn, that had to have freaked you out. I mean I know I would-"

"Laurel," the woman stopped speaking and lifted her eyes to the doctor. "Small talk isn't necessary."

"Well it kind of is, because-" Laurel bit to corner of her lip. "Because I feel guilty. What I did-"

"Laurel, please just don't go there." Katie smoothed the bandage on Laurel's head before standing up straight, and pulling the gloves from her hands. Laurel stood to her feet, and she knew she should walk away and not press this, but this guilt really was eating away at her and she knew it would just go away once she was forgiven. Laurel walked over to Katie who was washing her hands. Her eyes glanced over to Laurel and shook her head.

"Why can't you just forgive me already?" Katie let out a snort, before lifting her eyes back to Laurel. "You know I don't have feelings for Oliver, that me trying to kiss him was just a total lapse in judgment that will never happen again. I've apologized countless times, and I don't know what else I can do. It's almost like-" the woman shook her head before meeting Katie's eyes once again. "Like you don't want to get over this. Like you want to be angry with me, and not be my friend." Katie reached forward and turned off the water, before grabbing a towel and drying her hands. "Will you say something." Katie tossed the towel aside before reaching into her pocket, and pulling out her wedding ring and slipping it back onto her finger. "Katie—" Katie lifted her eyes back to the woman speaking to her, and for some reason her eyes dropped to the woman's throat.

_With the right amount of pressure, she'd be dead in five minutes. Maybe even less..._

The thought scared Katie to death, and she had to take a step back, because she felt the sensation in her hand as if she were really going to go through with it. Maybe she would?

"Katie?" Laurel watched the woman who seemed suddenly in her own world. "Are you alright?" Katie lifted her eyes back to the woman before moving around her, trying to place as much distance as possible. Laurel turned about to go after her, not expecting to see Felicity sitting right behind her, and the look on her face was unmistakable. "Felicity-" the blonde only shook her head before turning and heading back to her computers.

Oliver turned away from Quentin, his eyes following after his quick moving wife who headed for the elevator, and he quickly followed.

"Twinkie!"

She turned to face him and she just shook her head.

"I just need air, Liver." it was the last words she said before the doors suddenly closed.

Katie closed her eyes and slid her hands through her hair. It was getting harder lately. To keep that cap on her emotions, to not allow the darkness inside of her, trying to claw it's way out of her was getting tougher. She hid it well, or at least she tried. She did catch Oliver staring at her some times, as if he was waiting for something. When the doors opened, Katie stalked off, turning the corner and heading out the back door, before collapsing on the wall behind her and letting out a deep sigh. She slid to the ground, knees to her chest, burying her face in her lap, still fighting in this moment. The thoughts of killing Laurel was still playing in her head, still bringing itself to the forefront of her mind.

"Rough night?"

Katie didn't jump at the voice, didn't get startled. She heard the impending footsteps, knew someone was walking toward her, but she also knew anyone walking toward with dubious motives wouldn't see tomorrow.

"Robins." Katie lifted her head to see Bruce who knelt down in front of her. He pushed the hair from her face, and saw the look in her eyes. "How bad is it?" she turned away from the man and he let out a sigh before moving to sit beside her. "I know real life has taken up a lot of our time, but I hope you know you can talk to me." the woman looked over to him. "I remember a time when you use to bare your soul to your ole best buddy Bruce." the woman couldn't help the slight smile.

"I did not bare my soul. I was young and still believed you were a decent human being." she glanced over to him.

"Ouch."

"I'm not trying to be mean Bruce. I love you, you know that, but we're not the same people, and that thing, that Robins and Wayne thing we had, it's-"

"Right here." the man said reaching over to take her hand. "I'm still your friend, you can still trust me, you can let whatever this is that's got you curled up in the middle of the night in an alley out."

"That's just it. I can't." she looked over to him. "The moment I let it out—" the woman shook her head as nightmares of a time she promised would never happen. She suddenly saw a flash of herself standing above the city, blood dripping from her hands, and a twisted smile on her face. The thought made her sick, and she let out a huff before standing to her feet. "Oliver looks at me like I'm a ticking time bomb, and the truth is I am." she turned back to the man and shrugged. "It's going to happen. I'm going to lose, and when that happens I think I'm going to need to be stopped." Bruce looked at her in confusion before standing to his feet. "Oliver won't be able to do it, and—"

"Hey Robins, just don't, just—"

"You need to do it. When it gets too bad, when I'm the threat that needs be stopped, I need you to stop me." Bruce shook his head as he walked over to her. "I need you to see the situation for what it is and be the one who can make the decision that no one else will."

The back door swung open and they both turned to Oliver who stepped out, his eyes looking straight to his wife.

"Is everything alright?"

Bruce turned back to Katie and she turned back to him hoping for a signal that he would follow through on her wishes. He simply brought his arms around her in a hug, and placed a kiss to her cheek.

"I'm sorry Robins." he whispered before pulling away, and turning and heading inside. Katie dropped her head before turning away from Oliver's worried gaze.

"Twinkie," Oliver appeared behind her, bringing his arms around and pulling her back to his chest. She seemed reluctant to the embrace at first, but soon her body relaxed, letting her weight fall against him, as she dropped her head to his shoulder. "Tell me what do you need?"

The answer to that question was impossible for many reasons. She wanted to leave this city and get as far away as she could.

She wanted to run.

She turned in Oliver's arms, and looked up to his eyes, and she could see the helplessness they held. He so desperately just wanted to fix her. Katie placed her hands on his chest, and looked up to his eyes with a soft smile.

"I need an Oliver Queen hug." she said simply, and Oliver's lips curled slightly. He knew she was holding everything in. Trying to keep it hidden and protect him from it, but because he didn't truly understand what was happening, he didn't even know how to help. And so when she dropped her head on his chest, Oliver wrapped his arms around her, placing a kiss on top of her head.

The basis of their plan was to find out where the call that drew Quentin away came from. Until they figured that out, there was no next move.

The next morning, Oliver awakened to something tugging on his hair. He opened his eyes, and lifted his head to the sight of his daughter who sat in Katie's lap on the bed. His head was within her reach, and he figured she thought he needed to wake up. Her eyes seemed to light up the moment she sees his eyes open, and she begins babbling which always brings a smile to his face. Katie who'd been reading something on her phone looked down to the baby, before looking over to Oliver who was now awake.

"Hey, you're up."

"Yeah, my new alarm clock here," Oliver sat up in the bed, plucking the baby from Katie's arms and holding her up a bit making her giggle. "Thought pulling daddy's hair would be funny."

"Oh, sorry, she woke up a few minutes ago, and so I brought her in here." Katie says turning back to her phone. "I got an email from my lawyer about Ari. He says he's tried getting in contact with social services legal department, but they're giving him the runaround too." Oliver glanced over to the phone to read what the lawyer said. "He said something didn't feel right." she turned to Oliver and sighed. "I think something is wrong."

"Like what?"

"I don't know." she said placing the phone on the table beside the bed, and dropping her head to Oliver's shoulder. "I just get the feeling that something isn't right. So I may have done something." Oliver glanced down to the woman.

"And what did you do?"

"Asked Felicity for a small favor, I mean it's not even a big deal at all."

"Twinkie?" Katie lifted her head, and turned to Oliver.

"I asked her to get me Ms. Sandburg's home address." she saw the frustration that laced in his features as he shook his head and turned away, looking back to the baby in his lap. "I just need to talk to her and-"

"Twinkie, the last time you were in a room with this woman, I practically had to drag you away from her. You were going to hurt her."

"I wasn't going to hurt her and I'm not going to hurt her now. I just want to talk to her, and get her to understand that this was all just a misunderstanding." Oliver still didn't turn to her and Katie just shrugged. "I can't just do nothing."

"Twinkie, at this point nothing is the only thing you can do. Let your lawyer handle this. Your involvement will only make things worse." Oliver looked over to her, and she simply gave a nod.

"Fine, you're right I know you're right." she turned away and made to climb out of bed, but Oliver caught her arm to stop her. She stopped and looked over to the man who gave her a smile. "You want a few more moments?" he gave a nod and so Katie simply slipped back into the bed, and Oliver brought an arm around her letting her head rest on his chest. Oliver couldn't get enough of these moments where he held the two most important people in his arms, and just never wanted to let them go.

Oliver could never get over the changes happening with his daughter. Seeing her grow up was just amazing to him. He didn't expect it to happen so quickly, especially in a moment like this one. Where he sat in front of her, bringing a spoon of pureed bananas to her mouth and watching her eat it. He turned his head at the sudden sound of the doorbell and he was about to go to the door, but he stopped himself and looked back to his daughter.

"I figured out I have to wait for the doorbell to ring twice before actually going to the door." Oliver said to his daughter who stared, mouth open for more of the bananas. He happily obliged giving her another spoonful before hearing the sound of the door opening. "Because when your Aunt Thea comes over she only rings once before breaking into our home."

"It's not breaking in if I have a key." Thea sing-songed before peppering kisses over Robyn's face causing the girl to erupt in giggles. "I love this wittle face. Yes I do. I will hurt any mean men that even attempt to hurt this wittle face. Yes I will." Oliver simply smiled with a shake of his head as he watched his sister. He couldn't believe how close he was to losing her.

"Alright, that's enough, we're having breakfast." Oliver says shooing his sister away. She tossed him an annoyed look before heading over to see if he'd actually made breakfast.

"No famous Oliver Queen blueberry pancakes?" she asked with a pout looking over to her brother.

"Sorry Speedy, no pancakes, we got out of bed late." Oliver slipped another spoonful of the baby food into Robyn's mouth.

"You guys are real horn dogs, you know that don't you?" Thea asked and Oliver turned to her with a pointed look. The woman turned grabbing a box of cereal and a bowl and milk before sitting at the table beside her brother. "Where's Twinkie?"

"Shower."

"So about last night," Thea started and Oliver looked over to her with a quirked about. "About this Samantha woman and this check mom wrote and-"

"Thea, we're not having this conversation right now." Oliver said before standing to his feet and lifting Robyn in his arms. "When I'm home, and with my daughter, I just want to focus on that." he didn't wait for her to say anything before he carried the baby away up the stairs.

Thea sat there with her mouth slightly opened when the kitchen door opened and in walked Katie who stopped and looked over to her.

"What's with you?" Katie asked and Thea turned to her with a shake of her head.

"Just my brother. He's being weird." Thea said before turning a smile to the woman before jumping to her feet and hurrying over to throw her arms around Katie in a hug.

"Why are we hugging Thea?" Katie lightly chuckled bringing her arms around Thea as well.

"Does there need to be a reason?" Thea asked, before pulling back and looking up to the woman's eyes. "Sometimes I just want to hug my sister, especially the day after some creep tries to intimidate her by following the car she's in with my niece." Katie shook her head before walking over to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"I'm fine Thea."

Thea walked over and took a seat at the counter, and Katie sighed feeling the woman's eyes on her. "Really, I'm fine." Thea narrowed her eyes for a moment before shaking her head.

"I don't believe you, but I won't push. So how are your vows coming along?" Katie stopped and glanced over to the woman and shrugged.

"Everything I write down seems completely cheesy, or over the top and I end up just balling it up and tossing it in the trash." Katie said. "I think I'm just going to wing it."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because your form of winging it sort of includes lots of bad jokes, and there will be some pretty important people at this wedding, and we don't want them to see how unfunny you are just yet."

"You mean people I've probably only met once or twice? People who Oliver and I barely even know." Katie started, and Thea realized she probably shouldn't have veered the conversation to this topic. "This was supposed to be a small wedding Thea."

"It's not that big either, the guest list hasn't even topped one hundred..ish." the woman said with a shake of her head. Katie simply took a sip from her mug before turning at the sound of the ringing doorbell. She narrowed her eyes for a moment before sitting her mug on the counter. "You expecting someone?"

"Nope." Katie says, walking around the counter, and out of the kitchen. Thea quickly followed, hurrying to catch up to the woman before she got to the door.

"Twinkie, maybe you shouldn't-" Thea glanced up the stairs, expecting to see her brother, but he wasn't there.

"Well ringing the door bell is a bold move, and I love bold moves." Katie said before reaching forward and pulling open the door. Thea moved in closer to Katie, her eyes staring in confusion at the man standing at the door.

"Mr. Carroll?"

"Ms. Queen." the man greeted before his eyes flit to Katie, an annoying smirk on his face. "Mrs. Queen. And may I say, you're looking good." his eyes roamed over her and Katie narrowed her eyes at him.

"Cut the crap, Mike, what are you doing here?" the man sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets with a shake of his head.

"Could I at least be invited in?" he asked and Katie let out a sigh, before glancing over to the steps, still surprised Oliver hadn't showed yet. She turned back to the man who was glancing inside the house as well before turning back to her. "Look I'm here on company business." the woman looked at him for a moment, before taking a step aside the let the man inside.

Michael walked inside, his eyes looking over the hall, a smile curling on his lips.

"I can't believe you still live here. I haven't been here in ages." he says turning back to Katie. "We had a few memories here Sweets."

"Uh, you can't flirt with her." Thea suddenly commented and the man turned to her with a slight chuckle. "Not with me being her husband's sister, and me standing right here." Michael chuckled before turning back to Katie.

"She doesn't understand the dynamic of our relationship, huh, Sweets?"

"She doesn't, but I do, which is why I'm going to ask you again, what the hell are you doing here?" the man gave a nod before they all walked into the living room and took a seat. Michael opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when he turned to Thea who was watching him as well. He turned back to Katie with a smile.

"Is there some place private we can talk?" he glanced over to Thea and shrugged. "No offense, but this really is about business." he looked back over to Katie. "Your dad's office still upstairs?"

When they moved back into the house, her father's office was the last room they got to. Katie personally wanted to board the room up and never go inside again. Oliver on the other hand told her it was just a room, and her feelings for her father shouldn't be tied to a place in their home.

Katie reached forward, pushing open the door to the office, before stepping aside to let the man in. His eyes looked over the room, and he whistled.

"Yet another room that looks nothing like before." Michael said before turning back to Katie who shut the door. "So is this Oliver's office now, or-"

"If you don't start talking, I'm going to-"

"What? Beat me up? You're cute, Sweets."

"Alright, so meeting over?" she turned about to open the door, but Michael took a step forward.

"Fine, geez, just wanted to ease into this conversation." the woman turned back to him with a quirked brow. "You're not going to like it."

Felicity's eyes darted across the monitor, her fingers skating across the keys, before suddenly stopping, a smile curling on her lips.

"Got it!" suddenly she heard the doors to the elevator opening, but she didn't turn assuming it was Bruce who texted moments earlier that he was on his way. "You're early! So what is the story now about you sneaking out into the middle of the night and thinking I wouldn't notice?" she quirked a brow before turning and realizing it wasn't Bruce. "Laurel?"

"Hey." the woman said walking inside, her eyes looking around before settling back on Felicity. "You're the only one here?"

"At the moment." Felicity's tone was void of her usual chipperness, and without another word she turned back to her computer.

"I uh, came to see if you had any luck getting an origin of the call that came into dispatch." Laurel said, hesitantly moving closer.

"I just did." Felicity replied her fingers once again moving. "I was just about to call your dad, and Oliver." Laurel gave a nod, and the room was swallowed by a suffocating silence.

"Felicity, about what you heard-" Felicity's fingers stopped actually not expecting this conversation. She thought for sure Laurel would avoid it like the plague. "You don't know the whole story." Felicity grabbed the wheels of her chair, and turned to face the woman with a quirked brow.

"Oh, there's a full story that will make me understand you kissing my friend's husband?" Felicity gave a snort. "Well this I got to hear."

"Well first of all I didn't kiss Oliver. In a moment of utter stupidity on my part, at Oliver's holiday party I-" she shook her head. "I tried to, but Katie walked in and saw us and-"

"Did I miss the part of the night where Katie kicked your ass because I really don't remember." Felicity looked over to the woman with a shake of her head. "What the hell were you thinking? They just got married."

"I know—"

"They just had a baby."

"I know that too, but—"

"There is not a but in the world that could justify that Laurel." Felicity turned back to her computer.

"I was sad about Ethan, I was hurt, and I just-" Laurel swallowed the lump in her throat. "I don't have feelings for Oliver. I know he loves his wife, and I have no doubt if Katie hadn't walked in, he would've pushed me away. What I did was stupid, I know that, I just-" the woman shrugged. "You have no idea how many times I've apologized to that woman, and she's adamantly refusing to just let it go and move on."

"You really don't get it?" Felicity said with a shake of her head, glancing over to Laurel. "You're not some stranger Laurel. You and Oliver have history. A history she got to witness. You making a move on her husband isn't something she's just going to get over and move on." Felicity turned back to her computer, with a shake of her head.

"So you're upset with me now, huh?"

"I'm more disappointed than angry." Felicity muttered. "It took a lot for Oliver and Katie to finally find their happiness with each other, and you almost screwed that up because you were sad."

"I know that, but I'm also trying to do my best to figure out how to make this better."

"Well you can start by calling your dad and telling him about this lead, and I will call Oliver." Laurel stood there wanting to say so much, but she just shook her head before stepping away.

Thea paced back and forth in the living room, when she stopped and glanced over to see Oliver walking in freshly changed, with Robyn in his arms who too was out of her pajamas.

"You've been gone for like ever?" Thea said, and Oliver looked over to her in confusion.

"Well my daughter likes her bath time." Oliver placed a kiss to the baby's cheek. "She likes to splash around, and laugh to her heart's content, and I wasn't going to rush the moment." he looked back over to his sister, and then glanced around. "Where's Twinkie?"

"Upstairs in the office." Thea replied, and Oliver's brow furrowed. "Michael Carroll showed up, and now they're up there." she saw the frown that took over Oliver's face before he turned and headed for the stairs. "Wait!" Oliver stopped and looked back to his sister who simply held out her hands. "If there will be yelling and fighting, I think I should keep the baby." Oliver looked down to Robyn and gave a nod before handing her off to Thea, before turning and rushing up the stairs. Thea turned the baby around in her arms, and held her up. "Your parents are crazy, but they gave me you, so I put up with them." the baby simply laughed at her aunt.

Oliver stalked down the hall, a twisting in his gut for some reason at the thought of Katie and Michael being alone. The fears and the jealousy were unwarranted. He'd actually never seen an interaction between the two that would even make him believe that something was going on. Ever since his meeting with the man, he just couldn't shake the feeling that the guy was up to something. So when he walked up to the door, he didn't knock. He burst into the room, gaining confused looks from Katie and Michael who stood in front of the desk.

"What's wrong?" Katie asked turning to Oliver who glanced from her to Michael. His eyes lingered on the man who seemed to figure the reason behind Oliver's dramatic entrance.

"I think your husband was afraid he'd walk in here and find us in a compromising position, Sweets." Michael gave a slight chuckle at how Oliver seemed to take a step toward him, but Katie moved to block him.

"I just-" Oliver cleared his throat suddenly realizing how foolish he looked right now when nothing was even happening. He looked back to Katie who was staring at him with a slight frown. "I thought-" he glanced back to Michael who seemed to be amused at Oliver trying to come up with some sort of excuse. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to see my friend, Mr. Queen." Michael gave a slight shrug before looking over to the woman. "It's been far too long since we've caught up on the good ole days." Katie glanced over her shoulder and glared at the man who held up his hands in surrender. "And that is a look I know all too well. I will see you later. Don't be late." he turned back to Oliver who was watching him like a hawk. "Mr. Queen." he gave a nod before slipping past the man out of the office. Oliver turned watching the man head down the hall, before turning and walking down the stairs. The moment he heard the door close, he turned back to Katie who still stared at him with a furrowed brow.

"Twinkie, I'm sorry, I just-" Oliver shook his head. "Thea told me he was here, and that you two were up here, and I just thought-" he couldn't finish the sentence because he knew he sounded crazy.

"You thought what? That we were in here fooling around?" Oliver turned away, and Katie let out a sigh. "Where is this even coming from?"

"It's just at that meeting with him, I got the feeling the two of you were-"

"We dated. Forever ago. Like seriously eons ago, and I have no idea why. He's pompous and he's arrogant, and breaking up was the best thing that could've happened between us."

"Then why did you ask him to be your Interim CEO?" Oliver asked and Katie let out another sigh.

"Because after we dated, we were still friends, and he's been with the company for a long time, he worked closely with my father, and he had the knowledge and experience I wanted at the head of my company." Katie let out a frustrated huff of air because she honestly couldn't believe they were having this conversation. She lifted her eyes to the man and just shook her head. "You really thought something was going on with me and him?"

"No." Oliver sighed, letting his hand slide across his face. The more sanity came back to him, the more he realized just how stupid all of this was, and now he didn't even know how to explain himself. "I just-" he sighed looking up to meet her eyes. "I don't know what I was thinking...or if I were thinking."

"You know I walked into a room and saw a woman try to kiss you-"

"Twinkie, that's not-"

"No, I saw this woman who you have a long, extensive, romantic past with try to kiss you, when she knew you were married, and also knew that my child was in the room." Katie shook her head, and let out another frustrated sigh. "And every time she talks to me, every time she tries to apologize or even enters a room I'm in, I think about hurting her." she looked up meeting Oliver eyes. "Because she was this close to breaking us." Katie shook her head before turning away from the man who placed a hand on her shoulder, and pulled her back to his chest. "I've been jealous of Laurel Lance for the better part of my life, and what she did only brought that green monster out in me." Oliver arms wrapped around her waist, and he placed a soft kiss to the crook of her neck. "You don't have to like Michael, and you don't even have to trust him." Katie turned in the man's arms. "And I don't have to like Laurel right now. I love you and I trust you, and I need you to extend the same courtesy."

"I do," he placed his hands on the sides of her face, leaning in and placing a kiss to her lips and letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry. Nothing like that will ever happen again. I trust you completely." he placed another kiss to her lips. "But I may kill him if he calls you Sweets again." a smile came to Katie's lips as he pulled away, letting out a deep breath. "What did he want?"

"The board is having an emergency meeting called today, and I have to be there." Oliver waited for her to continue, because he knew from the look on her face there was more to the story.

"Why?"

"They would like to revisit the decision to back your campaign." Oliver frowned, and Katie folded her arms over her chest. "There have been a few articles, and media reports-" she shook her head. "Not a lot, but it's gotten their attention."

"What are the stories?"

"RI's support of the Queen Campaign is solely based on the fact that the CEO is married to the candidate. That a company of our stature, supporting a candidate who lost his own family's company, and doesn't even have a political background—there's no economical or political justification for the alignment."

"They knew this when we first presented my campaign to them. They all agreed that I was a firm candidate to backup."

"They did. And now a little bad publicity is making them re-think the decision." Katie turned away for a moment unsure of how she could fix this. "Michael thinks the story was leaked from Ruvé's camp which is more than likely considering what the board is suggesting."

"What?"

Katie turned back to Oliver and her shoulders slumped.

"They want to back both campaigns. Make RI shown as a company who supports the future of this city by giving the possible candidates all the resources they need to show this city who would be the best mayor. They don't want be seen as choosing one side over the other and alienating a whole customer demographic."

"This is Darhk."

"I absolutely know that, which is why I will go to this meeting and totally refuse this change."

"Maybe dropping the support for my campaign-"

"That's so not happening. Your campaign connected with RI scares the crap of Darhk, because it's the one thing Ruvé can't compete with. I will fix this." she turned and headed for the door before stopping and turning back to Oliver. "I will kick your ass if you act like a jealous jerk again." he smiled at the threat.

"Twinkie, about you and Laurel-"

"I just can't be in a room with her right now. Like I know I should just get over this, move on, but something inside of me is holding onto that anger and seeing her, and talking to her only makes it worse and I'm seriously believing that I will hurt her." the woman glanced over to the clock and sighed. "I have to change into super uncomfortable business clothes and go to this meeting."

"I'm coming with you."

"No you're not because you have to track the people who almost killed the Lance's." he opened his mouth about to object, but his phone suddenly rang. The man groaned pulling it from his pocket and glancing down to the screen. "That's Felicity calling to tell you that you have to be the Green Arrow right now." Oliver lifted his eyes to the woman who shrugged.

"You know the team tells me that whenever I need to step back, and be here, be with my family, all I have to do is just say the word."

"Liver, I'm going to a meeting, you don't-"

Oliver answered the call, and listened to Felicity who informed him that she may have a lead on a location of where the call came from that lured the Captain.

"Is Bruce there?" Oliver asked, and he practically could see the confusion on Felicity's face.

_"Uh, yeah, he's here. Did you want to talk to him?"_

"No, just put me on speaker." There was a click that followed.

_"Alright, everyone can hear you?"_

"Bruce?"

_"Yeah?"_

"I can't get away right now. I need to be with my family."

 _"Is everything alright?_ " Felicity asked.

"Yeah, I just need to take a step back for this."

The line was silent for a moment.

 _"Say no more."_ that was Captain Lance's voice. _"Take care of your family."_

 _"Are you sure everything is alright?"_ Felicity asked again not believing his answer the first time. _"Because if something is wrong and you're just not telling us, I will be very angry and I can make your life impossible when I'm angry."_

"Trust me I know. Felicity for the moment I'm choosing to be husband and father for right now. Just call me if this gets out of hand and you really need me."

_"Well I'm here, so that probably won't happen."_

"I hope that's true, Bruce." Oliver ended the call and looked over to Katie who stood staring at him with a shake of her head.

"You really didn't have to do that. If this call leads back to Darhk, they will need you. I'm just going to be in a boring meeting." Oliver didn't say anything for a moment, and Katie watched him suddenly realizing something. "This isn't about you wanting me to know that you'd choose to be with us over being the Green Arrow. I mean a part of it is, but I already know that. You're still worried about us."

"You were in a car and I was on the other side of town, and in the blink of an eye I could've lost both of you."

"Liver-"

"I know no matter how much I want to, I can't be there twenty four hours a day to make sure the both of you are safe, I also know I have other responsibilities, as the Green Arrow, as the possible Mayor of this city, but when someone threatens you and our daughter, none of that matters." Katie walks over to the man, placing her hands on his chest as she looks up to meet his gaze. "There's nothing on the face of this earth that's more important than you and Robyn."

That scared her. Not the words. The words warmed her soul, filled her with love that was incomparable. No, what scared her was what it could mean. It always came back to the nightmares she had that always seemed like they were more. Seemed like they were warnings. And if what she saw was true, if the horrible, unspeakable things she saw herself doing was even possible, she knew he wouldn't be able to do the one thing she'll need him do. She knew she couldn't ask him what she asked Bruce, knew he wouldn't even consider the idea that she couldn't be saved. He'd always try even when she wouldn't want him to.

"You have a debate to prep for." Oliver shook his head as he slid a hand behind her neck, before dropping his eyes back down to hers.

"I'm going with you, and that's that." Katie narrowed her eyes at the man and he laughed, bringing his lips down to hers.

After changing, Oliver and Katie came back down stairs where they found Thea sitting on the floor Robyn sitting between her legs. They'd walked into a moment that seemed to have the baby in a fit of laughter. Thea wore a bright smile as well, laughing as she looks up to the couple.

"Hey, Mr. Carroll didn't look like he was beaten to a pulp as he walked out of here, so I'm guessing there was no blood shed."

"The day's still young." Oliver said, gaining a nudge to his shoulder.

"So I got a text from Felicity. They have a location on where the call came from, and they said you're not heading this up."

"I'm not. Katie has to go into some emergency board meeting, and I will be escorting her."

"So you're playing hubby security guard?" Thea asked as she shook her head at her brother. "You know I think Michael really likes to get under your skin."

"Oh, I know he does." Katie replies turning to Robyn and letting out a sigh. Thea follows her eyes and quirks a brow.

"I can watch her if you-"

"They will need you tonight, and this meeting might run long."

"If only we had someone who we employed whose job it was to watch her when we need to leave and can't take her with us." Oliver mused and Katie turned a glare to the man. "We interviewed great candidates."

"None of them were right for the job. Every last one of them cracked under pressure."

"I'm not sure I'd want someone who didn't crack under the pressure of you suddenly holding a knife on them." Oliver said with a shake of his head. "I can't believe you kept doing it after you promised you wouldn't."

"Well with our lives, I need someone who can watch my baby and not totally shut down if a mad man breaks down the door."

"You mean no Navy Seals interviewed for the job?" Thea asked, gaining a glare from Katie as well. "Look I will take her with me to the hideout, Felicity is there and so is Captain Lance. Between the two of them they can baby sit." Oliver slightly frowned at the idea. He knew she was still a baby, that she probably wouldn't even remember moments where she spent time in a secret hero hideout, but a part of him was afraid she would. Katie turned to Oliver and shrugged. It wasn't the desired idea, but it would do. She didn't want to bring Robyn to the company, there were too many people and it would be only a matter of time before word spread, and she didn't want to risk the media ambushing them.

"Fine, but Thea-"

"Are you about to give me some warning about her safety?" Thea asked scooping the baby in her arms and standing to her feet. "Like are you really about to tell me to make sure she stays safe?"

"That's not, I just-" Oliver sighed, glancing over to the baby. He didn't want her too far away either. Thea could see it in his eyes and she smiled.

"You're a dad." Oliver turned to her in confusion. "I get it, she's like your whole world, and you know she's safe with me." Thea turned to the girl in her arms and placed a kiss to her cheek. "Anybody who tries to hurt this baby will wish they were never born."


	19. The Great Debate

**Chapter 19**

**  
The Great Debate**

" _It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light."_

_-Aristotle_

* * *

Katie was nervous. Every time she walked in front of the board of directors, she always felt out of place. As if she didn't belong at the head of that table, their eyes on her. Oliver glanced over to Katie, noticing her slightly fidgeting, and he reached over to take her hand in his. He smiled when her eyes turned to his.

"You don't have to do this, you can-"

"I'm doing this, I just haven't been in front of these people in a while, and I'm just trying to get my head back into being a CEO." the doors slid opened and Katie took a deep breath before walking out, head held high, and Oliver at her side. She spotted Michael talking with Claire before his eyes turned to her, a smile coming to his face. It faltered when he looked over to Oliver.

"Look at you," he held up his wrist to look at his watch. "You're twenty minutes early, and you're never early."

"Shut up." Katie says glancing down the hall. "Do you have the numbers for me?" she turned back to the man. Michael gave a nod before turning to Claire who handed him a folder.

"Here you are. All quarterly and annual sales figures since RI announced it's support of Mr. Queen." Michael handed Katie the folder and the woman skimmed through it, not completely sure what it said. "It says there's been increase." she looks back up to the man and gives him a nod. "But that won't sale the board."

"Why not?"

"Because they see this union as our company ostracizing an entire market. That's dollars we're not getting. You have to go in there and convince them that this is the right decision." Michael glanced over to Oliver and just shook his head. "And to be honest, it won't be an easy sale." he turned back to the man's glare. "Look I get representing the competition seems-"

"We're not doing it." Katie replied without hesitation before stalking past the man into her/his office. Michael turned back to Oliver who took a step to follow, but Michael moved to block his way.

"This deal is good. It's a compromise that she just needs to agree to, or they will eat her alive. If they feel she's not working in the best interest of the company, or they feel like her decision making is compromised, they will vote her out. I don't know why she's adamant about this, but you need to tell her-"

"Michael, stop talking." Oliver cut the man off and let out another sigh. He always felt like he was moments away from punching the man, and he always had to pull himself back. "I'm not the CEO of this company, so I will not tell her anything. She knows what she's doing."

Even though Katie was early, she was the last to arrive in the conference room for the meeting. The silent murmuring stopped the moment she walked in, which only made her more nervous. She walked over to the head of the table, and stopped at the sight of Michael in the seat. He looked up to her, and then quickly jumped to his feet

"Right, this is your seat." he pulled it back for her and Katie took the seat, and he took the seat beside her. "Alright, everyone, I-" he turned to Katie who looked over to him with a quirked brow, and a look in her eyes that he knew meant she wanted to hit him. "Sorry, I've been doing this for a while, I'm not used to not being the boss."

"Well you should get used to it." Katie replies turning back to the members of the board. "It has been brought to my attention that there have been some change of hearts in relation to the company's backing of the Oliver Queen mayoral campaign. I would like to hear the concerns." the members were silent at first before a hand was raised and Katie gave a smile. "Mr. Campbell," she gave a nod and Joshua cleared his throat.

"Well some of us have had been thinking about this campaign. The mayor is a very prestigious position, and having those connections could be beneficial to the company."

"I agree." Katie replies.

"The problem is putting all of our eggs in the Oliver Queen basket just doesn't seem smart." he sat back in his seat. "No offense, I know he's your husband, so I completely understand your need to support him, but when it comes to this company we all feel we shouldn't be so careless."

"Careless? Really, how so?"

The man cleared his throat, but continued. "Given Mr. Queen's lack of a political background, and the stigma of his family's indiscretions, his chances of winning this race are seeming less and less likely."

"I'm going to take a wild guess that you plan on voting for Ms. Adams."

"I hope you don't take this personally, but-" Katie shook her head and stood to her feet and the man silenced. She hated the way he said it, as if because she was a woman his words would some how hurt her feelings.

"First of all, I would like everyone to know that in this room, nothing is taken personally. Not from me, and as I expect not from any of you. Everything that happens here is all business." she turned back to Mr. Campbell, and smiled. "Thank you so much for your opinion." she looked around the able. "Was there anyone else who wanted the floor, or does the majority agree with Mr. Campbell?" No one said anything and Katie assumed that was the answer to her second question. "Ok, so I would like to say I completely understand your concerns, and if I'm not mistaken they were also brought up at the initial meeting."

"That was before there was an opponent." Joshua stated, and Katie gave a nod. "Things have changed. Him being your husband doesn't change that." Katie grit her teeth once again at the man's insistence on perpetuating the theory in everyone's mind that she was only doing this because they were married.

"Ok, before we go any further, I need to ask a question. Who here believes I've positioned this company with the Oliver Queen Mayoral campaign because he's my husband?" her eyes scanned the table, and no one immediately rose their hand. "Remember this is not personal, it's business, if you have an opinion share it." Soon a few hands lifted and Katie gave a nod. "Alright, well to answer that question, no that decision wasn't based on that fact, and I know none of you will probably believe that but it's true." she began walking around the table. "What also is true that yes the Queen name is tangled in indiscretions, but it's also tangled in goodwill, yes, Oliver lacks the political background that Ms. Adams has, but he makes up for it in a true desire to see this city thrive and prosper. Oliver Queen is Star City. He grew up here, he went to school here, and his family name will always be ingrained in this city." she stopped walking and looked out to the members. "Where did Ms. Adams go to school? How familiar is she with this city and everything that makes it great. This woman popped up out of nowhere and decided she wanted to be the mayor of a city she has no personal relation to at all. The mayor will need more than to be well versed in politics, they will need to be someone who truly loves this city and will do anything to bring hope back to it." Katie took a deep breath. "Look your concerns are valid, but I'm afraid positioning our company with Ruvé Adams will send a totally different message. It will make us look money hungry, make us look like we truly don't care who becomes the mayor as long we're tied to the winner."

"And is that a bad thing?" a voice spoke and all eyes turned to the dark haired woman who'd just walked in. "Mrs. Queen, I don't believe we have had the pleasure."

"Ms. Adams." Katie's hands curled into a fist behind her back as she looked over to the woman, before turning back to the board members. "Was I wrong in believing this was a closed meeting?"

"We thought letting Ms. Adams plead her case to the board will help us come to a solid decision." Joshua said, and Katie turned to him.

"We should've been aware of this." Michael spoke standing to his feet as well.

"We believe the idea wouldn't have been reciprocated, our apologies, but when it comes to the decisions on the placement of this company, we will hear all sides, not just the bosses opinion on her husband." Katie cut her eyes to the man who turned to her and offered a smile. "Once again, nothing personal."

"I really would like to talk to you and your board, Mrs. Queen. Explain why I am a candidate that Robins Incorporated would be proud to stand behind." Katie didn't turn to her. The feeling of being completely blindsided, mixed with anger because she knew who this woman was. Knew who her husband was, and knew they were now putting her company in the middle of whatever game they were playing. Katie turned to Michael who seemed to be waiting for her to make some sort of move. Katie gave a nod before turning back to the woman with a smile, before stalking toward her, placing herself just a few feet away. Ruvé simply smiled not showing an ounce of nervousness if she felt it.

"I apologize Ms. Adams, but the members of the board do not have the authority to grant non board members access to a closed board meeting. Any non board member who is granted access to this meeting must be approved by the CEO. I didn't approve your presence here, and as such, I am going to ask you to leave this building."

"You're being completely biased right now!" Joshua snapped standing to his feet. "We all had to sit around this table and listen to your husband-" Katie cut her eyes back to the man, fighting the glare every time he refused to use Oliver's name, instead deeming him her husband. "It's only fair that we at least hear her proposition, hear her stance so we can make an informed decision." Katie shook her head.

"You know I feel like if I were Jacob Robins right now, you wouldn't be raising your voice to me, you wouldn't be showing me the utter disrespect at the moment, and you wouldn't continue to perpetuate this theory that my decision on this matter is because Oliver Queen is my husband."

"I just-"

"You're going to stop talking right now Mr. Campbell, because you've already made your opinion clear, and everyone has heard it. I'm talking now, and the next time you interrupt me, I will have you removed from this conference room, and no—" she shook her head at the man. "This isn't me taking this personal, this is me demanding to be treated and to be spoken to as the CEO of this company. Now sit down." the man looked at her for a moment before lowering himself back to his seat. Katie took another deep breath, trying to remain calm, and ignoring that twinge in her stomach. "Ms. Adams, do you have something prepared." Katie turned back to the woman who still wore that stupid, cocky smirk on her face.

"I do."

"Fine, you can have the floor. Once you're done, you will leave and we will make a decision and someone will contact you." Katie didn't wait for the woman's response before walking back to her seat and sitting.

Katie sat and they all listened to Ruvé go on and on about her aspirations of being the Mayor of Star City, and the goals she had for the economic growth of this city, and why she believes RI would benefit from their support of her.

"In the end, the question becomes what is best for this city, who should be at the helm, and who can bring this city back to the greatness it once was." Ruvé said, her eyes turning to Katie. "Now are there any questions for me?" the woman expected Katie's hand to go up first, but Katie simply stared at the woman as members of the board all rose their hands.

After answering their questions, Ruvé once again turned to Katie who seemed to be studying her

"Mrs. Queen, I completely understand how reluctant you maybe with this given my opponent is your husband." Katie's lips curled into a smile as she sat back in her chair. "In the end it's your decision, I just hope you can see I truly have this city's best interests at heart."

"Ms. Adams, you are correct, I am reluctant, but it has nothing to do with Oliver." Katie shook her head. "You see this company has an image, a reputation, and every decision we make, every person we give our seal of approval-" she looked back over to the woman. "They have to align with this company in every way."

"Are you saying I don't?" Katie eyed the woman and looked back to the members of the board, their eyes on her waiting for answer. She had to be careful with her answer, had to make sure she showed no bias.

"I'm saying that for me to answer that, I need you to answer one question for me. You've stood here and told us all the ways you would make this city great, make it better with funding for the business district, and funding for the police force, and an array of other things I noted on this note pad as you were talking." Katie glanced down to the note pad and shook her head. "But I never heard you say what was good about this city." she looked over to the woman. "I mean I for one know this city could use improvements, but what you've told us was just you making this city nice and shiny again. Tell me Ms. Adams, what about this city makes you even want to be the Mayor?"

Ruvé cleared her throat and smiled.

"I believe this city has the potential to be one of the best in the world. I believe with all the improvements and reinforcements that I've mentioned, that it can be revered, and admired."

"Image." Katie said with a nod. "You want to help this city because you want it to be better than anywhere else."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"Absolutely not." Katie replies once again looking over to the woman. "Improving this city's status is absolutely a very good thing, but it's never a goal, always a consolation." Katie's eyes turned to the members of the board whose eyes still silently watched her, and for some reason she wasn't nervous. "This company, and every aspect of it, every choice, every business move will always only have one goal." she glanced over to Mr. Campbell. "Tell me Mr. Campbell, what that is?" She noticed his jaw clenched, knowing just as everyone in this room did, that Ms. Adams had made a mistake.

"The people." he finally said looking over to the mayoral candidate. "We invest in the business districts, and health care, and market growth with the simple goal of helping the people of this city." Ruvé shook her head before turning back to Katie.

"Of course, that was implied in my presentation, and I thought you understood that."

Katie simply gave a nod before standing to her feet. "Well Ms. Adams, we will deliberate and will give you an answer by the end of the day." the smile on Ruvé's face was gone, and she took a step toward Katie, but stopped. It was a move that did not go missed by the CEO who moved around the table and walked over to the woman. "Was there something else?"

"Not at all, Mrs. Queen." Ruvé gave a slight nod before turning and leaving the boardroom. Once she was gone, Katie turned back to the board members who sat silently, and she could only imagine how none of them expected this turn of events.

"Ok, by a show of hands, all in favor of placing this company's name in Ruvé Adams' campaign?" she looked out to the members who all glanced around to the many faces around the table, but none actually rose their hand. She stood there watching them, giving them enough time to think about this. Her eyes glanced over to Joshua who she could see was not happy with the turn of events. He himself kept his hands down. "All in favor of keeping our allegiance to the Queen Campaign-" all theirs hands rose and Katie gave a nod. "Ok, before we dismiss, I would like to say something. I get after all this time some of you still believe that I'm not qualified to be the CEO of this company, that I don't have what it takes to push this company to it's full potential. And the truth is, you may be right, but something else is true. I believe in this company, and the place it has in this city, and in the world. And because of that belief, my decisions that effect this city will always take into consideration what is best for this company and the people it is supposed to help. Fine, I will admit that placing this company into a political war probably wasn't the best idea, and that it will alienate a portion of our consumers, but it is a decision that was made and that we are all going to stand behind firmly. We will not look like a company that does not believe in every decision we make. We will not show doubt, because the moment we do, so will our customers." she looked over to Joshua who seemed to avoiding her eyes. "If there is nothing else, I am adjourning this meeting." with those words, the board members stood to their feet and began filing out. "I would like to see you in my office, Mr. Campbell in ten minutes." he glanced over to her, and she saw the nervousness in his eyes, but he gave a nod. Katie walked over to the grand window that overlook the city, still trying to calm the ramming of her heart.

Soon the only people left in the room were Katie, and Michael who walked over to stand beside her.

"So when should I clear my stuff out of your office?" he asked, but Katie didn't answer. "Sweets-" she turned to him and shook her head. "What I just witnessed-" he glanced over to the empty table. "Your place is at the head of this company, and if anyone left this room doubting that then they're crazy."

"I just can't-"

"What if the company opened a child care facility?" Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. "That's what this is, right? You don't want to leave your daughter, then don't. Your company employs lots of parents who would love discounted child care at their place of employment." Katie folded her arms over her chest and looked at the man. "What do you say?"

"I thought you liked being in charge? Why are you so insistent on me coming back?"

"Because me coming here was never about me searching for power." he took a step toward her, closing the distance. "You needed my help and in that case I will always be there. And right now I see it's time for you to come back, so I'm giving you the kick in your butt that you need." Katie rolled her eyes and turned back to look out the window. Being away from the company was a bit of a blessing. She liked having one less thing to worry about, but Michael was right. She decided to take this job and she couldn't hide from it any longer.

"When can you get started on the child care facility?"

"I can make a call and we can get the wheels moving by tomorrow. Give me a month, and it will be up and running." the woman stood there silently, but sighed before turning back to the man.

"Fine, make the announcement. I'll be back to work in a month." the man smiled and gave a nod. "I will also be naming you my COO, if you're interested?" the man's smile grew wider.

"Anything to keep me around, huh Sweets?" he took another step, and the distance between them was nonexistent at this point. "I am very interested, and I look forward to working closely with you." Katie shook her head before walking around the man. "Shall we celebrate over dinner?" he heard the woman laugh.

"That will be the last time you ask me out on date." she said glancing over to the man. "Or I will let my husband hurt you."

"No pain, no gain Sweets."

She shook her head before walking out of the room. When she walked into the current Interim's office, she spotted Oliver staring up to something on the wall. She walked over to him to see what had caught his attention and the moment she did, she shook her head.

"I can't believe he hung that on the wall?"

"You're wearing a wedding dress, and he's wearing a tuxedo." Oliver said turning to her with a quirked brow. "Is there something I should know?"

"Well what you seem to be overlooking is that horrible wig I'm wearing and that ridiculous fake mustache on his face." Oliver turned back to the picture and realized she was right. "This picture was taken at a Halloween party, we were Sunny and Cher and also very drunk." she looked back over to Oliver and nudged his shoulder. "Don't worry, I have never been married before. The closest I've been is engaged." Katie closed her eyes and sighed because she really wished she hadn't said that.

"I thought you said no to Lex's proposal?" Oliver asked looking over to her, and Katie turned away, really not wanting to answer the question he was about to ask. "So if it wasn't Lex, then who?"

"What does it matter?" Katie asked turning back to face him. "I'm married to you, you're my husband, why does it matter?"

"It was Michael, wasn't it?"

"Dr. Robins." Claire's voice spoke from the intercom. "I mean, Dr. Queen, or Mrs. Queen-"

"Claire, what's up?"

"Oh, Mr. Campbell is here for your meeting."

"Thanks, send him in." Katie replied before turning to Oliver and placing a hand on his arm. "I need ten minutes and then we can head out. I have to be the stern CEO right now, and I know I'm not going to like it." he looked down to her, and silently nodded before turning and heading for the door. Before he reached for the door knob, the door was opening and in walked Joshua who stopped and looked to Oliver.

"Uh, Mr. Queen." Joshua held out his hand to which Oliver shook. "Good to see you again."

"You too, Mr. Campbell." Oliver replied casting one final glance to Katie who gave him a nod before he finally left.

Oliver walked over to Claire's desk and the woman looked over to him with a smile.

"You hear what happened in the meeting yet?" she asked and he shook his head. "Apparently Ruvé Adams showed up to convince the board that they should back her campaign." Oliver's eyes slightly widen, as he lifted his head and glanced around the floor. Ruvé being here only made him afraid that Darhk's eyes were not too far behind. "I'm assuming it didn't work, because Ms. Adams stormed out of here with her minions looking not too happy." Claire glanced up to Oliver, seeing the seriousness in his face as his eyes darted across the floor and she immediately turned as well. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah." Oliver plastered on a smile and turned back to the woman with a shake of his head. "I just didn't expect her to come here. Was there anyone else with her?"

"Just her security, why?"

"No reason." Oliver glanced back up to Katie's office just as the door opened and Joshua stormed out, the expression on his face proving that he did not just leave a pleasant meeting. "I think we should be leaving." Oliver hurried into the office to see Katie slightly sitting on the edge of the desk, her head buried in her palm. "Hey," she looked up to see Oliver who hurried over to her. "Are you alright?"

"Fine. I'm fine. I just hate some parts of this job." she let out a sigh before dropping her head to Oliver's chest, and he brought his arms around her. They stood in silence for a few moments before Oliver once again spoke.

"Adams was here?" he asked and he noticed the woman tense at the question before lifting her eyes to him. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Katie replied with a shake of her head. "She came here in a effort to get the board to oppose my position in supporting her, but it blew up in her face. She was not happy when she left here. She really went into a lot of work compiling these arguments and trying to gain the support of this company. I have a feeling this isn't over."

"C'mon," Oliver placed a kiss to the top of Katie's head. "Let's get out of here and-"

"Good, you're still here." Oliver's jaw clenched at the sound of the man's voice. Katie saw the look in his eyes and just shook her head before stepping around him to see Michael. "I've made a couple of calls and the in-house child care center is now in it's planning stage."

"What in-house child care center?" Oliver asked looking over to Katie who sighed.

"I'll tell you about it later." she turned back to Michael. "Keep me up to date on it's status, and let me know if the board has any other concerns about my decision making when it comes to RI." she turned grabbing her purse before turning to Oliver. "Shall we." Oliver took Katie's hand, about to leave, but he'd only taken a step before stopping. "What's wrong?" Oliver looked over to her before turning back to Michael and Katie took a step forward, placing a hand on his chest. "Liver, just-"

"She told you I asked her out to dinner, didn't she?" Michael asked, and Katie cursed under her breath, as she and Oliver looked over to the man. "It was just a joke, I mean-" he glanced over to Katie. "Unless you've changed your mind, because I-"

"Stop." it was Oliver's authoritative voice that interrupted the man's sentence. Michael turned to Oliver, the smile dropping from his face, and he stands a bit taller seeing that challenge in the man's eyes. "You work here. At least until Katie returns to her position as CEO. I can accept that. What I will not accept is your total disrespect to me and my wife."

"Liver, please, lets just-"

"You're here for a job, so do that job, and keep my wife out of it."

"Well I'm afraid me and the missus will be seeing an awful lot of each other even when she returns. She's offered me the position of COO and I have accepted." Oliver looked at the man with wide eyes before turning to Katie, and the look in his eyes showed what she could only assume was betrayal before he released her hands and stormed out of the office not missing the chance to bump Michael's shoulder on the way out. "Was it something I said?" Katie turned dark eyes to Michael who grimaced at the look. "Sweets, I'm sorry, but that guy's too insecure, and it's just too easy some times."

"Michael there hasn't been a formal contract drawn up for your new position." Katie stalked toward him. "So at this point it is still my discretion if I want you to still be here and right now you're really not helping your cause."

"C'mon, we've known each other for like ever. I mean we were almost married and-"

"Key word is almost. We didn't get married and there's a reason for that. Look you're here because despite our personal relationship, you were always just my friend. And we were able to hold on to that, but that will end if you continue to disrespect my husband." Katie moved around him toward the door.

"He's afraid of losing you." Katie stopped walking at the man's words. "It's why I get to him. He thinks I'm a threat, that I'm going to swoop in and take you away from him. Sweets, a relationship with a guy like that will only-"

"I didn't ask for your opinion." Katie replied glancing over to the man. "I will never ask for your opinion on my marriage." and with that Katie left the office.

Katie found Oliver downstairs in the lobby waiting for her. Even though she's sure he's upset with her, it doesn't seem to overcome the fact that he wants to make sure she's safe. When he spots her, he waits for her to walk over before silently heading for the door, and holding it open for her. She walks over, meeting his eyes for a moment before walking out the door.

It isn't until they're in their car, and on their way to the hideout does Katie finally decide to break the silence.

"So what do you think it's going to be?" she asks looking over to him. He glances over to her, still not saying a word before turning back to the road ahead. "Is it going to be the darkness that Damien Darhk somehow implanted in me?" she noticed the tension in his jaw, but he still doesn't say anything. "Or is it Michael? You think one day we're going to be in the office and I'm going to look at him and realize how madly in love I am with him and how I wished I would've married him?"

"Stop it."

"That's what this is about, isn't it? You afraid something is going to take me away from you, but you just don't know what it is." his eyes turn to her once again and she sees the truth there. She reaches over and places her hand on his arm. "Oliver Queen you have me. Completely, in every way, shape and form, you have me. No matter what happens, that will never change." Oliver turned away, his eyes back to the road, but he reached over taking her hand in his. She let out a sigh. "And I will talk to you about the Michael Carroll portion of my life if you really want?"

"No." Oliver sighed, looking over to her once again. "You're my wife, nobody else matters, and I know that I'm just-" he shook his head turning away. So many words could finish the sentence. Jealous...scared...lost.

"I know." she replied giving his hand a squeeze. "But you don't have to be."

They rode the elevator down to the hideout, Oliver's arm wrapped around Katie's waist, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder enjoying the sparse moments of silent comfort.

"Can you believe we're getting married in a few weeks?" Oliver asked breaking the silence and Katie let out a snort before looking up to meet the man's eyes. "I know we're married, but we're getting a wedding. It's kind of exciting."

"Yeah, it is. I still think it's unnecessary, but I'll still be there."

"That's good to know." he laughed, bringing his lips to hers. The doors to the elevator opened, and they heard the sound of humming. They stepped off of the elevator to see the source of the humming was Captain Lance as he held little Robyn in his arms. The man stopped feeling the eyes on him, and suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, uh she was a bit fussy and I remembered Sara and Laurel used to love a good song and it seems so does your little Queen." Lance's eyes look over to Katie and he shakes his head. He knows the woman still hasn't forgiven him and he can only imagine she isn't too happy to see him holding her daughter. He walks over to her, passing the girl to her arms. "I'm sorry, if-"

"No." Oliver says and Quentin looks over to him. "It looks like it worked. So thank you." Quentin gives a nod, before turning back to Katie who looks down to the baby with a smile before walking off.

"So I assumed right that she would always hate me, huh?"

"She doesn't hate you. She's just coming to grips with the fact that you're human." Quentin looked over to Oliver with a furrowed brow. "Some people we hold at unrealistic expectations, and when they don't meet them, we have to find a way to accept it. My wife is just more stubborn than most people so it's taking her a little longer."

"I'm starting to get that."

"So what's the status?" Oliver asked, and Lance nudged his head toward Felicity who was still assisting the team.

"Alright, I will see you soon." Felicity spoke, turning to Katie whose eyes were on the baby, as Oliver and Lance walked over.

"They're on their way back, and they have a laptop. Hopefully there's a clue to Darhk's latest plans." Felicity turned back to Katie who placed a kiss to the baby's head. "What's wrong?" Katie looked up to the woman and shook her head.

"Nothing, I just-" Katie looked down to the baby and sighed. "I think I will be glad when all of this is over." Katie turned, and walked away, rocking the baby in her arms

"How'd the meeting go?" Felicity asked, and Oliver shook his head.

"Ruvé showed up, but Twinkie was able to convince the board not to back her campaign." Oliver sighed. "But it's a chess game. They're going to make another move and she knows it. I think I'm going to take them home."

"Oh, you're not going to stay and hear the findings from tonight?" Felicity asked and Oliver turned to her and she could see the answer on his face. The woman just gave a nod. "I mean, of course. Go, take care of the Twiver family. We will call you when we have something."

"Thanks Felicity." Oliver replied before walking over to Katie.

"Wife and kid. Two very precious things in life." Lance said glancing over to Felicity. "He's just trying to do what's best."

"I know and I completely get it. I just-" she shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "Neither one of them wants to be in this fight, but I get the feeling they're both going to be in the middle of it at some point and they're going to need to be ready for it."

Oliver's hand slid around Katie's back and she turned to him with a smile. "Hey, we should be getting home." Katie looked at him in confusion, glancing over to Felicity and Lance before turning back to the man.

"Aren't you staying to see what they found?" Katie asked, and Oliver just shook his head. "If you need to stay, it's fine. We can get home and—"

"I'm taking you home." Oliver reiterated once again. "Any information they have, they can call, but right now I'm taking the both of you home. I'm going to grab her things and then we can head out." He walked away not leaving her with a chance to respond.

The woman let out a sigh before walking back over to where Lance and Felicity were standing, looking at something on the computer.

"Hey," they both turned to her. "Thanks for watching her." she looked over to Quentin and shook her head. "You have a horrible singing voice, but it worked. Thanks."

"Not a problem, doc." he replied with a small smile before watching the woman turn and head over to the elevator where Oliver was waiting.

When the team arrived, it was Thea who handed Felicity the only clue they had after the building they were in blew up.

"Where's Oliver?" Laurel asked, not missing the glare Felicity sent her way. She sighed, glancing over to her father.

"They came to get the baby, but then went home." Quentin replied, and the team looked at him in confusion. "What?"

"We just assumed he'd be the first one here to find out what we found. This was a big lead to Darhk." Thea said, grimacing as she lifted herself to sit on a nearby table. "Can't believe he wouldn't stay to find out."

"I can't believe he wasn't there with us." Laurel added with a shake of her head. "He's falling back hard all of a sudden."

"Well right now we focus on the matter at hand, and I'm hoping the nails in this laptop are the clues and not the hard drive." Felicity said trying to carefully pull them out. She glanced over to Bruce who seemed noticeably quiet since he and the team arrived "There's like three nails straight through this thing."

"Yeah. The bad guys went a little crazy with that nail gun." Thea said stretching her sore muscles.

"Yeah. According to Andy, they're called the Demolition Team," John walked in, a slight limp in his step. "former GRU, IRA, and Mossad. They're experts at precision demolition."

"Now they work for HIVE." Bruce added, finally speaking and Felicity looked back over to him, and she could see he wasn't happy with how this mission turned out.

"I got a look at the laptop before it got shot up, and there were blueprints on the screen." Laurel added.

"So they are gonna take down another building." Bruce said walking over to stand beside Felicity as he looked down to the laptop. "We are going to have to work a miracle on pulling data off this thing." he looked over to Felicity who gave a small smile.

"We are definitely going to need a miracle, dear." Felicity turns back to the laptop with a sigh.

"In case the laptop is a dead end, I am going to work up a list of potential targets." Laurel says heading off to change.

"Yeah, and Andy's supposed to get some more Intel. I'll see if he's made any progress." John says heading out as well.

"And I think I will stop by the Queen household to have a talk with my brother." Thea says hopping off the table, and slowly making her way to change her clothes.

Felicity turned at the ringing of her cell phone, and looked at the number before quickly answering.

"Hey mom." she turned, and moved further away.

"What was that about?" Bruce asked, looking over to Quentin.

"Donna called it quits." Quentin replied, and Bruce seemed a bit surprised. He'd seen the couple when they were together, saw how happy they were together. Bruce practically thought the man in front of him would be his father in law some day

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"You're lucky you're with someone you don't need to keep secrets from." with that Quentin walked away, unknowingly leaving Bruce with a reminder of the secrets he was still holding from the woman he was going to marry. He absolutely knew he'd have to tell her the truth, have to tell Katie the truth, but it was always a conversation he knew would change everything.

That night Katie found Oliver in her father's...no it was his office now. The door was opened, and so she stood at the door, and he didn't seem to notice her at first. He was sitting behind the desk, eyes glazed over in deep thought.

"What are you thinking about over there, Mr. Queen?" she asked and his eyes went to her, a smile coming to his face.

"I'm just a little nervous about tomorrow." Oliver replied as the woman walked over, and slipped onto his lap.

"You're going to do great." Katie turned bringing her arms around the man, and placing a kiss to his lips. "I know you're going to do great. You're going to stop Ruvé, and part of that includes stopping Darhk." Oliver sighed turning away from the woman, knowing where this conversation was going.

"Twinkie—"

"Darhk keeps getting too close. To me, and most recently to Robyn. I know you want to be there every second of every day to keep us safe, but you can't."

"I should've been there. It is my responsibility to protect you and our daughter. That responsibility comes before running for Mayor, and being the Green Arrow."

"I know that. I also know that you being my husband, and that little girl's father may be your top priority, but it isn't the only one you should be focusing on. There was a mission tonight that could've led to Darhk's end, and you weren't there." Oliver's eyes still wouldn't meet hers, and she placed a kiss to his cheek. "We have to stop him. I need to know he's gone, and that he can't hurt us more than he already has." Oliver turned, placing a hand on her cheek. "I would love to have you all to myself, but I'm not that lucky."

"No, I'm the lucky one." he replied pulling her lips back to his. The kiss didn't last for long before Katie was pulling away. "You're ridiculous. It's just a room."

"Yeah, yeah, doesn't change the fact that you're not getting lucky in my dad's old office." she hopped off his lap and headed for the door, only to stop at the sound of the doorbell. Oliver stood to his feet, and walked toward the door when they heard the sound of the front door opening and closing.

"Ollie?!"

"Your sister seems to pick the best moments to visit." Katie laughed as she headed out of the office and toward the bed room.

"Five minutes!" he called back to her, only for her to just keep laughing. Oliver let out an annoyed groan before heading down the stairs. He didn't spot his sister at first, but after a search he found her in the kitchen, standing in front of the open refrigerator.

"How old is the Chinese food?" she asked looking over to her brother who didn't look overly excited to see her. "What?"

"Speedy, I love you, but why are you here?"

"You weren't there tonight." Thea replied closing the refrigerator and turning to her brother. "And I get it, I really get that what happened with the guy following Twinkie, and the baby, how that scared you."

"You don't." Oliver said with a shake of his head. "You can't understand Thea, because those two are my whole world, and the fact that Darhk was toying with them, trying to get to me-" he let out a heavy sigh. "I get it. I really do get it. Stopping Darhk, doing everything we can to make sure that happens is important, but my daughter can not be anywhere near this ever again."

"Then we stop him, and Ruvé, and all the members of HIVE."

"Agreed. What did you guys find tonight?"

"Apparently the people behind the explosion are some pretty dangerous guys according to Andy. And now they work for HIVE." the woman shook her head. "We think there's going to be another attack, we just have to figure out where. Andy's still got his feelers out for information, Felicity and Bruce are looking over the laptop we were able to recover and Laurel is attempting to come up with a list of possible targets. Right now it’s a waiting game."

"I hate those games."

"Me too." the woman said, turning and opening to refrigerator. "Seriously how old is the Chinese food?" she glanced over to her brother.

"Not that old. You can grab it and head home." Thea turned to him with a quirked brow. "I'll walk you out."

"Are you kicking me out?" Thea asked grabbing the take out box, and letting her brother practically push her to the door. "Alright, I'm going!" she stopped at the door and turned to her brother. "Why are you getting rid of me?"

"Honestly?" he asked, and Thea looked at him, before giving a nod. "My wife is upstairs, and we're going to have sex." the moment the words came out of his mouth, Thea grimaced bringing a hand to cover one ear and the takeout box to cover the other. Oliver reached forward and opened the door.

"I hate you so much." Thea muttered and Oliver only chuckled before closing the door, and skipping back up stairs.

_The smell of death was distinctive. It filled the air in this moment, and instead of turning Katie's stomach, it actually seemed to not bother her at all. She stood perched at the top of a building giving her the best spot to witness the destruction of the city. The sounds of screaming, and cries of pain causing the corners of her lips to tug in pleasure. Her eyes looked over the fire that was swallowing all of Star City and she seemed content to just watch._

Katie's eyes snapped open, the remnants of the dream still playing in her head, making her sick. It wasn't the first time she'd had the dream. She was afraid of what it actually meant. Each time she saw herself consumed by the darkness so much so that pain and suffering actually pleased her. Katie looked over to Oliver who was still blissfully asleep, ignorant to the fact that his wife was awake and afraid of the things going on in her head. She never told him about the dreams, even though she knows she should. But she knew this part of her, with the abilities and seeing her uncle, it was hard for him. At the moment he probably believed since there had been no more signs of it that maybe it was just gone, and she didn't want to take that hope from him by telling him it wasn't.

Katie carefully pulled herself out of Oliver's grasp around her waist, and stood from the bed. She grabbed her robe, slipping it on before quietly stepping out of the room. She soon found herself outside, sitting on the porch steps of their back yard looking up to the sky as the sun begins rising. In her head she's trying to figure out what she's going to do. If these dreams aren't just dreams, if they're some sort of sign of what's to come, then there's no question that she has to stop it. She just had no idea how. At the moment her only hope was that Constantine could find a way to draw this darkness out of her.

Katie whipped her head, and stood to her feet at the sound of someone walking around the side of the house, but she sighed at the sight of the body guard who she wasn't overly fond of. She rolled her eyes as she returned to her seat.

"Mrs. Queen," Hank greeted as he walked over, and glanced around for a moment before turning back to the woman. "Uh, good morning, is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine. You can go." she didn't meet his eyes. She was still upset with him, but she'd gotten over her initial reaction to beat the crap out of him for his terrible driving with her daughter in the car. Hank knew to listen. He'd recounted the events to Oliver who too was a bit upset with the way Hank handled the situation, but he didn't think it warranted him being fired. Oliver did warn Hank that he was to stick close around the house, and avoid his wife until she didn't want to hit him when she looked at him. Hank turned about to leave, but he still felt the need to apologize.

"Mrs. Queen, I can't apologize enough for how I handled that situation. I assure you my intention was to get you and your daughter to safety." Katie let out a sigh, and looked over to the man who she could tell was being honest.

"I know that Hank. You wouldn't still be here if I ever doubted if me and my daughter's safety wasn't one of your concerns. It was just-" she turned away with a shake of her head. "I keep thinking about the situation. How the bad stuff I've already accepted would come at me and come at Oliver, had gotten so close to my baby." she looked back over to the man and shrugged. "The bad stuff in this city, and hell in this world will never get to her, do you understand?"

"Absolutely." he replied with a nod. He stood there for a moment, deciding to once again ask, "Are you sure you're alright? It's really early and you're usually up with the little bird—" he looked down to his watch. "In about another hour or so?" he looked back over to the woman who stared with a quirked brow. "It's my job to know these things."

"No, just-" Katie shook her head with a slight smile. "Little bird. I like that. It's a better nickname than that week we called her Bennie." she chuckled turning back to the man. "I thought it was cute-"

"But it was weird." Hank replied and Katie laughed at him before waving him off as she stood to her feet. "I should probably finish my sweep."

"Yeah, and I should make some coffee. Today is a big day." she turned and headed for the door, but stopped and glanced back to the man. "I'm fine Hank." he gave a nod before continuing his rounds. When Katie stepped inside the kitchen she decided she was going forget about those dreams and focus on the here and now and to start, she thinks she's going to make breakfast. She scanned the kitchen for a moment, tapping her chin in thought. "Now where the hell does Liver keep pans?"

Oliver woke up to the smell of something cooking, and for some reason that made him jilt awake. He sat in bed for a moment, the smell of food wafting through the air, and the fact that it smelled good worried him. He usually did most of the cooking, and by usually he meant always because his wife couldn't cook to save her life...or at least that's what he thought. Oliver stood from the bed, and headed out into the hall, the smell of bacon, more prominent and it really did smell good. He continued toward the steps, only stopping at the soft cooing that he happened to hear in passing the nursery. He walked inside, a smile coming to his face as he looked down to the little girl who was now wide awake as well. "Do you know what's going on?" he asked her, and she simply smile up to her daddy in response.

After a quick diaper change, Oliver and Robyn appeared in the kitchen, and Oliver couldn't believe the spread laid out on the counter. There was bacon, and eggs, sausage, pancakes, toast, chopped fresh fruit, there was coffee brewing in the coffee pot, and at the center of it all was his wife who was standing at the stove, her back toward him. She felt his eyes on her, and turned, actually surprised to see them standing there, realizing she didn't hear them come in.

"Twinkie, did someone break into our house and cook this?" Oliver asked, still looking down to the food before looking over to Katie threw the little piece of strawberry that she'd been nibbling on at him.

"No, my dear husband, I cooked all of this." Katie replied and Oliver shook his head once again looking down to the food. "Looks good doesn't it?"

He looked back over to her with a quirked brow. "Seriously, who really cooked this? Did you like order it?"

"You know I'm offended. I really cooked this. All of it." Oliver's eyes looked over to the pancakes. "And my pancakes are perfectly round, and actually look like pancakes."

"How-" he was still at a bit of a loss. He looked over to Katie. "You can't cook." she wanted to throw something else at him, but there was nothing within arms reach that she could safely chuck at him without hitting their daughter.

"I took cooking classes you oaf, if you must know. A couple of years back when you were being an idiot and decided to break up with me. I needed a distraction, so I took a couple of cooking classes." she smiled as she looked over to the food. "And you would've learned this sooner if you weren't such a control freak and actually let me cook once in a while."

"I guess that will change."

"Kind of has to, right?" she replied and he looked over to her. "You won't be here all the time to feed us, Mr. Mayor." Oliver walked around the counter, wanting to bring his arms around her, but there was still a baby in his arms currently chewing on his shirt.

"Twinkie, I promise we are going to have some semblance of a life that doesn't include Darhk, or running for Mayor, or being the Green Arrow." Katie looked up to him, placing a hand on his cheek, wanting so badly to believe him, but she had a feeling that was something her husband couldn't promise.

Both lifted their heads at the sound of the door bell ringing, and Katie took a step to see who it was, but Oliver reached out to stop her.

"It has to ring twice." he said, and Katie looked at him in confusion. There wasn't a second ring of the bell, but there door did open.

"Something smells good!" called the voice of Thea Queen who appeared in the kitchen, her eyes looking over the food. She looked over to the couple and her brow furrowed at the looks they were giving her. "What?"

"One day Speedy, we're going to change the locks." Oliver says looking over to his sister with a shake of his head.

For some reason the day seemed to be moving quicker than they anticipated. The debate was only in a couple of hours, and so Thea once again suggested she and Oliver go over the debate topics, and he was so nervous he simply agreed. They'd actually been going over this for a while and Oliver didn't think he could go over this stuff any more. He glanced down to his phone at the sound of the beeping notification. He picked it up and with a swipe lightly laughed at the picture. Thea looked over to her brother, and saw that look in his eyes that only one person...actually now it was two could create. Oliver looked over to his sister who was watching him and he just shook his head before turning his phone around to show the picture of Robyn in a fit of laughter as she was taking a bath. Thea leans in a bit closer, a smile breaking out across her face at the picture.

"Aw, you have to send me that." Thea says looking over to her brother who looked at the picture once again, and she sees that look in his eyes.

"We're all done here, right?" Oliver asked looking over to his sister. "I should be getting back to them." Thea smiled, glancing down to the note card, unable to let her brother go without asking him one more thing.

"Uh, yeah, sure, I just have one more question." Thea looked back over to her brother. "Why didn't you tell me you went to college with Samantha Clayton?" Oliver let out a sigh, dropping his head. He thought she would drop this all together, but he should've known his nosy sister just couldn't.

"I was with Samantha Clayton while I was dating Laurel, and I'm not proud of that, so- " Oliver shrugged hoping that would be sufficient enough for Thea to let this go.

"So why did mom pay her a million dollars?" she wasn't letting this go.

"Thea, I told you. Mom is-

"Ollie, I, um- " he brother was trying really hard to get her off this topic, but she couldn't let it. "I looked her up. Right after you guys broke up, she moved to Central City. She's got a son named William who's about as old as that check is." Oliver sat there, another sigh escaping his lips as he looks at his sister.

"Ok, Thea." he wasn't quite sure what he should say.

"When we were in Central City, I-I knew something was bothering you." Thea said with a shake of her head. "I knew you were focused on beating Savage, and worried about your very pregnant future wife. But it was more than that. It makes sense." she looked over to her brother and decided to just say it. "William's your son, right?" and there it was, the truth out in the open and she could see her brother tense up at the fact.

"Yes he is." there was no reason to keep the charade any longer. His sister had all the facts, and he figures he should just be honest. Thea sighed, a bit surprised by his admission. She'd had a bunch of information, and they all pointed to one thing, but to hear that it was true was a bit shocking, but she didn't show it.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I did." Oliver says, his eyes looking back down to that picture of his daughter. "I planned on marrying the love of my life, and we were having a baby." he looked back over to his sister. "And I couldn't mess that that up with secrets and lies. Samantha made me promise that if I ever wanted to have a relationship with William, then I couldn't tell anyone."

"But you told Twinkie?" Oliver nodded. "How did that conversation go?"

"Surprising." Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "Our baby was just born, and we didn't want her to come with our relationship muddled with bullshit, so we put everything on the table. I told her about Samantha, and William and who he was and she took it kind of hard, but she accepted it, accepted his place in our lives." Thea stared a bit surprised. Surprised at the revelation, but mostly surprised at her brother. The decision to be upfront with Katie from the beginning was a very risky step, but he knew he didn't want that secret in their marriage.

"Oliver you have a son. Robyn has a big brother." Thea shook her head, still just trying to really believe it. "And you guys have decided how to handle this?"

"At the moment Samantha calls the shots. She doesn't want this to be public knowledge which I hate because I really do want to be in his life, I mean, he's my son." Oliver hadn't said the words that often, but when he did, it always surprised him how much they stirred inside of him. For the longest time, he'd been trying to mentally prepare himself for one kid, and now he has two.

"I guess I understand her decision to keep this under wraps. I mean as far as she knows, you are a rich playboy who slept with a bunch of women and got her pregnant."

"I'm not that person anymore."

"I know, now you're the Green Arrow. Anyone who comes into your life is automatically a target." Oliver turned away knowing the words were true. It's why he would always worry about Katie and Robyn's safety. "And I know you're thinking about my little Robyn, but she has a whole army around her, between you, and Twinkie, there's Jacob and his ARGUS army. William doesn't have that. Keeping this secret keeps him safe." Oliver sighed, when his phone suddenly rang. Talking about his family being in danger automatically made him think something was wrong, and so he quickly answered it.

He was relieved it was only John, but the call was a lead and Oliver stood to his feet. Andy had passed along to John a possible building that might be Darhk's next target.

"Text me the address. I'll be right there." Oliver ended the call and looked to Thea who stood as well. "Thea...thanks"

"For what?"

"For saying the things I needed to hear." Thea gave her brother a nod before watching him rush off.

That night, Katie had successfully gotten Robyn bathed and changed into her pajamas, and was now watching the baby's heavy eyes finally close as she drifted off to sleep. She carefully stood from the rocking chair and placed the baby into her crib before easing out of the room. Once Katie was in the clear, she literally ran to her bedroom to finally get herself showered and dressed for the debate.

Felicity cursed once again as she rolled her chair off the elevator at Palmer Tech. She'd maxed out the power to her computers in the lair trying to search for a possible target in this city that could be going boom soon. She decided to see if Curtis' computers would be better. What she definitely didn't expect when she came into Curtis' lab was to find the man standing next to her fiance. He quickly closed the screen, before they both turned to her.

"Bruce, what are you doing here?" she asked looking at the pair in suspicion. "I thought you were headed home to get some rest. You said you had a headache. A mind numbing headache that caused you to leave. And yet you're here." Bruce looked down to the woman trying to think of a way to handle this situation. "I'm waiting."

"Ok, I don't want to lie to you. The truth is-" he glanced over to Curtis hoping for some awesome words to get them out of this predicament. "We were uh-" he cleared his throat turning back to Felicity, when he finally thought of something. "We working working on a surprise." It was the truth after all.

"A surprise? You and Curtis?" she looked between the two men. Sure they were friendly in passing, but they were two very different people so she couldn't even imagine how this surprise came to be. "I call bullshit. What's going on?"

"That's the truth, Ms. Smoak. We're working on a surprise for you, and we are going to tell you about it really soon."

"How soon?"

"Sooner than you think." he leaned forward, placing a kiss to her cheek, "Was everything alright?"

"Yeah, I was hoping to use Curtis' mainframe since I maxed out mine." she handed her laptop to Curtis.

"I'll do my best." he said as he looked over the laptop, before looking back to the woman who still looked between him and Bruce with narrowed eyes. "I'm just going to-" he pointed to the other side of the lab and walked away.

"Bruce Anthony Wayne, what are you up to?" Felicity asked, and Bruce grimaced when she said his full name. He looked down to her for a moment, before his lips met hers. When he pulled back, the woman was a bit breathless, her eyes still lidded, before looking up to his eyes.

"It's a surprise Ms. Smoak, and you're going to like it." with another kiss to her lips he stood up straight. "We should be getting ready for the debate, right?"

Katie had tried on three outfits before settling on the blue, belted a-line dress that she paired with a blue knit bolero. She stood in the full length mirror, smoothing out the dress once again. She combed her fingers through her hair that was pulled back into tousled bun, a few loose curls framing her face. She looked at herself for a moment feeling like something was missing, and that's when she placed a hand on her bare neck. She turned and hurried over to her jewelry box and pulled out the pearl necklace. It belonged to her mother, and she rarely wore it, but she figured tonight would be just the occaision. She walked back over to the mirror, attempting to clasp the necklace when she turned as Oliver walked into the room. The man was fully dressed, which means he dressed at the hideout before coming to pick her up.

"Let me help you." Oliver came over, grabbing the necklace and fastening around her neck. When he was done, his hands slid down her side, before resting on her waist. "You look breathtaking, Mrs. Queen." a smile came to Katie's face at the compliment. She really had been completely nervous about the right thing for her to wear tonight. She turned in the man's arms, looking him over, and running a hand along his shoulder.

"And you are looking very handsome, Mr. Queen." she replied, her hands reaching forward to adjust his blue tie. It's now something she does, even when they both know its fine. But it's now a habit she can't seem to stop, and one Oliver seems to love. He looks down to see her focused on his tie, before looking up to the man. "So, are you ready to do this?"

"I think I am." he pulled her closer in his arms, leaning in for a kiss, but she shook her head before pulling away.

"No, no dear husband." she turned around in his arms back to the mirror. "I finally got this makeup to look exactly how I want it, and so that means no smooches for you." she smoothed out the dress once again, for some reason she kept seeing small wrinkles and she scrunched her face into a frown, seriously temped to change again.

"Hey, look at me." Katie looked up to the man's reflection in the mirror. "What's wrong?"

Katie shook her head, "I just want this night to go perfectly, I don't want to mess this up for you." Oliver looked at her in confusion, before spinning her around to face him. "I just want to look the part of the Mayor's wife."

"Twinkie, you're my wife, and I don't care what you wear." Oliver said, once again leaning forward, determined to kiss her, but she once again turned away.

"Nice try, Mr. Queen." She walked over to slip on her shoes, and then she grabbed her purse before turning to the man and froze. "I can't do this." she looked over to him and shook her head. "I can't leave my baby with a total, complete stranger." Oliver let out a sigh before taking the woman's hand.

"Twinkie, you like Gloria, she has all the degrees, and certifications that you like, and she's also highly recommended by Lyla."

"I don't know. Some ARGUS nanny, just seems weird to me." Katie replies dropping her head to Oliver's chest.

"She's the only one you pulled a knife on and she didn't even flinch." Oliver said, and Katie laughed lightly. That was truly the selling point.

"Ok." Katie says taking another deep breath, before nudging her head for them to go. After kissing Robyn goodnight the pair headed downstairs where they found Gloria moving about in the kitchen cleaning. Katie's eyes were wide, as she watched the woman. "Oh, you didn't have to do that. I was going to get to it-" the woman looked over to them and just shook her head.

"It's no problem at all. The mess would've bothered me." Gloria, was an older lady, older than both Oliver and Katie, but not by too much. Her short brown hair held a few loose grays. She was the only candidate both Oliver and Katie agreed on, even though Katie was still hesitant about leaving her daughter. Even after the very extensive, and probably illegal background check Felicity had provided, she still wasn't comfortable at all. "Don't you two look nice. I'm rooting for you tonight, Mr. Queen."

"Thanks, Gloria. We were just heading out." Oliver brought an arm around Katie and pulled her toward the door.

"And you have all of our numbers, and our friend's numbers?" Katie asked

"They're all programmed into my phone." Gloria assured.

"And the pediatrician's number-"

"Also programmed in my phone. Along with your bodyguards outside, and police Captain Lance. I even have a SWAT team on speed dial at the ready if need be. Don't worry, your little girl will be safe with me." Katie stood there for a moment, and she was nodding, but she wasn't actually moving her feet.

"If she wakes up, and she doesn't need a new diaper, sing twinkle, twinkle little star, and if that doesn't work, this is very important-" Katie took a step forward. "Sing Lil Jon's Get Low. If you don't know it, look it up."

"Wait, that's what you were singing to her?" Oliver asked looking over to Katie who couldn't even look at him right now. He wasn't aware of her song choice, or the fact that the baby seemed to drift back to sleep as she sang about windows, and walls and the sweat that dripped down- "Twinkie?"

"We should get going, right?" Katie says moving around the man for the door. Gloria, followed the couple to the front door, and watched as Katie once again stopped and turned to the woman. "And if everything fails and you can't get her to fall back asleep, just call me, call Oliver too, but call me first."

"You have my word." the woman nodded. Katie gave a smile, but she still felt Oliver's eyes on her.

"He's still judging me, isn't he?"

"I think so, dear." the woman replied as she laughed at the couple.

"I can't believe you sang to our daughter a song about balls." Oliver said, and Katie rolled her head before turning to walk out the door. "Twinkie-" she sighed, but stopped and turned back to the man.

"Liver, I-" her words were stolen by the man's lips suddenly covering hers. When he pulled back, she saw the smile on his lips that were now stained with her lipstick. She shook her head, and reached up to wipe it away. "You really don't give up, do you?"

"Not on Twinkie kisses." he said, before turning and waving goodbye to Gloria who laughed as she locked the door behind them.

When they arrived at the auditorium, the place was already filled with people. Thea was waiting to snag Oliver just to go over his talking points once again.

"So Ruvé's probably gonna question you on your party boy past, but if she does, we just got to-" she tried to think of a good diversion on the topic, but she really couldn't. "oh, if she does, just steer the conversation back towards the issues."

"I've got it." Oliver gave a nod, his eyes searching the backstage. He and Thea had been walking around going over the topics, and assumed when they ended up backstage again he'd spot his wife, but she wasn't there.

"We got about 20 minutes until we're live, so how are you feeling?" Thea turned noticing the expression on her brother's face. " Are-are you nervous at all or-" she turned trying to follow his eyes.

"I don't think nervous is in Oliver's vocabulary." both turned at Felicity's voice who stood beside her mother who seemed to go all out for the event. Felicity glanced up from her phone and shook her head. She really didn't want to be at the debate, but Oliver wanted to know the moment there was news about the next attack, and her mother wanted to be somewhere with flashing cameras, and so here she was. "And I'm assuming that look on his face has more to do with the fact that he doesn't see his wife."

"Oh, she's out schmoozing." Donna says looking in the compact mirror in her hand as she puts on the finishing touches to her makeup. She'd been excited about the prospect of being on television or her picture taken, that she didn't even care that it would be a boring mayoral debate. Oliver quirked a brow, and the woman looked over to him, and pointed a thumb behind her. Oliver walked over, and peeked through the curtain. His eyes scanned over the crowd, until he spotted Katie. She was near the stage, a small crowd of people around her, and something was said, and they all were laughing. She turned, and met his eyes and he gave a slight nudge of his head and Katie gave a nod before turning and pointing up toward the stage where she hurried up to.

The moment she was in arms reach, Oliver's hand wrapped around her waist, her hands going to his chest.

"What was that?" Oliver asked.

"That was me, being the best darn mayoral candidate's wife that I could be. I think I just got you a couple of more votes." she said and the man shook his head before leaning in, but she backed away. "We're not doing this again. You're not messing up my make up, and you should be focused right now."

"I am focused. I'm focused on you, and the fact that you're trying really hard to be-" he shook his head. "Something you don't have to be."

"I just-" Katie dropped her eyes from his and let out a sigh.

"What?"

"Oliver!" they both turned to Felicity who stood with Thea, Donna off somewhere. She held up her phone, and Oliver turned back to Katie who nudged her head. He took her hand and the couple walked over."

"What's wrong?"

"I know what building HIVE is planning on taking down. It's this one." Felicity said. Katie felt Oliver's hand slight grip her own. "Ok. I have a million questions, but first, why would HIVE try to attack the debate?"

That was a good question.

"To take me out, discourage anyone else from running."

"No, Ruvé is here," Katie replies with a shake of her head. "That wouldn't make sense."

"Unless Darhk's Demolition Team is gonna wipe everyone out except Ruvé.

"Leaving Mrs. Darhk a sympathetic survivor instead of the pot of evil stew that she is." Felicity muttered with a shake of her head.

"Can you identify the likely areas the bombs would be?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah. According to the schematics, it's these 3 points, but this building, it's huge."

"Which means split up and cover more ground." Oliver looked over to his sister.

"Ok. Good thing we brought a change of clothes."

"Call Laurel and Diggle." he turned back to Felicity. "Can you hack the fire alarm? We need to evacuate the building."

"It's an old system. It might take me a minute." the woman was typing furiously on her phone when suddenly the fire alarm went off, but it wasn't her who did it. They all looked over to Thea who'd simply pulled the alarm right in front of them.

"Yeah. I—I learned that in high school." Thea said, before glancing Oliver who turned to Katie.

"I want you to go outside with Felicity." Oliver said, and he saw the opposition in her eyes as she shook her head.

"I can help you."

"And I don't doubt that, but right now I need to know you're safe. We can handle this, just go, please." the man didn't wait for a response, before turning and rushing off with Thea. Katie grit her teeth, taking a step forward, but Felicity caught her hand. Katie let out a sigh before turning to the woman, about to say something, but suddenly Donna came running over nearly pushing them for the door. They barely had a chance to grab their jackets before they filtered outside in the crowd.

Katie turned, taking a step back toward the auditorium, but a hand once again caught her wrist, and she growled turning back to Felicity.

"Hey, I know you're freaking out, but you just can't."

"Of course she can't!" Donna says glancing around at the crowd. "There could be a fire. Where's Oliver and Thea?"

"I think they're still inside making sure everyone got out ok." Felicity says turning back to Katie whose eyes were staring off. Felicity followed the woman's dark glare, and mentally cursed. "Twinkie, don't-" Katie pulled from Felicity's grasp. "It's not a good idea."

"Well that's going around tonight." Katie replied with a smile before stalking off toward Ruvé who was further down the block. She was only a few feet away from the woman when one of her security guards took a step in front of her to block her. "Call your dogs off, Ms. Adams, I just want to talk."

"It's fine," Ruvé said, and the guard moved aside, letting Katie take the few steps toward the woman. "Strange night, isn't it?" there was a very cocky smirk that curled on the woman's face that made Katie want to do nothing but punch it until it fell off. "I hope everyone got out ok." she glanced around the faces of the crowd. "I don't see your husband, I hope-"

"You're like him." Katie says, and Ruvé turned to her with a quirked brow. "Like your husband, Mr. Darhk." the smile on the woman's face widened. She had no doubt Katie knew who she was, and who her husband was, but the beauty of it all was that there was nothing she could do about it. "You think you're cunning, that you've outsmarted us."

"I do more than think, Mrs. Queen." the woman says taking a step forward, making sure the smile was still on her lips in case any eyes looked their way. "Your husband has made enemies with the wrong people. You have made enemies with the wrong people, and by the end of tonight-"

"By the end of the night, if I'm not blissfully arriving at home with my husband, I'm going to rip your heart out of your chest with my bare hand and-" the smile widens on Katie's face as she looked down to the woman. Ruvé opened her mouth to speak, but Katie lifted her hand. "No, no more speaking." and the woman would've opposed the order, but it was strange. Ruvé's mouth was open, and that signal to her brain was there, telling it to create words and make them come out of her mouth, but it just didn't. "As I was saying, there's a new game. Make sure your husband knows that, make sure you show him the fear in your eyes right now. Now I'm going to walk away, and you will miraculously be able to speak again, and with your voice back in tact, you're going to pick up your phone and call off whatever bastards you have inside trying to hurt my husband." Katie places a hand on the woman's shoulder, smile still curled on her lips. "Because if you don't—" Katie leaned in slightly, and pressed a kiss to the woman's cheek. "I'll rip your tongue out and make sure you can never utter a word again." she pulled back and Ruvé gasp at the sight of the woman's eyes that were a dark shade gray, practically black before they're normal again. Katie chuckled and gave the woman another gentle pat on her shoulder. "Speak." and with a nod, Katie turned and walked back over to Felicity and Donna who seemed to be watching the whole exchange.

"Nice chat?" Donna asked, and Katie turned to the woman with a bright smile, before glancing to the worried look on Felicity's face.

"Oh, the best."

After a while, news began to spread that another explosion attempt had been foiled, and that the suspects were in custody, and everyone was safe to go back inside.

Katie found herself in the bathroom, staring at her reflection as she touched up her lipstick. When she was done, she smiled at herself, not surprised how normal she looked. It was as if she'd mastered the art of hiding in plain sight. That darkness that used to just be twinge in her stomach was now pulsating underneath her skin, practically begging to be let out. It was holding on by a thin thread Katie found slipping slowly.

" _Oh, Nura,_ " Katie turned her eyes to the sight of the face that started it all. The demon. " _Why are you fighting this? Just let go._ " Katie's eyes went back to her reflection, noticing the flicker of her eyes from brown to a cold black, and she felt the chill down her spine. " _It's only a matter of time before the choice is no longer yours."_

There was a knock at the door, and Katie turned her head and sighed before looking back to the mirror, and he was gone. She shook her head before slipping her lipstick back into her clutch, and opening the door. She should've expected to see Felicity once again, frown lines still in place.

"We need to talk."

"We don't, we really don't." Katie walked around the woman, her eyes scanning the backstage area. "Have you seen Liver?" she looked over the faces, before turning to Felicity who was still staring up to her the look of judgment in her eyes. "What's with the look, Smoaks?"

"What was that with you and Ruvé Adams?"

"A very long overdo conversation, wife to wife." Katie glanced up once again looking for her husband. "Where'd your mom go?"

"She found someone who draws a lot of camera flashes." Felicity said with a shake of her head. "And don't change the subject. I saw how you were talking to her. You were different."

"No Smoaks, I was me." Katie spotted Oliver, and Thea rushing over. "Hey, are you alright?" she placed a hand on his cheek, and he gave a nod.

"Yeah," Oliver placed his hands on her waist, and let out a deep breath.

"Hey, you can't be nervous." she pulled herself closer to him, their eyes inches from one another. "I did not marry a nervous man." a smile came to his lips as he leaned in to capture her lips. "Whatever happens, remember I love you and I believe in you." With one more kiss Oliver was off and headed out to the stage. Katie took a step to the side, a smile on her face as she watched Oliver walk out, waving, a bright smile on his face as the crowd applauded. He turned and shook Ruvé's hand, and Katie noticed the slight frown on the woman's face, but it quickly disappeared. The pair turned and made their way to their podiums, Ruvé only by chance glanced over and spotted Katie who simply smirked with a wink.

"What's with the face?" Thea asked looking over to Felicity. "Wait, are you mad your mom is the lady on Bruce's arm for the pictures, because it is kind of weird."

"No." Felicity replied with a shake of her head, her eyes still on Katie. For some reason she couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong with her friend.

That evening, Katie stood on the balcony of Bruce and Felicity's penthouse her fingers brushing over the pearls around her neck. There was a party happening inside to celebrate the engagement of the couple. Anyone in Katie's position should be thrilled to finally get out of the house, to an actual party with adults, but that wasn't the case with the woman. It actually took convincing from Oliver when they returned home to come back out for the party. She only agreed with the promise that they wouldn't have to stay long. So they changed into a more formal party attire, and once again left their nanny with their daughter. The truth was that Katie's mind was so scattered, so unfocused. She was worried about everything. There was Darhk, and the fact that he may take offense to the threat she posed to his wife, there's Ari who she hasn't heard anything about in weeks. And to top it off, there was this darkness inside of her slowly taking control in moments she can't stop. A party just was not something she could get in the mood for.

"Look whose being anti social at a party filled with people." a voice spoke and Katie turned and looked down to Felicity. Surprisingly enough, Katie had been avoiding the woman since the debate. She didn't want to deal with the questions, or the judgmental stares. "What are you doing out here?"

"I just needed some air." Katie replied glancing inside to see all the people, not even able to imagine having to engage in a conversation. "Plus you know me," she looked back down to Felicity. "I'm not really into parties. I came to show my support for you and Bruce." Felicity didn't say anything for a moment, and Katie let out a sigh. "Smoaks."

"There's something going on with you. Something you and Oliver are not telling us about." Felicity said and Katie just shook her head. "Look, when we were captured by Darhk, and we were in that chamber-"

"Felicity,"

"No, because whatever that was, I have a feeling its still there, and it's doing something to you. I just want to help." Katie smiled down to the woman, before bending forward and placing a kiss to her cheek.

"I wish you could." Katie pulled back to look into the woman's eyes. "Congratulations, Smoaks, but I think I'm going to grab Oliver and go." Katie stood up and walked around the woman.

"Katie, wait!" Felicity called after her, but Katie was already sifting through the party in search of Oliver. She came to a stop when Bruce decided to block her path.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry? It's almost time for my surprise for my future wife."

"I'm not sure I can-"

"You're leaving?" Bruce asked, and Katie gave a nod, glancing over to where she spotted Oliver speaking with John. She moved to go around the man, but he caught her arm, pulling her back in front of him. "What's going on?" Katie turned back to him and just shook her head. "Hey whatever it is, you can tell me. You know that right? I know there's a lot going on with you right now, but you're not alone in this."

"You know people keep saying that." she glanced over to where Oliver was still talking to John, both laughing at something she couldn't hear. She looked back over to Bruce and shrugged. "Somehow, some way I've found my way back in hell," the man opened his mouth to speak but she continued. "And I know you think you can help me through it, and Oliver thinks he can help me through it, but you can't. I have to either figure this out, or let it beat me." Bruce looked at her for a moment, unsure what kind of hope he could give her. He knew the truth of where that feeling stemmed from. Knew the man they've been hunting was connected to her on a deeper level. He also knew the moment she found out the truth would be the moment she truly gave up the fight.

"Come with me."

Katie shook her head.

"No, this is your party Bruce. You are marrying the woman you love and this is a party to celebrate that." she placed a hand to his cheek and smiled. "You deserve this happy moment, and I'm not going to let you slip out of it." Bruce opened his mouth to reply when a hand touched his shoulder. He turned to see the smiling face of Curtis Holt.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but it's that time." Curtis said. Bruce gave the man a nod before turning to Katie.

"Don't go anywhere yet." Bruce placed a kiss to Katie's cheek before he and Curtis went off to find Felicity.

Katie stood there, her arms unconsciously wrapping around herself. Her eyes looked at the faces around her, all the people in this room, and she felt as if none of them saw her. None of them saw just how quickly she was falling down the rabbit hole before their eyes. A hand slid around her waist, and she looked up with a smile automatically appearing on her face, attempting to hide the truth of how she was actually feeling.

"Hey," Oliver looked into her eyes, and remembered a time when he could never see what was going on in her head. And yet in this moment, she seemed to have lost that skill because there was fear in her eyes, and sadness. He brought his arms around her, and embraces her firmly. "Ok, we need to talk." he placed a kiss to her head before leading her toward the door.

"Oh my god!" Felicity called and they stopped and looked over to where she stood holding something in her hand as she looked from Curtis to Bruce. "Wha...how..." he eyes looked back to the small device in her hand, an implantable biostimulat Curtis called it, and she felt the tears swell in her eyes. "I can't believe-" she looked over to Bruce who couldn’t compare the sight of this woman right now to anything in the world. A smile came to her face and she reached out to take his hand, giving it a squeeze. "I don't know what to say." she looked over to Curtis with a shake of her head. "I-" she looked back down to the device. "This is going to help me walk again?"

"After it is implanted in your spine, yes." Curtis replied with a smile as well.

"Look, this won't be easy." Bruce said leaning down in front of her. "It's going to take some hard work for this to work the way we want it, but I have so much faith in you Ms. Smoak." Felicity smiled feeling the tears fall freely.

"You know you won't be able to call me that pretty soon." she replied as the man reached forward and brushed the tears away.

"I'm looking forward to that moment everyday." the smile on Bruce's face couldn't be helped as he looked over to the woman. Her eyes shifted, the smile dropping slightly. He turned following her gaze to see the moment Oliver and Katie walked out of the door. He shook his head before turning back to the woman in front of him.

"C'mon." she said glancing around the room. "We're about to make my mother very happy."

When they got into the car, Katie assumed Oliver would be driving them home. He said they needed to talk, and she already dreaded the conversation. She expected an immediate conversation in the car, but the man was surprisingly silent as they drove.

She'd gotten sucked into the silence, allowing herself to dive back into her brain of worrying about every detail of the catastrophe she knows is going to strike. Soon the car stopped, and the moment it did, she came back to reality, and when she did, she realized they weren't at home.

"Liver, what-" the man had exited the car, still not saying a word before walking around and opening her door, extending a hand to her. She looked at his hand for a moment, but took it and let him help her from the car. Her eyes scanned the area, a smile tugging at her lips as she took in the lost memories the place held. "What is it with you and this quarry?"

"Well this quarry is a place where a pretty important turning point happened in my life." Oliver says watching the woman as she walks over to edge. He follows after her, once again taking her hand in his.

"Right, that night with the fireworks, you realized you wanted to kiss me."

"Well I think I may have realized more than that, but didn't really understand it." Katie turned back to the man and sighed. "That night, was some of the most fun I'd had when I was kid, and then the police showed up and ruined it." Katie laughed at the memory. "Honestly, I thought we were in serious trouble too. It's why when they showed up, I took your hand-" he looked down to their hands before placing a kiss to her fingers. "And I promised myself I wouldn't let it go. That we were going to face it together." he looked up meeting her eyes. "Twinkie, I plan on keeping that promise for as long as I live, so I need you to talk to me." Katie placed her hand on Oliver's cheek, not sure what exactly she should say. She was afraid if she really told him the things going on inside of her right now, it would truly frighten him the way it's frightened her. She shook her head, and decided to just turn and walk back to the car, and hopefully out of this conversation, but she should've known her husband wouldn't go for that. He was still holding her hand, so when she turned to walk away, he simply held onto her. "You have to let me help you." she wanted to, she really wanted to, but she knew the truth.

"That's just it, Liver." she turned back to him and shrugged. "Whatever is happening to me, whatever this thing is moving inside of me, you can't take it out. I have to fight every day so it doesn't win, and I don't get lost in it." she dropped her head, no longer wanting so see that look in his eyes. "I know you want to help me with this fight, but you can't, you just-"

"Hey," Oliver slid his arms around her waist, and pulled her body against him, leaving no space between them. "You still think you have to do this on your own, but you can let me in. You can tell me everything you're feeling, you can tell me everything you're afraid of, and I will help you through it." Katie dropped her head to his chest, and Oliver placed a kiss to the top of her head.

"You're already helping me. You and our daughter are the only things keeping me here."

The window was locked, but it didn't mean Arianna Locke wouldn't try to open it. She was pretty sure her hands would start to blister if she didn't stop right now. She finally let go of the handle, and looked around the bathroom for anything heavy enough to maybe break the glass. She shook her head because she knew that would draw attention, and right now she couldn't risk it. A knock on the door made her freeze.

"Are you alright in there?" said the voice of the little girl that was seriously annoying Ari. "Should I get my dad?" Ari's eyes widen, and she quickly ran over to the door, opening it with a smile as she shook her head.

"I'm fine, I was just day dreaming I guess." Ari said, and the girl laughed.

"I so do that too sometimes." she said before nudging her head. "C'mon, daddy brought another friend." the girl grabbed Ari's hand and pulled her with her. The moment they walked into the living room, she saw the man she wanted so badly to die...Damien Darhk. Ari quickly stopped her feet before they got too close, but the young girl didn't seem to mind before walking over.

"Hey Nora, Arianna, there's someone I would like you to meet." the man said before taking a step to the side to reveal a young boy who looked about Nora's age. "This is William. William's mother asked us to look after him. He'll be staying with us for a while." Nora smiled before politely reaching out to shake the boy's hand.

"Nice to meet you William. Want to play?" William smiled before following the girl to a table that held a few board games and coloring books.

Ari glanced over to the boy, before turning her glare to the man who brought him and she just shook her head.

"Don't be rude Arianna, say hi." Darhk said and Ari scoffed before turning about to head back to her room to find a way out. She'd only taken a step before her feet just stopped working. She looked down to them and strained to make them move, but they just wouldn't. She heard his heavy footsteps behind her, and soon he appeared in front of her. "We've talked about this Arianna. If you want to get home safely, you have to be a little nicer here."

"Fuck you, you bastard." she grit through her teeth as she looked at him. "This is kidnapping. That boy's mother didn't ask you to keep him, did she? I know why I'm here. You're going to try to use me to get something from Oliver, or my cousin, but it won't work." Darhk only laughed at her tenacity. He'd met people bigger and stronger than her that would never think to talk to him in this way.

"Funny, there is no blood relation between you and your cousin, but you have that fire inside of you just as she does. But the thing about fire," he glanced over to where Nora and William were playing blissfully ignorant to what was happening just a few feet away. He turned back to Ari, and grabbed her face tight with his hand, and she let out a slight whimper. "It can always be extinguished, and trust me Arianna, if you upset me, I'll huff and I'll puff, and that's not something you're going to want to be around when it happens. Now," he grabbed her shoulders and forced her to turn around. "Go be an angel, play with the kids." Soon she felt the feeling back in her feet, and decided for now she would be compliant, and so she walked over, taking a seat on the floor across from Nora and William. She glanced over to Darhk who gave her a smile, and to his amusement she smiled right back.

He just knew she was going to be more trouble than she's worth.


	20. Trigger No. 1

**Chapter 20**

**  
Trigger No. 1**

_"I am terrified by this dark thing_

_That sleeps in me;_

_All day I feel its soft, feathery turnings, its malignity."_

_― Sylvia Plath, Ariel_

* * *

Katie made a promise to herself this morning. She was going to be happy. She was not going to think about Damien Darhk, or freaky abilities, or even the darkness coursing through her veins.

Because today, Katie was getting married...again. Today was the day of their official wedding and both she and Oliver were very excited it was finally here. The night before the couple was dragged away by their friends for bachelor/bachlorette celebrations. But since Oliver wasn't a bachelor, and Katie wasn't a bachlorette, the celebrations weren't as wild.

John and Bruce took Oliver out for a night of drinking which they all seemed to enjoy. Given their age, they weren't looking for any wild parties which they were sure was the opposite thinking of the girls. They did however do a little late night crime fighting just to give the night some kind of adventure. They never figured out how the women spent that night, but they had the feeling they probably wouldn't want to know.

At the moment, Katie was alone in the bride's room, which she knew wouldn't last long. Thea and Felicity were moving about like chickens with their heads cut off ensuring that everything was happening as planned, but she knew they'd be back soon once again smothering her with attention and questions, and suggestions. Katie was just impressed how well the two women were functioning after the previous night's adventures.

Her make up was done, and it looked flawless and she smiled because she truly was looking forward to this day, and the man waiting for her at the end of that aisle. Her eyes then turned to the dress that hung from closet door and she sighed. That dress was perfect. When she mentioned to Felicity and Thea about wanting a yellow wedding dress, both seemed the think the idea was strange, but then they saw this dress. This off the shoulder, pale yellow dress, with a lace and beaded bodice was completely breathtaking and she knew it was the dress the moment she saw it.

The door suddenly opened and a smile came to her face at the sight of Gloria who had Robyn on her hip. Katie stood to her feet and walked over already extending her hands for the baby.

"Aw, you're so cute in your dress." Katie says pulling the baby into her arms, and looking down to the pale yellow and white dress she was wearing. She reached up and straightened the flower headband on the baby's head before placing a kiss to her cheek.

"We thought you'd like to see her before the ceremony began." Gloria said and Katie looked over and gave a nod.

"I've missed my little one." Katie kissed her cheek once again and hugged her to her chest as she walked over to sit on the couch near the window. "How was she last night?" Gloria chuckled walking over to take the seat across from the woman. Katie and Oliver had called numerous times last night just to check in and Gloria just found them both adorable with their worry.

"She was perfect. We played with blocks, and we had her favorite dinner, peas and carrots."

"She hates peas and carrots."

"I know, but we are going to work on more veggies in her diet, because she is going to live a long healthy life, isn't that right little bird." Gloria said, smiling down to the little girl.

"Little bird?" Katie said, and Gloria simply laughed with a shake of her head.

"Your guards are pretty talkative when you and Mr. Queen aren't around." Gloria chuckled. "The consensus is, they fear you more than your husband."

"Then my work is done." Katie replied placing a kiss to the top of Robyn's head, just as a knock sounded at the door. Gloria stood to open it, but the person simply walked in without another word... because it was Thea and she had no sense of privacy sometimes. She rushed in, her eyes going wide at the sight of Katie sitting in a robe, little Robyn in her lap.

"Why aren't you dressed?!" Thea shook her head before coming over and plucking the baby from Katie's arms, placing a kiss on her cheek and handing her back to Gloria. "The wedding is going to be starting soon, you two should go get your seats." Gloria chuckled but stood with the baby and made their way back out to their seats.

"Thea, did you really just bust in here, take my daughter from my arms and then send her away?" Katie asked standing to her feet.

"I did, because we can't be late." Thea said turning and plucking the dress from the hook and handing it to Katie before reaching down to pull open the rope of her robe, but Katie pushed her hands away.

"I can dress myself Thea." Katie shook her head before stalking off behind the folding screen. "And I find it hard to believe that I'm the one you're worried about making us start late. How is your brother coming along?" Thea muttered something that Katie couldn't quite hear. "What?" Thea opened her mouth, only to be interrupted by the newly up and walking Felicity Smoak who came rushing in. Once the implant was inserted into her spine, Felicity Smoak took on physical therapy like a champ. It had only been a few weeks, but she'd made extensive progress. At the moment she wasn't supposed to be pushing herself, and she knows she'll hear another lecture from her fiancé, but there was a wedding happening and she was going to make sure it went off without a hitch.

"What's going on? Is she ready? Because she needs to be ready like now, where-" Felicity turned to the folding screen, and both her and Thea's eyes lit up the moment Katie stepped from behind the screen dawned in the pale yellow, sleeveless wedding dress. "Oh my god, you look-" Thea wasn't an overly emotional person, and honestly she'd seen the woman wearing the dress dozens of times before, but there was something different about this time. It was real. This moment was real, and for some reason she felt tears in her eyes.

"Thea, don't, no crying you can't-" she turned to Felicity whose eyes seemed to be glistening as well and she just shook her head. "We are not crying now, because crying takes time and you two keep telling me we don't have enough of that. Now what did you say about Liver?" Thea and Felicity shared a look before turning back to Katie who looked between them with a quirked brow. "What the hell was that look? What's going on?"

"Everything is under control." Felicity said taking a step forward and placing a comforting hand to Katie's arm and smiling. "Oliver is...well he's-" Felicity glanced over to Thea who slumped her shoulders knowing she was going to have to tell the truth.

"Oliver isn't here." Thea finally said, and Katie's eyes almost popped out of her head. "Yet! He's not here yet! I just talked to him, and he's driving like a bat out of hell to get here. There was a possible lead on Darhk, but it was just a few HIVE flunkies that got away."

"Kind of expected a lie right now Thea!" Felicity groaned through her teeth, before turning a smile back to Katie. "Look everything is-"

"No, everything is not under control because my husband decided on our wedding day to go chase after Damien Darhk." Katie said folding her arms over her chest. "He thought today of all days, that was the perfect thing to do?" Katie spun around searching for her phone. "Where the hell is my phone?"

"Hey, this is a happy day, Ollie is literally seconds-" Thea's phone beeped and she looked down to it, smiling wide. "Scratch that he is in the building and rushing off to get dressed." she looked up to Katie who still didn't look happy. "It was a last minute lead, mostly everyone was here and he thought-"

"He'd play the hero on our wedding day." Katie shook her head before turning and stalking out of the room.

"Hey, no, no-" Felicity and Thea went rushing after the woman.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Thea called.

"I'm going for a walk." Katie replied and Thea groaned.

"But the wedding-"

"I know, but if Oliver can just go out on a whole villain search I can go for a walk to decide if I want to marry him today." Katie replied before stalking out the back door.

"This is so not good." Thea muttered turning to Felicity who stared at that back door with wide eyes before turning to Thea. "What do we do now?"

"I'm thinking." Felicity sighed.

John Diggle would be glad when this day was over and the happy couple would be off on their honeymoon. He and Oliver just rushed through the door of the groom's room where they both were trying to get into their tuxedos.

"We got five minutes Oliver!" John called quickly pulling on his jacket before grabbing his bow tie.

"I can't find my shoes!" Oliver snapped angrily, rushing from behind the folding screen, pants on, but shirt unbuttoned and no shoes on his feet. "Where are-" John turned spotting the black shoes before quickly grabbing them and handing them to Oliver. "Thanks." Oliver rushed over to sit, slipping his feet into his shoes before beginning to button his shirt. "Twinkie is going to kill me if I'm late."

"We're not going to be late, just breathe man." John says and Oliver stood to his feet taking a deep breath. He began tucking his shirt in as the door burst open and in ran his sister.

"Speedy we're almost-"

"We have a new problem!" Thea said rushing over and grabbing the bow tie from the table and pulling it around her brother's neck. "So remember when I told you that if Twinkie asked about you, that I would tell her the truth-" she looked up seeing her brother's dark eyes. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago-"

"Yes, but I told you to just stall." Oliver says pulling away from his sister before grabbing his tuxedo jacket. "She's upset, isn't she?" he turned back to his sister and let out a huff. "Speedy?"

"She left." Thea said, and Oliver stopped moving.

"What do you mean she left? Left where? Where is she?"

"After I told her about your mission which I told you not to go on, she was expectantly upset, but I told her you were here and getting ready, and she was still grrr." Thea shook her head. "She said she was going to go for a walk to decide if she wanted to marry you today."

"Thea, I told you to stall!" Oliver said once again before turning and stalking out of the room.

"Hey, you said stall, not lie!" Thea replied as she and John rushed out of the room to catch up to the man. "Where are you going?"

"To find my wife."

"Oliver we're literally supposed to be out there right now." Thea said rushing to stand in front of her brother. "The Twinkie situation is being handled."

"How?"

"I called in the big guns, now let's-" she brought an arm around her brother. "Let's get you into place."

Katie sat on the limestone bench that was placed in front of a large sculpted water fountain that looked absolutely gorgeous with it's lights this late evening. She was supposed to smile at the sight, but she was still angry.

"Oh, thank god." a voice spoke from behind her, and she turned with a quirked brow to see Quentin Lance looking pretty snazzy in his suit. "Everyone's going crazy trying to-" the man moved in front of her, finally able to see her completely in her dress. "Wow, you look beautiful." he noticed the look on her face was not the look of a happy bride. "You found out about Oliver's last minute adventure, huh? It really was just another attempt to finally get rid of this bastard."

"I get that, I really do." Katie replies standing to her feet and letting out a deep breath. "It's just for some reason today I thought was just going to be completely perfect." she walked over to the fountain and watched as the cascading water poured from the statue. "Darhk is still out there, and I'm still-" she sighed before turning back to the man and just shook her head. "This is stupid. This wedding, and all of this is stupid. It's an act, and it's not real it's-" she continued to shake her head suddenly hit with the urge to cry. "It's a fantasy, and when you realize a fantasy isn't real it's the worst pain you can ever feel."

"Hey," Lance walked over raising a hand to comfort her, but he doesn't. He drops his hand back to his side. They were a bit cordial, nice even, but he wasn't sure she truly forgave him and he didn't want to push. "Look I remember the day I married Dinah. I was wreck. I kept thinking about all the ways she was ruining her life by tying herself down to me." Katie lifted her eyes to the man who shrugged. "Then I realized something. I loved her, more than anything, and that single thought trumped all those insecurities and fears."

"Did you really just give me advice based on the wedding to your now ex-wife?" Katie asked, and Lance cracked a smile.

"I know, probably not the best example, but it was true at the time. Look you and Oliver are already married, so yeah maybe all of this is just a show and dance, but at the heart of it is two people who are crazy about each other wanting to show the world." Katie took another deep breath as Lance felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it from his jacket pocket and looked down with a shake of his head. "It's Felicity, and it's a message in all caps." he looked back over to the woman. "Look in the end it's up to you." Katie gave the man a nod.

"Ok, ok-" she looked down to her dress smoothing it out a bit before looking back up to the man. "Can you give me five minutes? I just need a little bit more time to just breathe without all the eyes on me."

"Sure." the man gave a nod before turning to leave.

"Quentin-" the man stopped and looked over to the woman who he doesn't think he's ever heard her call him by his first name. "Thank you. And if the offer still stands, would you mind escorting me down the aisle, I can be clumsy, and I don't want to fall down today." A smile broke out across Quentin's face, and he swallowed the sudden emotion that hit him in this moment.

"It would be my honor. I'll meet you up there." he said and Katie gave a nod before watching him finally leave.

The woman let out another deep breath before turning back to the fountain. She lifted her eyes to the sculpted bushes and just shook her head.

"I guess you're the reason I even know you're out there, just watching me creepily." she waited for a moment, but heard the slight rustling before Jacob walked from them. "For a dead man, you sure like to show up at the most crowded of places. The whole city is practically on the other side of this garden."

"Well today is my daughter's wedding." Jacob said with a smile as he walked over to her, getting close, but not too much. "And nothing was going to stop me from seeing her on her big day." he looked her over, and he placed a hand over his heart, his chest filling with so much emotion at the moment seeing his daughter, a bride on her wedding day. "I couldn't miss this." he looked up meeting her eyes, but she turned away from him with a shake of her head. "I wish I could be the one to walk you down the aisle."

"Oh, don't you-" she shook her head, turning about to walk away, but she stopped and turned back to him. "You were supposed to walk me down the aisle. You were supposed dote on your granddaughter and play peek a boo with her, you were supposed to give Oliver a hard time because even though you know he's a good guy, you just don't think he's good enough for your daughter." she took a step toward him. "You're supposed to come over for family dinners every Sunday night and tell old stories about you and mom, and you're—" she stopped because her own words were breaking her heart. "You were supposed to do a lot of things dad." she looked up to his eyes and shrugged. "But you didn't and now we're here." she nudged her head behind her. "I have to go do this wedding thing, and you have to-" she sighed. "Do whatever it is you do." she began backing away from the man before finally turning and walking away.

Jacob stood there, wanting to just fall apart at his daughter's words because he knew how true they were. He made choices, choices he couldn't take back even if he wanted to. And because of those choices, he wouldn't be able to give his only daughter away at her wedding. He lifted his head and turned with a huff.

"I didn't need back up for this Martin." Jacob grumbled as he watched Martin step out from the bushes. He shook his head, turning back to the spot his daughter once stood. "Even after all this time, she hates me, and I deserve it. I deserve all of it."

"She called you dad." Martin said, and Jacob turned to the man with a quirked brow. "In the middle of her little tirade, she called you dad. So yeah, she's still upset which is expected given what's happened, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost." Jacob slid a hand over his face before his eyes looked over to the fountain. "And despite what you believe, I'm not here because I thought you could use back up." Martin said, and Jacob looked back over to the man. "We've just gotten a status on your niece."

"Please tell me-" Jacob's question was interrupted by Martin's phone suddenly ringing. He pulled it from his pocket and glanced down with a quirked brow before looking back over to his boss. "Who is it?"

"Clark Kent." Martin replied before pulling the phone to his ear. It was then he heard news he just couldn't quite believe.

Katie heard the soft sounds of music and for some reason her heart starts ramming in her chest and she doesn't even know why. She spots Quentin whose just buttoning his blazer when he turns and spots her.

"Great." he takes a step back and gives a thumbs up, before walking back over to her. Soon the music changed, and Lance looped his arm with hers and began leading her toward the aisle, but Katie stopped.

"My bouquet—" she pulled away from him. She pointed behind her toward the main building. "It's back in the bride's room, and I can't get married with without a bouquet." she turned about to once again flee, but she stopped. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning back to Quentin who just stared at her waiting for to make another move.

"Hey, hi, what's happening?!" It was Felicity's voice that urgently whispered as she rushed between Quentin and Katie. "There's a wedding that's supposed to be happening right now. What's going on?"

"I uh, I don't have my bouquet, I was just going to go grab it and come right back." Katie says inching back. "Just five more minutes."

"Hey!" Thea appeared from around the corner, away from the eyes of the crowd. "What's going on? Ollie is freaking out." she looks over to Katie. "Why are we not walking down the aisle?"

"She doesn't have a her bouquet." Felicity said moving in closer to the woman. "It's just the guy standing back there at the end of that aisle doesn't care if there are flowers in your hands right now and-"

"Oh, I know!" Thea said quickly before rushing off, and a few seconds later returned with flowers she'd just plucked from a nearby flower patch. "Here you go!" she held the flowers out to Katie who looked at them for a moment before shaking her head.

"Smoaks is right, I don't need flowers." Katie said before turning to Quentin. "I can do this." she shooed Felicity and Thea back down aisle before looping her arm with Quentin.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked her and Katie closed her eyes and thought about Oliver and a smile came to her face. She was being neurotic and crazy and none of it mattered because there was this guy who'd take all of it, and she wasn't going to make him wait any longer. She opened her eyes and gave a nod.

"You know I think I am." Soon they rounded the corner and spotted the entry way to the ceremony. The moment their feet stepped onto the white carpet that lead all the way down the aisle, they stopped. Both pulled on a smile. "I'm so going to kill Thea for inviting the whole city." the woman grit through her smile before her eyes turned to the man who was standing at the other end smiling at her. She gave him a smile before looking over to Lance. "Seriously, make sure I don't fall." he chuckled but gave a nod before the pair started down the aisle.

Oliver Queen could usually handle any situation he was thrown into. He could be at the center of an attack, and usually not even feel even a little nervous. But at this moment, where the woman he loved wearing this beautiful yellow dress walked toward him, something happened. Even though they'd been actually been married for a few months now, right now, this moment he just couldn't really believe that this was happening, that after knowing this woman for years, after pretending that the feelings he was having just weren't there, after making the mistake of thinking they couldn't work, and breaking up with her...here they were.

The moment she was standing in front of him, he took her hand in his, his eyes looking to hers, and suddenly they didn't feel the eyes on them. It was just the two of them, with two big stupid smiles on their faces.

"You know I think I've lost count of how many weddings I've actually officiated. It's been a lot." Pastor Troy said, getting laughs at the statement. He looked between Oliver and Katie and a smile came to his face because he could see the couple were too wrapped up in each other at the moment. "But I think this wedding I will remember. You see the tale of Oliver and Katherine is very intricate, and by intricate I mean totally and completely crazy. Because standing before you are two people who are already married, already man and wife, already interlocked totally and completely to each other. And if I remember correctly, their first ceremony was held in a hospital room not too long after the birth of their daughter." the pastor chuckled glancing back out to the crowd. "And when I first heard that part, I was reluctant to do this. To officiate this "real wedding" because I assumed what this was. I assumed the couple standing in front of me were trying to create that spark that happens when a man and a woman become husband and wife. I assumed that Oliver and Katherine were trying to force themselves into the molds of the people they thought they should be. But I soon learned that these two people don't fit into any molds. There's a drum playing that only they hear, and they seem to be dancing to the beat of it. But I had to know the reason. Why marry so soon after having a baby, when emotions are so high, and you know what they told me. They said because they had to, because nothing made more sense in that moment, and you know what I believed them." the pastor looked back to the couple in front of him and smiled at the way they seemed so enamored with each other. "The truth is marriage is hard, it's a battle, and when you fight in that battle you're gonna need someone there by your side to keep you from getting knocked down. I believe the couple in front of me has already been through some battles, have already gotten knocked down a few times, but have found their way to come together to help each other get back up. But enough of the ramblings of this old man, how about we hear from the people of the hour. I believe the two of you have vows." eyes turned to Oliver and Katie who didn't seem to acknowledge that someone had spoke to them. "Eh-hem—"

It took Thea to take a step forward and nudge Katie's arm to break the trance the couple seemed to be stuck in. Katie turned to Thea with a quirked brow.

"Yeah, still a wedding happening, so let's try not to get stuck in Twiver land right now." Thea whispered, before turning to the crowd with a laugh, and they seemed to chuckle as well. She turned back to the couple. "Vows, you have to say your vows."

"Oh, um, right." Oliver said turning back to Katie with a smile before looking over to Pastor Troy. "Sorry." he looked back to Katie and just shook his head. "You know I could probably think of an infinite amount of things I could say right now about why the love I have for you compares to nothing in my life. I could recount detailed stories of moments where I absolutely knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life as your husband. But I won't because I don't think there's enough time in the world. What I will say is, I met you at a dinner party when we were kids, and I shook your hand, and I just knew-" Oliver dropped his forehead to Katie's, suddenly overcome with so many emotions at once. He took a deep breath, before he lifted his head and reached forward to dry the stray tears from her eyes. "I knew that you were special." Oliver placed a gentle kiss to her hand. "You have brought me an immense amount of joy, and I never-" he dropped his head again, because he was getting choked up with emotions again, but he really wanted to say these words. He took another deep breath before lifting his eyes back to the woman. "I never thought I would have anything like this, and now that I do, I promise you I will do everything in my power to never let it go. I promise you whatever direction our lives go, no matter where it takes us, we will do it together. Because you and our little girl are the reason I breathe, you're the reason I wake up in the morning, you're the reason I fight for this city as hard as I do. My life will be spent in devotion to you and our family, and there is nothing in this world that will change that."

_"If he only knew the truth."_

Katie didn't want to hear the sound of her uncle's voice now. Not this moment when the man she loves is saying such beautiful things to her.

" _He has no idea the destruction wrapped up in that pretty wife of his."_

Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath using whatever will power she had to block out the voice. She felt Oliver's hand give hers a squeeze, and Katie looked up to the smile on his face.

"Katherine, do have words?" Pastor Troy asked, and Katie glanced over to him and gave a nod before turning to Oliver.

"You know I tried to write something down for this moment, tried to come up with something that really captured how I felt about you, Liver, and everything I wrote was just bad." Oliver seemed to laugh at her, and she just shook her head. "And it was bad because it didn't truly say what I wanted it to say, and I don't think anything could. I mean there are billions of words in various languages, and none of them could truly convey the love I have for you. So I decided I was going to wing it, despite Thea's objection to the idea-" she glanced over to Thea who chuckled even though tears were pouring from her eyes. Katie turned back to Oliver and bit the corner of her lip before continuing. "Ok, so for the majority of our high school life I was taunted and teased with the nickname Twinkie." Oliver laughed, but gave a nod. "A name I found out you were the source of." the crowd just laughed at the revelation. "You see I hated that name. I hated the underlying insult when people said to me, or when they would write it on my locker." Katie shook her head. "My only comfort in life was that one day I would graduate, and I would never hear that horrible name again." she looked up meeting Oliver's eyes and smiled. "And then years later, I see you again, and the first thing you say to me is, "You're Twinkie." she dropped her eyes, swiping away stray tears. "And I so wanted to hit you, and I would've if I wasn't getting over the shock of realizing that you were alive." she looked up to his eyes still on her, and she let out a sigh. "But when you said it, I didn't hear an insult, and I didn't hear you teasing me. I heard something else. Something I heard every time you said it, something I didn't recognize at the time. But whatever it was made me not grimace every time you called me Twinkie. What ever it was made me get stupid butterflies when you called me your Twinkie. Now don't get me wrong, I still hate that nickname, and this is in no way me condoning-" she glanced out to the crowd. "Any of you to call me Twinkie, but-" she turned back to Oliver, sliding her hand from his grasp and placing them on this chest, smiling at the feel of his heartbeat against her fingers. "This is me saying that no matter what happens to us, no matter where life takes us, I will always be your Twinkie, and I will make you pancakes that actually look like pancakes, and I will drive you crazy in a way that only I can," she smiled wider slowly closing the distance between them. "I'm going to have more of your children, and I'm going to tease you relentlessly until we're old and gray." she placed a hand on his cheek, her thumb wiping away a tear from his eye. "Now this is your last chance, Mr. Queen. Are you sure-" Oliver's lips captured hers because he couldn't wait any longer, his patience was slowly running out and with every passing word that came out of her mouth he just wanted this. Pastor Troy cleared his throat and the crowd seemed to laugh.

"And yet another reason I don't think I will ever forget this wedding." Pastor Troy sighed with a shake of his head. "Mr. Queen, Mrs. Queen, as you celebrate your renewed commitment here today, and as you reflect on your life together as husband and wife, do you now wish to reaffirm the vows you took, what was it-" he looked over to Thea. "A few months ago?" she gave a nod and the man chuckled before turning back to the couple who were still kissing. "And I guess that is my answer. Mr. And Mrs. Queen—" he sighed once again. "Will you two stop for a minute." the couple pulled apart and looked over to the pastor who chuckled with a shake of his head. "We're almost done, don't worry. Oliver and Katherine, today you have renewed the vows you made to each other on your blessed wedding day. You have symbolized the renewal of your union by the joining of hands, the taking of vows, and by the wearing of your rings. It is with pleasure that I conclude the ceremony of renewing the vows of marriage that joined you and binds you as husband and wife. Please celebrate this renewal of vows with a kiss!" he gestured for Oliver and Katie to kiss. "Now you can kiss." Oliver turned to Katie with a smile, his arms wrapping around her before once again bringing her lips to his, neither even hearing the roar of applause and cheers.

There was a big, stupid smile on Katie's face as she stood off to the side of the dance floor and watched as Oliver swayed to the music, Robyn in his arms.

"That's the look I like on you." Katie turned her head to see Bruce as he pointed to her. "That smile on your face, I think that was what that husband of yours was hoping for." he walked over to stand beside her, and smiled at the sight of Oliver dancing with the baby. Bruce lightly nudged Katie's shoulder. "So how you feeling, Robins?" the woman chuckled and turned to the man. "Sorry, but to me, you'll always be Robins, that girl who use to follow me around and beg to hang out with me."

"Well that's a lie. I never wanted to hang out with you, and now I'm stuck with you."

"Damn right you are." Bruce laughed, looking over to the woman to see that big bright smile on her face as she stared out to her family. "You know that Robyn looks like a great dance partner, I think I might try to cut in." Katie looked over to the man in confusion and before she could question him, he was already headed across the dance floor. She watched as Oliver stopped, and Bruce said something and both men looked over to her. She quirked a brow as she watched as Bruce held out his hands to Robyn who latched on to him in a fit of laughter. Bruce and Robyn began dancing, as Oliver headed over to her.

"You didn't have to stop, I was actually enjoying watching you two." Katie says as Oliver arms slid around her, pulling her to him. "I think the photographer got you two on camera. Those pictures are definitely going on the fire place." Katie felt the man tugging her with him as they came out onto the dance floor. "What are you doing?"

"Dancing with my wife." Oliver replied with a smile. Soon the pair seemed to just sway, neither knowing what song was playing. In this moment, there was no music, no people around them, it was just the two of them. "How many kids you do want to have?"

"What?" the question seemed so random in the moment. "Where is that question coming from?"

"From your vows, and you telling me that you planned on having a couple more of my children." Oliver looked down to the woman and couldn't get over how lucky he was. He wanted nothing more in this moment than to kiss her, and so he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. "So how many is a couple?"

"I don't know, I-" Oliver's lips trailed along her jaw, and then the crook of her neck and the woman fought the moan that nearly came slipping from her mouth. "Thought we'd play it by ear, you know."

"Five." Oliver said suddenly, and Katie burst into a fit of laughter. "What?" he pulled back and looked down to her with that same smile that always made her heart flutter. "Five is a good number."

"Not when my body is the one having to house those five kids." she replied before turning in thought. "Two." she turned back to him with a smile. "So one more, fingers crossed it's a boy, but if not that'll be fine too."

"Four." Oliver counters and the woman shook her head as she laughed, and he couldn't help but to kiss her again, his lips falling to her neck again. "Final offer."

"Three." she sighed, her eyes fluttering closed, practically melting into the feel of his lips. "My final offer." his lips once again threatened to take all rationale out of the room. Soon a throat cleared, and the couple pulled apart to see Bruce who still held Robyn in his arms, with Gloria beside him.

"They have numerous rooms you two can go maul each other in you know." Bruce said before nudging his head to Gloria. "It's getting late and Gloria was going to head home and thought you two would want to say goodbye." It was Katie who plucked the baby from Bruce's arms and pressed her lips to the baby's head.

"Aw baby, mommy is going to miss you so, so much." Katie said, smiling at the child who she could see was already starting to fall asleep. She looked over to Oliver who pressed a kiss to the baby's head as well. "I hope this surprise honeymoon doesn't include me having to spend long periods of time away from my daughter."

"I'm not saying," Oliver took the baby from her arms, and pressed another kiss to her her head before turning to Gloria. "I'm going to walk you out."

"I can do that." Bruce offered and Oliver turned a quirked brow to the man. "I just assumed you two would want to-" he glanced over to Katie who glared to him.

"That's alright, I want to-"

"Lecture your security guards, I got it." Bruce once again took the baby in his arms. "I'm much more scarier than you are anyways, and I'll-" he glanced over his shoulder and spotted Felicity. "I'll even take Ms. Smoak. She's even scarier than I am." he turned back to the couple and smiled. "Go, go be newlyweds. Little Robyn here will be taken care of."

"Fine," Katie says turning and smiling to Gloria. "Make sure you call if you need anything, or if she gets fussy. She's not a Lil Jon fan anymore, but she likes Jay z, there are a couple of songs I think-"

"I got it, Mrs. Queen." Gloria said placing a hand on the woman's shoulder. "We're going to be just fine. You two have fun." and with that the couple waved goodbye to the nanny and their daughter.

"You know what I'm starting to realize?" Oliver says turning to his wife. "Our daughter is inheriting my taste in music when I was in high school." Katie turned to the man and laughed. "It's so weird."

"It is, but it's also adorable." Katie replied as Oliver's hands slid around her once again.

"You know, Bruce was right, there are some rooms we could probably sneak away to."

"Oliver Queen this is our wedding reception, we can't just disappear."

"We won't be gone long, just five minutes, I promise." Katie looked up to his eyes and shook her head.

"Five minutes?"

"Yeah, five minutes, ten tops." Oliver said, and Katie could feel the man pulling her with him off the dance floor. She absolutely knew this man wouldn't be satisfied with five or ten minutes, but she also knew right now she didn't care.

"Fine, but I'm so throwing you under the bus if your sister comes looking for us." Katie replied as Oliver took her hand. They began glancing around, before finally slipping away from the party.

It was Thea's day off from running Oliver's campaign, but with the amount of movers and shakers of the city at the wedding reception, she knew she couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk up Oliver. It would've been perfect if he was actually around. She'd sifted through the party, a smile on her face hoping her annoyance wasn't showing too much. She soon spotted Felicity and Bruce, who were chatting up John and Lyla.

"Oh, hey, have you guys seen the happy couple?" Thea asked, before once again turning to scan the crowd. "Their wedding is literally busting at the seams with people who would look good backing Oliver's campaign and he's no where to be found."

"I would assume you wouldn't want to find your brother right now." John said lightly chuckling and Lyla swat his shoulder laughing as well. "You might find him in a compromising position." they all laughed but Thea who frowned at the thought before turning to the crowd once again.

"C'mon, Thea, it's their wedding." Felicity said bringing her glass of champagne to her lips. "They were practically all over each other at the alter." they all laughed again.

"And on the dance floor." Bruce added.

"I'm sure they'll make an appearance soon." Felicity said.

"You're uncharacteristically calm right now." Thea said looking over to the blonde.

"That's because we did it. We finally got Twiver to the altar, they took their pictures, they did a little dancing, and now all is right with the world." she smiled looking over to Bruce. "I mean this wedding is beautiful, but ours will be incomparable."

"Oh, absolutely." Bruce replied bringing and arm around the woman, and placing a kiss to her lips.

"I will give them five more minutes, they still have to get a picture of them cutting the cake, and Oliver seriously needs to have some face time with some of these people." Thea muttered in frustration before diving back into the crowd.

"You know I haven't seen my mother in a while either." Felicity said, her eyes looking out into the many faces, before looking over to Bruce. "You don't think her and the captain are..."

"Well I wasn't." Bruce sighed, emptying the remnants of his drink before sitting his glass on the bar, and turning back to Felicity. "We should get you off your feet."

"Bruce, seriously-" Felicity complained as the man pulled her arm, and since she was a bit tired, she only let him.

Oliver Queen's lips were not helping in this moment. Katie's back had fallen against his chest as he continued to press kisses along her shoulder and neck. A moment of clarity struck her, and she quickly stood up straight.

"You're supposed to be zipping me up, not trying to get this dress back off." She said, glancing over her shoulder at the man. She couldn't help the ever present smile on her face, even as she lightly scolded him. She shook her head before walking over to stand in front of the mirror, and she sighed trying to run her fingers through her hair. "How did a promise of five minutes turn into almost an hour. Everyone is probably looking for us." she glanced up when the man appeared behind her, his arms wrapping around her waist.

"Well some things just can't be helped, Mrs. Queen. And I was not planning to wait until our honeymoon to get you out of this dress." Oliver's hand took the zipper and eased it down, but Katie grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Oliver, would you stop." she laughed, which didn't help in convincing him. "We have to get back out there, now please, zipper up." she heard him groan, but he pulled the zipper of her dress up before dropping his chin to her shoulder. She looked up to him with a smile as she reached up a hand, placing it on his cheek. "We really did it."

"We did." the man smiled, placing another kiss to her shoulder.

"Despite your little pre-wedding adventure." she added and he groaned once again burying his face in her shoulder. "We should probably talk about that, right?"

"I would rather not. The lead didn't get us close to Darhk. It only made me late which I promised myself I wouldn't." he lifted his eyes to look at her in the mirror, "I just thought this would be even more perfect if at the end of the day I could tell you that he was gone, and that we would never have to worry about him ever again." he placed another kiss to her neck. "I just look forward to every second I'm your husband, and being Robyn's dad, and I don't want to waste anymore time searching for that bastard." he pressed another kiss to very sensitive spot behind her ear, eliciting a gasped moan from her lips. "Do you forgive me, Mrs. Queen?" another kiss and he felt her body easing back to his.

"Uh-hm." she hummed as his lips continued their own mission. She felt his hand as he began once again lowering the zipper of her dress, and she already knew she wasn't going to stop him.

The knock on the door would do it though.

Oliver groaned looking over to the door with a shake of his head.

"Ollie, Twinkie, I know you're in there!" came Thea's voice. "It's been almost an hour, put your clothes on and get back out here. You have an entire honeymoon to do whatever it is you're doing there." Oliver and Katie didn't say anything in hopes that maybe she would just leave, but she only banged on the door again, "Ollie!"

"Thea, we will be out soon!" Oliver called in annoyance, his hand reluctantly pulling the zipper back up on Katie's dress.

"She's right, we have been gone too long." Katie says walking over and slipping on her shoes before looking over to Oliver who was buttoning his shirt. "You know you haven't actually told me where we're going on this honeymoon." Oliver looked over to her with a smile, and she narrowed her eyes. "Just tell me." he slipped on his tuxedo jacket and walked over to her, and leaned in close.

"Not on your life, Mrs. Queen." he pressed a kiss to her lips and she sighed with a smile. "Are you ready?"

"Uh no, I have to fix my make up, and make it look like I haven't spent the last forty five minutes having sex." she said with a shake of her head before giving the man a nudge. "Just five minutes Twinkie." she mimicked the man. " I promise." she shook her head, before turning, and his lips were once again pressing against her neck. "Your sister is going to-" knocking once again interrupted the moment and Oliver dropped his head to her shoulder. "I will meet you out there, go before your sister decides to come in here and drag you out."

"Fine, but don't take too long." with another kiss, the man turned and finally walked out to see his sister.

"You two are so nauseating." Thea grimaced looking over her brother with a shake of her head. She reached up to clasp a few more buttons of his shirt, and pull his jacket closed. "Where's your tie?"

"I have no idea, Speedy," he grabbed her hands to stop her. "And I don't care. Right now I am really happy." she looked at her brother and smiled. "Thank you for helping pull this together."

"Yeah, well if anyone deserves a fairy tale wedding, it's you and Katie."

"I couldn't agree with you more, which is why I'm going to tell her that and-" Oliver turned to go back into the Bride's room, but Thea caught his arm.

"Oh no you don't. There is wedding reception outside filled with some very influential-"

"Speedy, I told you no campaigning at my wedding."

"C'mon," she looped her arm with his and began pulling him toward the door. "Just shake a few hands, do that thing with your eyes." she looked over to the annoyed expression on his face and pointed. "Don't do that."

Katie touched up her lipstick before pinching her cheeks trying to get rid of that after sex glow she had going on right now. She chuckled with a shake of her head and decided to give it up.

"Whatever." she said with a smile. The door opened behind her, and she figured it was Thea coming to round her up. "Speedy, I'm done, lets-" Katie turned, her eyes going wide at the sight of someone she didn't expect. "Lois?" Katie looked over the woman who stood in socks while wearing an over sized coat that covered a hospital gown. "What—" Katie shook her head now realizing how truly long it's been since she'd seen or heard anything about the woman. "How—" she sighed looking up to the woman's eyes, now noticing the dark circles. She took a step closer. "Are you alright?"

"I have to pass along a message." Lois said, her voice a bit breathy as if she'd been running. "He says I have to give you a message."

"He, he who?" Katie was confused, and trying to keep up with the woman and this bizarre situation. "Lois, maybe you should sit down. Is Clark here, is he with you?" Katie took a step for the door, but Lois moved to block her. "Lois, I'm going to get you some help."

"He said I have to pass along the message, or I'll never have any peace." Lois dropped her head, her hands sliding through her hair. "It won't stop." she bumped the side of her head with her fist repeatedly. "and I need it to stop."

"Ok, ok." Katie took a step forward, grabbing the woman's hands to stop her. "Lets make it stop. Tell me the message." Lois looked up to the woman and sighed. "He says you're inside of him, and he's inside of you." Lois slipped her hands from Katie grasp and placed them on the sides of Katie's face. "He says he knows who you are. You are his." the moment the words slipped from her mouth, Lois' eyes fluttered closed, before falling to the floor unconscious.

Katie stood there frozen for a moment. The woman's cryptic words causing a strange sensation inside of her. Katie took a step back, unsure what was happening to her in this moment. Suddenly the door opened, and in rushed Martin who looked from Katie down to the unconscious woman on the floor.

"Are you alright?" Martin asked, before crouching down and placing his hand to Lois' neck glad to feel a pulse. "What did she do?" Katie didn't say anything, because she suddenly felt herself slipping from the moment and she has no idea why. Lois' words on their own meant nothing, but there was something behind them, something Katie felt when they were spoken. And even though she doesn't know what that is, it puts a fear in her that she can't even explain.

"Lois?!" both their eyes turned at the voice of Clark who came into the room with a rush of wind. His eyes looked down to Lois and he dropped down beside her gathering her in his arms, before looking over to Katie. "What happened?"

"She-"Katie stuttered not sure why she couldn't even form a sentence. "She just said things that...that didn't' make sense." she looked up to meet the man's eyes. "What happened to her?"

"She was in a coma." Clark said, looking down to the woman who slightly stirred in his arms. "And I only stepped away for a minute, and when I came back she was gone." he looked back over to Katie. "She woke up from a coma, and the first thing she did was come here to you. I need you to tell me what she said." Katie turned away, and just shook her head before rushing out of the room.

Katie needed to find Oliver. She needed him to wrap his arms around her and make the sudden stirring happening inside of her stop, because she felt it. The darkness was there as if it were sleeping and now was slowly stirring awake. She pushed the door that lead outside, and she lifted her head seeing the lights and hearing the music in the distance.

"Oliver," she whispered wanting nothing more in this moment then to find him.

"Katherine!" a voice spoke, and Katie turned, her eyes going slightly wide at the sight of one of their head lawyers. "Thank God." he hurried over to her and let out a deep breath. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Craig?" Katie looked up to the man, before looking back across the large garden to the lights and music. "I'm sorry, I have to-" she needed to get to Oliver quick.

"We have a problem." Craig said, and Katie stopped and turned back to him. "It's about Ari." he had her full attention now. "She's-" the man was suddenly nervous, dreading this moment.

"She's what?!" Katie asked taking a step toward the man, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists at her side.

"Twinkie!" it was Oliver's voice that called and she turned looking over her shoulder to see Oliver walking toward them. His eyes looked from the woman, to the lawyer. "What's going on?" Oliver and Katie turned back to Craig.

"What's going on with Ari? Did you talk to Ms. Sandburg?" Katie asked and the lawyer shook his head.

"Look I know this is your wedding, and I'm so sorry about doing this, but -" the lawyer lifted his eyes, and he pales at the sight of the two officers that walked over. He was too late to be the one to break the news. Oliver and Katie turned their confused gaze to the two officers.

"Mr. and Mrs Queen." one of the officers spoke taking a step forward. Oliver turned to Katie noticing the slight shake of her hands, and he took her hand in his before turning to the officer. "We're going to need you to come with us."

Happiness wasn't a constant state of being and Katie hated it. She'd just been consumed with so much happiness that she actually forgot the fact that it usually didn't last. She realized that at this very moment.

And in this moment, Katie could smell it. That familiar scent of blood and death. Even here where she stood leaning against her car, as red and blue lights flashed around her. She'd changed out of her dress, now in a pair of jeans and a sweater she'd packed in her away bag for the honeymoon. She was just across the street in this typical suburban neighborhood as police and EMTs scrambled in and out of the house. Her eyes looked over to where Oliver and Craig stood, in what looked like a very serious conversation.

Katie should be nervous, because she knew whose house this was. She knew the implications of what was happening could mean, and yet she just stood there glancing from them back to the house.

"Twinkie?" Katie turned to see Oliver now standing in front of her. She wasn't sure when he'd walked over, but at the moment it didn't matter. She dropped her eyes from his, looking down to his clothes, wishing he'd changed out of his suit, which was now just an unwelcome reminder of the moments they couldn't get back today. "Hey—" he touched her shoulder and she jerked out of his touch and she has no idea why. "Hey Twinkie, look at me." her eyes moved to his and she hated the look he gave her. That sad, pathetic guilt ridden look. "Craig said there was a letter." Oliver moved to stand in front of her to make her eyes look at him. "Hey, you need to stay calm."

"Calm." she looked at her husband, before glancing over to the house and letting out a sigh. "Stop." for some reason she just knew when she spoke the words everything would stop, and it did. No one moved for as far as she could see. She glanced back over to Oliver who stood frozen in place as well, before turning and walking over to the house.

Katie slipped passed the officer, who was frozen in place at the door, inside the house where the smell of blood only got stronger. Her eyes looked around seeing how completely wrecked the house was with everything thrown about, glass shattered everywhere and blood streaked across the walls. There was a crowd of officers in what looked like the dining room, and so Katie moved around them, and she grit her teeth at the sight of Vanessa Sandburg sitting upright at the table, her eye balls gone and replaced with two black stemless roses. In her head she kept telling herself to look away, that this scene was gruesome, and not something she'll want to remember, and yet she couldn't tear her eyes away. She moved around the table noticing the sheet of paper sitting in front of the woman, an evidence marker right beside it. Katie moved in as close as she could, attempting to read letter, but it was a bit illegible. The ink was smeared, and blood seemed to stain the edges.

" _You already know what the letter says."_ Katie lifted her head to see the ghost of the demon standing on the other side of the table. " _Your little web has gotten your precious cousin tangled up with a monster who won't even hesitate to hurt her."_

Katie let out a deep breath before moving back around that table, and heading out the door. She walked back over to her place in front of Oliver. She opened her mouth to speak, when another sudden instinct made her lift her hand, and with a simple wave, everything was moving again.

"Yes, you need to stay calm. There's a letter-"

"Saying that Ari is dead, that Vanessa and her husband killed her and buried her body." Katie said with a shake of her head. "The police think her husband turned on her, and killed her as well." Katie looked back to Oliver's concerned eyes. "Ari is not dead. Darhk has her, and now he wants me to find her. Which I will." Katie turned to get back into her car, but Oliver grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back to stay in front of him, and she almost shoved him away, but she simply breathed through it. "Let me go, Oliver."

"I'm not going to do that, because I know what's happening right now. It's what he wants, and I'm not going to let it happen." Oliver dropped his forehead to lean against hers. "I need you to fight this Twinkie. We are going to get Ari back, but I need you to stay with me ok?" he placed a kiss to her forehead. "I've already called the team, they are going to meet us at the hideout. We're going to find her." he lifted his head, and looked down to the woman who didn't say a word, but gave a nod.

Katie didn't say anything the entire ride to the hideout, and Oliver didn't quite know what to say either. He could see it though. That total shift in her demeanor after finding out about Ms. Sandburg and realizing what was happening with Ari.

When they arrived into the hideout, no one was there. Oliver had gotten a message about traffic and how they were on their way.

"I'm going to get changed." Oliver says turning to Katie, bringing his arms around her and hating how unresponsive she was to his touch. "Hey-" he dropped his head slightly to meet her eyes. "We're going to find her." Katie once again only silently nodded before watching the man turn to get changed. Once he was gone, she turned back for the elevator, fully prepared to get out of here, but apparently they weren't the only one's here.

"Hey," Katie stopped and lifted her head before turning to see Laurel standing there. "I got Oliver's text, are you-" Laurel walked over to Katie. "Are you alright?"

"You weren't at the wedding." Katie said suddenly and Laurel looked slightly confused figuring that topic didn't take precedent at the moment.

"Yeah, I thought-" Laurel shook her head. "I just thought it would be for the best. Is there any lead on Ari, do we even know what happened?"

"You don't even know." Katie says suddenly laughing as she looked over to the woman. "You should feel it, right?" Katie began taking steps toward the woman. "Like this feeling in your gut that something isn't right. You should be feeling that right now, Laurel."

"Katie, what-" Laurel noticed the woman getting closer and she did suddenly get the feeling that something was really wrong.

"You keep talking. Just talk, talk, talk, and it's like your voice is the match trying to strike to get the fire started." Katie took one final step now standing in front of Laurel. "And now you've done it." Katie suddenly tossed a fist at the woman, but Laurel quickly blocked it before pushing Katie away.

"Katie, what are you doing? What's wrong with you?" Laurel asked now inching away from the woman already trying inch closer. "I don't know what's happening, but you need to calm down. I don't want to fight. We need to focus on finding Ari." Laurel lifted her head. "Where's Oliver, is he-"

"Don't you dare even say his name, you bitch!" Katie kicked a leg, hitting the woman in the ribs. Laurel let out a grunt as she stumbled back, but lifted her own fists seeing the woman was not going to let up.

"I don't want to fight you, but I will." Laurel grimaces, but standing tall.

"I've always admired that fight Laurel." Katie says, the women now moving in a slow circle watching each other closely. "What I didn't admire was how much of whore you are." Katie threw another punch, but Laurel caught her arm and twisted it behind Katie's back, pulling her forward. Katie tossed her head back and Laurel's grasped relinquished before Katie turned grabbing the woman's shoulders and jerking her knee up to the woman's ribs. If they weren't cracked before, they probably were now.

"Katie, don't do this." Laurel groaned now hunched over cradling her stomach.

"Oh, Laurel don't beg. You don't beg for anything, you take it. What you won't take ever is my husband." Katie tilted her head and smiled. "Look at me, Laurel." Laurel was in too much pain as she tried inching away. Katie shook her head, before extending her hand and with a slight tilt Laurel's head jerked up, her eyes going wide as she looks to Katie. Katie watched as the woman seemed to strain to move away, to do anything her brain was telling her body to do, but it wasn't. Katie walked over to stand in front of the woman, placing a hand on her cheek. "You should've stopped talking." Katie clicked her tongue before turning away.

Laurel thought it was over, but soon she felt herself being pulled from the floor by her neck. She lifted her hands, but there was nothing there, and yet the oxygen was not making it in her lungs.

Katie watched with a wide smile as the woman hung in the air slowly dying, not even hearing the sound of the elevator opening behind her.

"What the hell?" it was John who was the first to run forward, his eyes looking over to Katie before up to Laurel.

"Oh, my god, Laurel!" Thea ran to John's side as they both grabbed the woman's waist trying to pull her down, but it was as if whatever holding her up was too strong.

Felicity's wide eyes looked over to Katie speechless as Katie stood watching with a smile on her face, before she turned to Bruce who walked over to stand in front of the woman.

"Hey Robins, can you look at me?" Bruce asked, but the woman didn't even hear his voice.

"Katie's doing this." John says eyeing Katie as he starts to move in closer. "Katie, put Laurel down, now." Katie's eyes dropped to John, and he let out gasp when he noticed her eyes had suddenly changed and were now a cold black. "Katie?"

"Shss?" Katie says placing a finger to her lips. "I can't hear her heart slowly stopping." a smile came back to Katie face as she lifted her eyes back to Laurel whose eyes were now closed, and her limbs dangling limply in the air.

"Twinkie!" Oliver's voice called and he ran over pushing Bruce aside, and he froze the moment he saw his wife. "Twinkie, I need you to hear me. Listen to my voice, you can't do this, you can't-"

"We have to stop her, Laurel doesn't have much time." John says now inching behind the woman.

"Just give me a minute, John!" Oliver snapped turning back to Katie, and taking a slight step closer. "Twinkie, I know you're in there. You promised me you would fight this, and right now I need you to fight."

"Oliver we can't wait any longer." John says glancing over to Bruce and slightly nudging his head for him to move to the other side of the woman. "We have to stop her now."

"Will you just wait-" John and Bruce didn't even let Oliver finish the thought before the two men went to tackle the woman, but neither even got close before an invisible force tossed everyone across the room.

Katie planted her hands on her waist as she watched Laurel's body simply drop to the floor with a hard thud. She walked over and crouched beside the woman tilting her ear over her chest, and groaned at the faint sound of the woman's heart beat.

"Why won't you just die already." Katie brought her hand to Laurel's throat, but stopped when the elevator doors once again opened. The hairs on the back of her neck stood, and she whipped her head around standing to her feet. "Constantine, don't you dare!"

"Molles somnos, somno iam." Constantine uttered, and he watched as she stumbled back, placing a hand to her head, before suddenly the spell won out, and she was collapsing unconscious to the floor. Constantine glanced around the hideout watching confused and angry people push themselves back to their feet. His eyes looked over to Oliver who stood his eyes immediately going to his wife before taking a step toward her.

"Oliver!" it was John's angry voice that stopped him, and when Oliver looked up he saw the eyes on him waiting for an explanation he wasn't even sure how to begin. "You are going to tell what the hell is going on, right now!"

The first lucid thought that came to Katie was whatever she was lying on was hard and cold. A deep breath escaped her lips when she opened her eyes and found herself lying on the floor surrounded by candles. She let out a groan before flipping over to lie on her back.

"First thing I'm going to do when I get out of this damn circle is rip your tongue out." Katie muttered placing a hand on her head. A headache seemed to creep up on her, and she let out another groan.

"Still got the evil in that head of yours, huh?" Constantine asked peering over to the woman. She turned her head to look over to him. "You did a number on your friends out there."

"I don't care." she muttered closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath. "Have they found Ari?"

"Well they're a little bit preoccupied grilling your husband about his wife who went all Jeckyll and Hyde back there." he said. "You could've killed them. You could've killed Laurel a lot quicker if you wanted."

"Your point?" she asked turning her eyes to the man who crouched down, just outside the circle of candles so his eyes could meet hers.

"My point is, it hasn't won yet, because if it had you wouldn't be trapped right now, and your friends, and your husband would all be dead. You need to pull yourself back up. It hasn't beat you." Katie glared at him and just shook her head.

"If anything happens to Ari while I'm trapped in this stupid spell, I will kill them, and you." she turned away from him to lie on her side before wrapping her arms around her knees that were pressed to her chest.

Oliver stood, his arms folded over his chest. John was saying something to him, had been since they carried his wife into the room they usually only held bad guys in. Oliver still couldn't believe it. After all of Constantine’s warnings about this moment happening, he still just couldn't believe it.

To see Katie in such a way, to not recognize her at all, to this moment was still just unbelievable. His eyes glanced over to the far corner, knowing she wasn't far and that Constantine said he had a way to keep her contained. The man told Oliver to stay away, and give him some time to try to get through to her, but it was the last thing Oliver wanted to do. He told her that she wouldn't have to go through this alone, and right now the only thing he wanted was to be by her side to help her through this.

"Oliver!" Oliver's eyes snapped back to the angry glare of John Diggle. Right now the room was filled with a mixture of emotions from his friends. John was clearly angry, Felicity and his sister seemed to be in a mild state of shock, and Bruce was sort of hard to read. He didn't seem to be as angry as John which makes Oliver believe that he too seemed to expect this. "Oliver, are you even listening to me? Do you even understand what just happened, and the position you've put us in, our families in by not telling us what was happening? You've had a ticking time bomb strolling in and out of here and you didn't even tell us." Oliver seemed angry at the man's words even though he knows they're true. Right now, this moment, he didn't want to hear that he'd made stupid choices, or put anyone at risk, right now he only wanted to see his wife, and so instead of answering John's questions, he simply stalked off. "Are you seriously not going to tell us anything?! After what happened tonight, Laurel is in the hospital, she could've died." Oliver turned back to the man. "And your wife did that." hearing those words out loud made Oliver drop his eyes for a moment and let out a deep breath. "Oliver?"

"I hear you John." Oliver whipped his eyes back to the man trying his best to keep a cap on his own raging emotions. He knew he had to, he knew right now there was only two things important. Finding Ari, and making sure his wife made it out of this situation still his wife. " I hear everything you're saying, and you're probably right. Maybe I should've told you, but I didn't and that won't change."

"Ollie-" it was Thea who finally found words in the fuzziness in her brain. "Just tell us what's happening." Oliver let out another deep breath before looking over this shoulder to the corner still hoping Constantine would come around it and tell him that Katie is better and back. "Ollie, I know this isn't easy for you, and I can see you're struggling with what just happened just like we are, but I also know you have more information than we have." Oliver turned back to his sister. "Just tell us."

"Katie-" he dropped his head for a moment before looking back up to the eyes waiting for answers. "Grace Robins apparently was more than any of us ever knew. According to Constantine she was apart of a race of humans called Homo Magi. And because of that, it means she could do things. Mysticlal things." he saw the shock in their eyes and he shook his head. "And as it turns out, it's a trait that's inherited."

"So Twinkie has mystical abilities?" Thea asked, and even speaking the words didn't make them seem real. Thea's eyes widen at a sudden realization. "Wait, Robyn, is she-"

"We don't know." Oliver sighed sliding a hand across his face. "We weren't-"

"You were ignoring it." John said and Oliver looked over to the man. "You thought if you didn't pay attention to it, and you didn't tell anyone about it, that maybe it would just go away. But it didn't go away Oliver, we saw that tonight."

"You don't know anything John. We didn't ignore it. We were dealing with it, trying to find out what was happening."

"Wait, so these abilities, they make her-" Thea dropped her eyes emotions now attempting to take her words. "They make her like that?" she looked back over to her brother. "What she did to Laurel, that-"

"That was Darhk." it was Bruce who spoke the words, and they all turned to him in surprise. "That night with the rose pedals under the door." he shook his head and sighed. "They were a gift from Darhk."

"How do you know that?" Felicity asked finally speaking and looking over to her fiance.

"Jacob." Oliver says looking over to Bruce who met his eyes, and Oliver suddenly realized that Jacob probably knew more about this than any of them, and they haven't even thought to ask.

"Wait, so you're talking to Jacob Robins now? You're not also on his payroll are you?" Felicity asked turning to Bruce who turned to her and shook his head.

"It's not like that. I just came into some knowledge that I needed Jacob to verify and I put two and two together."

"Knowledge? What knowl-" Felicity's eyes seemed to widened. "Wait, Richie? That night he came over acting weird. No, Barry-" she turned to Bruce and shook his head. "He needed to talk to Jacob about something, and so he came to you. Was it about this?" Bruce sighed, and turned away, and it was answer enough. "It was, wasn't it?"

"Barry?" Thea asked still confused by all the new information. "What does Richie and Barry have to do with this?"

"Right now it doesn't matter." Bruce stated firmly before turning to Oliver. "Right now we deal with what triggered all of this."

"Ari." Oliver sighed. "We were pulled from the wedding by the police. Ms. Sandburg was murdered."

"Ari's caseworker?" Thea asked and Oliver nodded.

"There was a note that detailed some plan about she and her husband holding Ari for ransom, but getting scared and killing her instead."

"Oh my god," Thea looked at her brother and shook her head. "She's not-"

"It was a smoke screen." Oliver said. "Ari is alive, and I'm pretty sure Darhk has her. He hasn't actually admitted to this, which is kind of strange. One would think he'd be gloating."

"Wait, none of this explains what we just walked in on." John says glancing from Oliver to Bruce. "You said Darhk had those pedals slipped under door. And what are they doing to her?"

"We're not quite sure. We just know that her touching them did something to her. Changing her. It was happening slowly at first, but the longer it's been in her system, it's become noticeable."

"Noticable how? This isn't the first time she's gone homicidal?" John asked, and Oliver turned a glare to him. "I'm sorry Oliver, but I'm really just trying to understand what we're playing at here. I can't be the only one here who feels out of their element with this."

"And I get that John, I really do, but that-" Oliver shook his head. "That wasn't my wife, that was something that Darhk did to her, but we're going to figure out how to get it out of her."

"And that's possible?" Felicity asked, and Oliver turned to her. "Does Constantine know how to bring her back from that?" Oliver didn't say anything, and they knew what that meant. "He doesn't, does he? So there's a chance she won't-"

"No." Oliver shook his head. "I'm getting my wife back out of this. There is a way to save her, I'm sure of it, we just have to figure out how. Look right now we need to find Ari." he looked over to Felicity, who stared for a moment before giving a nod.

"I will comb through any footage I can find of her last moments, maybe we can see where she was taken." Felicity sighed, before walking over to her computer. Bruce attempted to take her hand, but she only pulled out his grasp.

"I'm going to the hospital to see how Laurel's doing." John muttered before stalking toward the elevator. Oliver let out sigh as he watched the man leave before turning to Bruce and walking over to him.

"We need to talk." Oliver said, and Bruce gave a nod already expecting this conversation.

Soon Bruce, and Oliver found themselves standing in the back alley behind the campaign office. Oliver turned to Bruce and shook his head.

"This whole time, you knew?"

"At this point does that really even matter?" Bruce asked with a shake of his head.

"It does if you have information that could've helped us. What did Jacob tell you?"

"No more than what Constantine told you." Bruce lied turning away. There was still the truth about Darhk's true connection to Katie that Bruce really wasn't sure he should reveal just yet.

"I want to talk to Jacob." Oliver said, and Bruce sighed. "I want him to tell us everything he knows about what's happening to her. This whole time he's been breaking his back trying to keep Katie and Darhk apart, and I think this is why." Bruce looked over to the man. "He knew this was possible."

"Maybe, but I don't think he would've tried so hard to keep them apart if he knew how to fix this if it happened." Bruce rubbed his tired eyes. He too expected a moment like this, but now that they were in it, he wasn't sure what to do.

"Yeah, but he has to know something."

Both men's senses seem to pick up on the fact that they were no longer alone. They turned, quite surprised to see Damien Darhk appear from the shadows.

"Oh aren't you two cute." Darhk said with a smirk on his face. It would seem just the sight of the man was enough for that ugly beast inside of Bruce to rear his head because before he knew it, he was stalking toward the man, but Darhk lifted his hand, and suddenly an unseen force was holding Bruce by the throat.

Constantine's eyes were closed as he continued chanting, when suddenly Katie sat up. His eyes looked over to her just as she stood to her feet, and lifted her eyes to the ceiling.

"He's here." she said turning to Constantine, her eyes seeming to suddenly change to cold black as she let out a growl. "Darhk is here."

Damien Darhk seems to chuckle at Bruce's attempt to break free.

"Aw, someone's still upset about the limo. I apologize for the limo, it couldn't be helped. But right now isn't about that!" with a twitch of his hand, Bruce is released, and he drops to his knees trying to breathe. Oliver grabs his arm and helps him back to his feet.

"You know you're never gonna get away with this." Oliver said glaring over to the man. "You have know idea the people you're dealing with."

"I tried to bring you into the fold, Mr. Queen, I tried to kidnap your nearest and dearest, I tried to kill you, but none of that took." Darhk clicked his tongue with a shake of his head. "But maybe the fourth times a charm." Oliver felt his phone suddenly vibrate in his pocket and looked over to the man in confusion. "Go ahead, take a look." Oliver pulls the phone from his pocket and his eyes go wide at the sight of Ari sitting in front of a fire place, her eyes glancing around ever so often before looking across at something. Bruce glances down to Oliver's phone and shakes his head before the camera seems to pan out, revealing a boy sitting across from the girl, and Oliver's eyes widen before he looks over to Darhk. "And that was the look I was hoping for. The young Ms. Locke is feisty I tell you that, but I haven't met a challenge I couldn't conquer," he chuckled, "And the young William thinks I'm friends with his mother. Funny right?" he laughed even more as he looked upon the dark looks on him. "Anyhoo, 6:00 on Friday, you're gonna hold a press conference and drop out of the mayoral race. Oh, that's 6 pm, by the way. I will be at home watching you from my brand-new television. The moment it happens, we will set up an exchange for Mr. William." Oliver seemed to notice the man's omission. "And as for the fiesty Arianna, the moment you make the announcement, I will set up an exchange with that wife of yours. Me and her have had a long overdo conversation." Damien glanced over to Bruce and gave a nod before turning and walking away.

Bruce made to follow after him, but Oliver grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

"That bastard," Bruce shook his head before turning back to Oliver whose eyes were on the phone. "Whose the boy Oliver?" Oliver lifted his eyes to Bruce and the silence seemed to answer Bruce's question. Bruce let out a sigh, before placing a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "Let's go tell the others we just got our confirmation."

When the pair returned to the hideout, neither expected to find Felicity and Thea both standing, with wide eyes. Oliver and Bruce took a few steps before they heard the yelling that carried. They looked over to the far corner, unsure what was happening. Oliver shook his head before stalking in the direction of the yelling.

"Ollie, Constantine said not to go in there." Thea called after him, but she should've known nothing would keep him from going to check on his wife.

Outside the door, Oliver hesitated for a moment. He heard the yelling more clearer now that he was close, and he knew it meant the woman on the other side still wasn't completely his wife and he wasn't sure he was prepared for it. He also remembered his promise to her, and that meant his feelings right now didn't matter, and so he opened the door and walked in. Katie stopped yelling, and she turned to Oliver walking toward him, only to stop at the invisible barrier that trapped her.

"Tell me he's dead." she said looking over to Oliver. "Darhk was here, he was close. Tell me you killed him."

"You shouldn't be in here, mate." Constantine said coming over and placing a hand on Oliver’s shoulder nudging him back toward the door, but Oliver turned to the man who sighed. "This will not happen the way you think it will. She wouldn't want you here to see her like this."

"And I wouldn't care." Oliver says turning back to Katie, her eyes still that dark shade of black that he doesn't think he will ever get use to seeing. "I wouldn't care, because I love every side of her, even the one staring back at me right now."

"And you're delusional." she said with a shake of her head. "This won't be solved with love, and kisses, and pointless weddings you think will overcome what this really is. This is happening, now where is Darhk?"

"He's gone." Oliver said and Katie growled before hitting her fist against the invisible barrier. "Twinkie, I promise-"

"What?!" she snapped before she turned and began to pace. "What do you promise? You told me she would be ok, that me doing nothing was the best thing that I could do for her." she glanced over to Oliver with a shake of her head. "And now he has her. Is that why he was here, to gloat?"

"He wants me to drop out of the mayoral race." Oliver said, and Katie stopped walking and turned to him. "He has both William and Ari, and he says once I drop out of the race he will give them back." Katie looked at him for a moment before bursting out into a fit of laughter. Oliver and Constantine both looked at her in confusion, before she turned and began pacing again.

"He took Ari, and your secret love child with her for good measure." she shook her head and sighed. "He is a real bastard." she stopped and looked over to Constantine. "I can find him. You saw it before. There is a connection between us, and I can use it to find out where Ari is."

"That's not happening, love." Constantine said with a shake of her head. "The only woman stepping out of that circle is the one who won't try to kill her friends."

"Laurel wasn't my friend." Katie said with a smile before turning to Oliver. "She's a whore who should be dead right now. Please tell me she is." Oliver had to look away because his wife would never say something like that. "Aw, did I hurt your wittle feelings." Oliver turned back to her with a glare. "Well buck up, because you need to find Ari, because if you don't-" she walked over to the edge of the barrier once again. "If she dies, this whole city will burn and I'll make sure you get to witness it." Oliver swallowed the lump in his throat unable to hear the words from her mouth before he turned to leave. His hand had only touched the doorknob before he stopped and looked back to her.

"You'll never see her you know. Not this-" he looked over her. "I know you're in there, I know my Twinkie, my wife, the love of my life is buried in there refusing to fight because she thinks you can win this fight. I will do anything to get her to see the truth, but in the event that she can't, I think you should know you'll never see our daughter. She'll never look into those eyes." Oliver turned to leave, but stopped.

"Oliver-" he turned back to her. "This and Robyn will never be in the same room, understand?" the flash of her eyes turned back to normal, and Oliver turned walking back over to her, but she turned away from him and began pacing once again.

"Hey," Constantine placed a hand on Oliver's shoulder, and the man sighed before letting him finally pull him from the room.

"Did you see that?" Oliver asked looking over to Constantine. "She's in there, I could see it, right there. This thing hasn't totally taken over, there has to be a way to pull her back."

"Hey, I'm working on that, but you need to be working on finding that girl." Constantine says and Oliver sighs. "She's the trigger, and I think the moment she's safe, pulling your wife back will be that much easier." Oliver gives a nod, his eyes looking back up to the door. "Hey, you're right. She's still in there, a piece of her is still fighting." he placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "But you have to fight for her too." Oliver nods again before turning and heading off.

The moment he walked over, Bruce, Felicity and Thea all turned to him, before Felicity took a step forward.

"You have a son?"

Jacob was pacing. It wasn't something he normally did. It's something Grace would do when she felt stuck in a situation. He often teased her about it, but now it would seem it was now his solace.

"Sir," Martin's voice didn't seem to stop the man as he paced. "Ms. Lane is awake and alert."

"Why did she go to my daughter?" Jacob asked with a shake of his head. He'd been trying to think of an answer to that question and he still had yet to find one.

"She doesn't remember what she said, or even how she got there." Martin replied and Jacob stopped and let out a deep sigh. "Darhk-"

"We never rescued her." Jacob looked over to the man. "We thought we found her, but he left her for us. She had a purpose, and whatever she said to my daughter was that purpose." Martin simply gave a nod. "Have we got a location on Arianna?"

"No, but there is now another problem." Martin sighed, walking over to his boss. "Our bug in Mr. Queen’s base has just picked up that Damien has another child. William Clayton." Jacob let out a huff, turning and letting a hand slide across his face. He was very much aware of Oliver's child even before the man himself knew about it. He'd been very aware of the situation even as it happened, keeping and eye on Moira and the woman. The situation didn't translate to any kind of harm to the city, and so Jacob didn't see a reason to get involved. "He wants Oliver to drop out of the mayoral race."

"And it all comes back to putting his wife in that seat." Jacob shook his head before turning back to the man. "I want to know what he's planning." Martin gave a nod before turning. "Martin-" the man stopped and turned back to Jacob. "Find those kids." Martin gave a nod before turning and leaving.

Alone once again, Jacob continued to pace. His phone rang and given his luck it was probably more news he didn't want. He pulled the phone from his pocket and saw the familiar number of Bruce Wayne, and he cursed under his breath. He knew it was a bad idea to give the man his direct number, but he had little choice.

"What do you want, Bruce?" Jacob listened to the news of how the situation had affected his daughter and now Oliver wanted to see him. Jacob was silent after a moment, but silently nodded. "I'll be right there."

At the moment there wasn't anything for Oliver to do. Felicity was doing her best with the search, but given how long Ari has been gone, it was turning up nothing. Oliver found himself sitting outside the door, his wife on the other side. He wanted to go inside, to keep talking to her, keep trying to get through to her, but it was hard. Oliver had hope that Katie could pull herself out of this, and that he'd get his wife back, but when he saw her, and he heard the awful things she said, he just felt that hope dwindling. His eyes were closed as he leaned his head back against the wall, but they snapped open the moment the door beside him opened. He jumped to his feet the moment Constantine stepped out.

"What's going on? How is she?"

"Well she isn't threatening the apocalypse anymore." Constantine chuckled, but stopped noticing how tense the man was. "How's the search going?"

"We still have nothing." Oliver slid a hand across his tired eyes and shook his head. "What if we don't get Ari or William back?" he looked up to the man and shrugged. "I'm not prepared for that." he shook his head not even able to fathom the thought of two children that he cares a lot about not making it out of this fucked up situation. "I don't think I can prepare for that."

"Hey, you won't have to." Constantine said and Oliver looked to him in confusion wondering where that confidence came from. "Look, I have to use the facilities, and I know you want to, but don't go in there." Oliver gave a nod before watching the man turn and head for the bathroom. The moment he was gone, Oliver turned back to the door, and sighed. He was very tempted to disregard Constantine's request because he needed to see her, and for her to see him and know that he hasn't left her. Oliver glanced over his shoulder to see no one was there, and so he shook his head before turning and walking inside.

Katie was lying on the floor, still trapped inside the spell. She didn't even stir when he walked inside.

"Some honeymoon, huh? You shouldn't be in here, Oliver." she said, not even turning to face him. He walked over, and lowered himself on the floor to sit so she could see him. Her eyes were closed though, and he let out a sigh. "Have you found Ari?"

"Not yet, but we will." Oliver replied hating so much that he couldn't touch her. "We're going to find you too."

"He hasn't told you yet, has he?" Katie said, still not opening her eyes to look at him. "There's only one way to stop this. I know it, and Constantine knows it. He hasn't been out looking for some save Twinkie cure. He's been looking for the only way this will end."

"What are you talking about?" Oliver asked, and Katie groaned in annoyance before she flipped over to lie on her back.

"The darkness is growing, and it's spreading, and it feels good." she smiled turning back to Oliver, her eyes opened letting him see the darkness in them. "It feels so good and soon your pal Constantine's spells won't work. This little trap won't keep me contained, and when that happens there's only one way this will end." she sat up, and folded her legs in front of her as she looked over to him. "You should've let me go, you know that. I could be on some island right now, without a care in the world, but nope-" she shook her head. "You just had to pull me in. This is all your fault." Oliver dropped his eyes from hers, not expecting those words that were already replaying in his own head. "This is all-" she closed her eyes, and began groaning as she clutched her head, a sudden wave of a pain making it feel like her head would explode.

"Katie?" Oliver looked over to her, forgetting everything he is supposed to do in this moment, and sliding into the circle of candles, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, what's wrong?" the door to the room suddenly opened and Oliver glanced over to see Constantine.

"No, no, mate!" Constantine rushed over. "You can't be in there, you need to get out, right now."

"Constantine, shut up!" Oliver snapped turning back to his wife "Something is wrong, something-" soon her eyes opened, and she looked back to Oliver with those brown eyes that he so dearly missed. "Twinkie?" she glanced over to Constantine, before turning back to Oliver and he saw the tears begin to swell in her eyes.

"What did I do?" she asked shaking her head. The tears seemed to pour from her eyes as the realization of everything she's done rushes to her.

"Twinkie, it's alright, you're-" he brought his arms around her, but she pushed him away.

"No, it's not alright!" she slid back away from him and stood to her feet. "You need to get away from me. You need to get far away from me." she shook her head before bringing her arms around her self because it felt as if she was going to burst out of her own skin. She looked over to Constantine. "You need to get him away from me, keep them all away from me." Constantine saw that look in her eyes, that guilt and shame and knew the woman seemed to pull through.

"Twinkie-" Oliver took a step toward her, but she continued to back away.

"Oliver you should go." Constantine says crossing into the circle as well, and moving to stand in front of the man. Oliver shook his head, his eyes looking over to Katie who looked completely distraught, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her, and let her know that she was alright. "Pretending that this wasn't bad won't help her." Oliver looked down to the man. "And you can't do that. I don't think you're wired to do that with her, so just give me some more time." Oliver wanted to push the man out of the way, but he knew he couldn't. He knew in this moment, Katie needed more than to be reassured, she needed no holds bar honesty about this situation. And so he turned and headed for the door.

Oliver stepped out of that door, too tempted to walk right back inside, so he went over to see if there were any leads. He'd been on his way over to Felicity, when he spotted Bruce walking over to him.

"He's here." Bruce said, and Oliver nodded just as the elevator opened and out walked John, and Captain Lance. Quentin didn't look happy at all as he stalked over to Oliver.

"You mind telling me why the hell my daughter is lying in a hospital right now?" Quentin asked angrily.

"Captain, I know you're upset-"

"I'm more than upset!" the man snapped before glancing around. "Was it Darhk? Did he somehow get to Katie, make her do those things."

"Yes, and no, it's a long story that I will explain, but right now-"

"What's going on?" John asked taking a step forward, and seeing the look in Oliver's eyes.

"She's back. Twinkie is back to normal," he replied glancing over his shoulder wanting nothing more that to see her right now. "She's not taking any of this well."

"Well I would hope not." Quentin said with a shake of his head "So is it fixed or will she try to kill more people?"

"We're still trying to figure that out." a voice spoke, and they all turned, quite surprised to see Jacob standing there. "But given the unknown nature of this issue, it's been kind of difficult." Jacob walked over and stood right in front of Quentin who stared with wide eyes. "So yeah, I'm alive and it's good to see you again." Jacob looked over to Oliver. "You have questions." he glanced around to the eyes on him. "You all do, and I wish I had all the answers, but I don't. All I had was a warning."

"A warning from who?" Oliver asked, and Jacob turned to him.

"From my wife. With her last breath, she warned me to keep our daughter far away from Damien Darhk."

"So she knew this would happen?" it was Thea who asked the question, a glare now fixed on her face. "You knew this would happen. All this could've changed if you told her what was going on?"

"No it wouldn't Ms. Queen. Some moments are just destined to happen, and there isn't a thing in the world that can change it."

"Is that what you tell yourself instead of admitting the truth?" Oliver asked shaking his head at the man. "If you were honest with her, with us, we would've done more, we would've-"

"Not come back to Star City? Not run for mayor? Oliver you knew Darhk was here, and you knew there was a reason I was keeping he and my daughter apart, but you thought you could beat him, and maybe you can. But before you beat him, he's going to beat you, over and over, and over again."

Katie was shaking. She kept seeing it. Everything she'd done, and everything she felt. It kept playing on repeat in her head.

"Hey, luv." Constantine placed his hands on her shoulder and gave her a slight shake. Her eyes lifted to him.

"What did I do? I almost-" she closed her eyes and shook her head. "It's not supposed to get that far." she lifted her eyes back to him. "You're not supposed to let it get that far. When that happens you end it."

"Look, I can't-"

"You have the blade." Katie said suddenly and the man looked at her in surprised. "It's like I could feel it when you were near, but I know you have it, and I know it's the only thing that will stop me when this gets too bad. You should've-"

"I knew you were still in there, ok. That blade is a last resort and we haven't gotten to it. As long as I know you're still in there, we will never get to it." Katie dropped her head once again. "I know you want to fall apart, and cower away from what you did, but it won't make it go away." she let out a heavy breath and looked back to him. "You did what you did because there is something very dark inside of you, and until we figure out how to get it out you are going to have to fight extra hard to stay here. I don't care why you fight, if it's Oliver, or your daughter, or your friends, but I need you to fight and not drop out when the tough gets going."

"Ari-"

"Ari is alive, and she needs you to find her, not that thing you think will get the job done. You can't fall apart, because there are two children who are in serious danger." Katie brought her arms around herself, and turned her back to the man.

 _"It's no use."_ a voice taunted and Katie lifted her eyes to see the demon standing just across from her. _"It will consume you, and no one will be able to stop it."_

"Just go away." Katie muttered dropping her head. Constantine looked over to the woman in confusion before glancing over to the empty space across from her. "Please just go away."

"Who are you talking to?" Constantine asked, and Katie looked over to him, before pointing across the room.

"He's here, the demon, he's-" she turned and looked over to the ghost and just shook her head. "Won't shut up." Constantine quirked a brow as he took a few steps forward. Katie watched as the man closed his eyes, and muttered something under his breath before opening his eyes and looking over to the woman.

"You see him, right now?"

"Yeah, he's standing right there behind you." Katie says and Constantine turns before letting out a deep breath. He walks back over to Katie and stands in front of her. "What?"

"There are no spirits in this room."

"What are you talking about he's right-" she lifted her eyes and could clearly see her uncle with that condescending smile on his face as he stared at her. "He's right there."

"Look at me." Constantine watches as the woman brings her eyes to him. "Trust me when I say that I would know if there was a spirit in this room, and right now there isn't." Katie looked confused, her eyes lifting, only this time the demon was gone.

"That-" she shook her head still not able to believe this. "He feels real. Like when I see him, I know it's him." she looks back to the man in front of her. "I thought this was part of the messed up gift I have. Seeing the dead. I saw my mother, and I saw Tommy, and I saw that bastard."

"I don't really know the scope of what your abilities are, but what I can tell you is that there are no spirits in this room. Whatever you saw wasn't real." Katie lifted her eyes once again and shook her head.

"He's a hallucination." she dropped her face to her hands. "Not only am I going psycho, but I'm going insane as well. That's just perfect."

"I don't think you're either. I think he's a manifestation." Katie looked up to the man. "From the darkness inside of you." Constantine lifted his head in thought. "I have an idea." he turned back to the woman. "I know someone who might be able to help you, but I have to go."

"No, you can't go. What if it comes back?" Katie looked completely frightened at the thought, and Constantine could see it in her eyes.

"The only way it won't come is if you keep fighting it. It only wins when you stop." the man turned and pointed toward the door. "That door will be open, and the moment you're ready to start fighting, you can go." Constantine placed a hand on her shoulder before walking over to grab his jacket. Katie watched nervously as he stepped out of the door, and left it wide open.

Oliver only glanced over by chance, and spotted Constantine who was now wearing his jacket as if to leave. Oliver rushed over to him.

"What's going on?" he looked behind the man in hopes of seeing his wife. "Where is she?"

"She's still in there, but she'll work up the courage to finally come out." Constantine replied, looking over and seeing Jacob. "I was just about to call you." Constantine walked over to the man. "I have an idea, and I can't believe I didn't think about it before."

"Does this idea have to do with Katie?" Thea asked taking a step toward the man. "Because if it does, we need to know what it is. No more secrets." she glanced over to her brother, "She is my sister and when something is wrong with her, I deserve to know about it."

"Thea-"

"Thea is right Oliver." Felicity spoke up, looking over to the man as well. "She's your wife and the mother of your child, so you thought you would fix this all on your own, but you don't have to. We are a team, we are a family, and when one of us needs help, then we all help. You can't forget that."

"You're right, you're all right, and I'm sorry. We should've told you what was happening, and it won't happen again." Oliver turned back to Constantine who was now speaking with Jacob in hushed tones so none of them could hear. "What's your idea?" Constantine turned back to him.

"There's someone who I know who may have a little knowledge of your wife's situation."

"And you're just bringing this up now?"

"Well there are existential circumstances." Constantine turned back to Jacob. "That our resident dead man is going to help me with. Isn't that right, mate?" Constantine gave the man a friendly pat to the shoulder, and Jacob turned his head and looked over to the man's hand in disgust.

"Don't touch me." Jacob pushed the man's hand from his shoulder before looking over to Oliver. "You will have the complete resources of ARGUS to find William and Arianna." Oliver wanted to refused the help, but at the moment would take any resource that would help him, and so he just gave a nod in affirmation. Jacob turned back to the others who were still watching him. "None of you will ever understand why I had to do the things that I have done, and that's fine. You don't have to, but just know that everything I have ever done has been because of the love I have for my daughter." and with that the man turned and left the room. Constantine glanced over to Oliver, before lifting his eyes in hopes of seeing Katie, but she's still hasn't worked up the courage yet.

"This may seem like a very difficult thing for you to do, but-" he turned back to Oliver. "Let her come to you. You can go in there and tell her all the things she already knows and it won't make a difference unless she believes it." Oliver didn't say anything because honestly he doesn't think he could make such a promise. Constantine could see it, but he wouldn't beat a dead horse, and so he gave a nod before heading out after Jacob.

The room was quiet after the two men left. No one quite knowing how to fill the silence.

"So Jacob Robins is alive?" Quentin spoke and they all turned to him.

Ari had it down to a science. She'd memorized all of the faces of Damien's guards whenever she walked past them. She'd glance over to the clock whenever one of them would walk into a room during their rounds. Nora had run off to use the bathroom, leaving Ari and William alone. The boy sat watching a cartoon, and Ari looked over to him before glancing over to the guard that was posted near the door. She'd been trying to tell him for a while now what was happening and the danger they were in, but it was rare that they were ever alone. And then Ari had an idea. She stood to her feet and walked over to the guard, who glanced down to her.

"Uh, is Mr. Darhk here?" she asked and the guard's cold stare should've made her run away, but there was too much at stake right now.

"What do you want?" he grumbled, and Ari scratched the back of her neck before glancing up to the man.

"Something happened. I uh, I got my-" she dropped her eyes from the man and mumbled something he couldn't quite hear.

"What?!"

"I said, I got my period, and now I need stuff." the guard looked slightly nervous as he looked down to the young girl, but he gave a nod.

"Oh, uh-" he glanced around the corner hoping to spot someone better suited to handle this situation. "I'll be right back." the guard turned and rushed out of the room, and the moment he did, Ari was already headed to William. She dropped in front of him, blocking him from the television and he looked at her in confusion.

"Will, I need you to listen to me." she glanced over to the door, knowing she didn't have much time. She looked back to the boy. "Damien Darhk doesn't know your mother. He's a bad man who took you, and he took me, and now he's keeping us here and not letting us go."

"What do you mean, he says my mom told him watch me until she got back from her work trip."

"He lied Will. He's a really bad man, and we need to figure out a way to get out of here." The boy stared at her for a moment in silence, and Ari watched him waiting for him to say something.

"Ok." a voice spoke from behind her and she stood to her feet to see the guard standing beside the cook who Ari never really saw outside of the kitchen. The older woman looked confused as the guard pushed her further into the room. "I told her about your uh...situation."

"And I told you that there's nothing I can do to help her." the cook says looking back to the guard. "You need to send someone to a store and-"

"Well can you go?" he asked and the woman sighed, but gave a nod. "Great." he reached into his pocket and pulled out some cash before handing it to the woman. "Get whatever she will uh need and then come right back." the woman gave a nod before turning to leave. "Wait!" she stopped and looked over to the guard who turned to Ari. "You don't want like a cookie or anything do you." Ari looked at the man as if he'd grown a third head.

"No, I do not want a cookie. Just get me what I need and I'll be fine." he just nodded before waving the cook away. Ari took the seat beside William, and glanced over as the guard took his place back at the door. She suddenly felt a hand grasp hers and she turned to William who gave her a nod.

"How do we get out of here?" he whispers, and Ari bites the corner of her lip as she glances around the room her eyes turning to the guard whose now looking down to his phone before slipping it back into his pocket, and just like that she has a plan. She looks back over to William.

"How good of an actor are you?"

Katie pressed her back against the wall furthest from the door. She was crouched down on the floor her eyes on the open door and she felt anxious. As if stepping out of this room would some how make her revert back to that thing that had taken over her body. She lets out a sigh and closes her eyes and tries to focus on something else.

"You have to be getting lonely in this room." Katie opened her eyes surprised to see Thea standing at the door. Katie stands to her feet.

"Thea you need to get out of here, you need-" Thea did the opposite and walked further inside. "Thea, please, just don't. I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't hurt me, Twinkie." Thea said with the utmost certainty before walking closer to the woman and watching as she moved further away. "I know you won't."

"You don't know anything." Katie shook her head. "I almost killed Laurel. If you guys didn't show up when you did, she'd be dead, and if that happened-"

"But it didn't." Thea took another step, and Katie continued to move away from her.

"Please don't Thea, just stay away from me."

"Well I can't do that, because you see, you're my sister and I love you." Thea took another step and this time there was no where for Katie to move.

"Thea there's this thing inside of me and it's dark and it's evil and-"

"Been there, done that." Thea commented folding her arms over her chest. "I was injected with some drug by my father and I killed Sara. I died, was brought back to life by some magic waters, and then wanted to kill people. I know what it's like to have that darkness moving under your skin, whispering in your ear to do the one thing you don't want to do. I nearly died because of it." Thea dropped her head and she felt tear trickle down her cheek. "I nearly let go." she looked back up to the woman. "I thought it would just be easier if I just let go, but I couldn't." a smile came to Thea's lips. "Because when I was dancing that line between life and death, I heard my brother's voice." Thea took another step before reaching out and taking Katie's hand. "I heard your voice. You talked a lot." she laughed, and saw the small smile on Katie's face. "I don't quite remember everything you said, but I remember you telling me that I had to keep fighting, and so I did. I hung on, and I kept fighting. You know what I've always admired about you? That despite all the shit that's happened to you, you always get back up and you don't let it keep you down. Right now we need you to fight. All of us. Your husband and your daughter need you to keep fighting." Thea brought her arms around Katie who couldn't fight back her own tears as she returned the hug. "We're Queen women, there is nothing we can't handle."

Oliver, and Bruce were talking about possible plans for finding Darhk. Bruce wanted to go out and find Darhk's HIVE in hopes of beating a couple of them until they talked. Oliver shook his head not sure it would work. Damien's men have proven to be completely loyal and he didn't want to waste time. They needed a definite link to Darhk.

"It won't work." Oliver muttered sliding a hand over his face. "We need-" he looked back to Bruce whose eyes were no longer on him, but something behind him. Oliver turned following his eyes, surprised to see Thea walking hand in hand with Katie who looked at the eyes on her.

"Twinkie-" Oliver walked over to, engulfing her in a tight hug. He felt like it had been ages since he's been able to truly touch her, and hold her. He pulled back and looked into her eyes. "How are you?"

"At the moment, I'm me." she glanced over to the others who were still staring at her, and she couldn't take the look in their eyes. She looked over to Quentin, and she felt the guilty all over again.

"Captain Lance-" she took a step, and to her surprise he took a step back. He didn't mean to do it. He knew what happened wasn't completely her doing, but he also knew his daughter was lying in a hospital bed all broken and bruised because of her. "I'm sorry." she looked over to the others and shook her head. "I'm so sorry." she turned to Oliver and placed a hand on his arm. "I think I should go."

"Twinkie, no, everything's just-" he looked over to his friends and he knows he shouldn't be upset at their reactions. He knows they haven't had the experience with all of this, and so of course they would be nervous, maybe even a little scared.

"Oliver's right." it was Felicity who walked over to the woman. "What happened before was kind of scary, and beyond crazy, but we know that wasn't you." Felicity brought her arms around Katie in a hug as well. "But you should've told us what was going on." Felicity pulled back to look at the woman. "You should've told me. Best friend, remember? That means you don't get to have some dark doohickey living inside your body, and I not know about it. Got it?"

"Got it." Katie replied, her eyes looking over to John who remained in his spot as he looked over to her. She knew that look in his eyes. He was upset, probably for a variety of reasons and she can't blame him. Suddenly he walks over to her bringing his arms around her in a hug, that she returns. "I got it."

They were eating a late snack before they would have to turn in for bed. Tonight it was cookies and milk that they got to eat in front of the television. Nora and William split their attention between the television and the pictures they were coloring. Ari had walked back into the room, walking over to sit on the couch in front of them. William glanced over to her, and she looked over to the door, slyly smirking when she saw the guard return to his post near the door. She looked back over to William and gave a nod.

William placed the crayon down before taking another bite of his cookie. Immediately after the bite he started coughing, his hands moving to his throat. Nora's eyes go wide as she look up to him.

"He's choking!" she yells standing to her feet and glancing over to the guard. "Do something, he's choking!" the guard rushes over before Nora and Ari crowd around to look down to William. The guard drops down to one knee and hikes William up, spinning him around before wrapping his arms around his middle and trying the Heimlich maneuver. William continued to gasp, and cough until Ari appeared in front of him, and then the chunk of cookie went flying out of his mouth.

"Here Will, drink." Ari handed him the glass of milk, and gently rubbed his back. She looked over to the guard who continued to look at the boy. "Good job sparky. Maybe you're not completely warped." the guard glared over to her.

"What the hell is going on?" they all turned to see Damien who walked into the room and seeing the grim looks on everyone's face. "Graham-" the guard stood to his feet, spine straight as he turned to his boss.

"Uh the kid was choking sir, but I helped him and he's fine now." Darhk walked around the man to where William stood beside Ari, his head leaning into her side before looking up to him.

"How you doing there, William?"

"Better Mr. Darhk, sir." William looked around to the guard who looked over as well. "Thank you." the guard simply gave a nod before walking back over to his post. Damien stood there for a moment looking between William and Ari, noticing how close the two were standing, and he narrowed his eyes over to the teenager.

"I think it's time for bed." Darhk says before looking to William. "And you young man, I don't care how good the cookies are, remember to chew." he mussed the boys hair, before turning and placing a kiss to Nora's head and watching she and William head out of the room. Ari was about to follow, but Damien took a step to block her, and she lifted a dark glare to the man. He didn't say anything for a moment, hoping the coldness of his stare would make her cower in nervousness, but she met his eyes without the faintest sign of the fear he knows she feels. "You are peculiar, Ms. Locke. You absolutely know you should do nothing to upset me, and yet-" he places a hand on the side of her face and she jerks away. "Remember your actions have consequences."

"I think you're the one whose forgotten." she said before moving around the man and heading for the bathroom.

"You misconceive my patience with you." she stops and looks over to him. "I have no qualms with killing children, and I think I would take particular pleasure out of killing you." she looked at him, her entire body tensing at his words. She felt as if she should cower in a corner somewhere, but she didn't. If she learned anything from her father, it's that there is no one bigger or better than you are, and anyone that thinks they are, just needs to be knocked down a peg or two.

"Lets not pretend here. You need me alive and kicking because you want something from my cousin. You're not going hurt me."

"You know you're too smart for your own good." he walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, and suddenly started squeezing causing her yelp in pain. "Have no doubt the moment I don't need you, I will rip that smart ass tongue right out of your mouth." he released her shoulder and she backed away, her hand pressed against her now sore shoulder. "Good night, Ms. Locke." she turned away and ran out of the room.

Ari stepped into the room where she found Nora and William already asleep in their beds.

"You should be getting to bed, Ms. Locke." the girl turned to see another guard standing behind her.

"Have to pee." she muttered before stalking into the bathroom, and locking the door. She walked over to stand in front of the mirror before pulling her shirt down a bit and grimacing at the dark pink bruising appearing on her shoulder. She shook her head before slipping her hand into her pocket and pulling out the cell phone she'd snagged earlier. "You should win an Oscar Will."

There was nothing. No lead, no clues, they had nothing. It was the dead of night, and they were all running on fumes.

Oliver stood watching his wife who'd been pacing for the past couple minutes. He wanted to walk over to stop her, and make her sit. He actually wanted her to sleep, but she'd refused that request earlier. He was about to walk over to try to convince her again, when suddenly the sound of a phone ringing played around them. They all looked around trying to find the source.

"I think that's mine." Katie says walking over, before spotting her bag. She plucked her phone, and looked down to the unknown number, and she looked down in confusion before bringing the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

_"Katie?"_

Katie's eyes went wide as she turned to see Oliver staring at her. "Ari?" the moment she said her name, everyone came rushing over. Katie pulled the phone back and placed the call on speaker phone.

"Felicity!" Oliver called and the woman nodded already understanding the request to track the call.

"Ari, are you alright?"

 _"I would be better if I wasn't with a lunatic."_ Ari whispers. " _You have to find me."_

"I will, I promise I will. Do you know where you are?"

_"No, we're in some kind of penthouse I think. It's super fancy, but all the windows are blocked out so we can't see outside."_

"We? Who else is there with you?"

_"Oh, there's this kid name William. Damien kidnapped him too, I just don't know why."_

"Is William alright?" Oliver asks.

 _"Is that Oliver?"_ Ari asks.

"Yeah, and I promise we will find you. How is William?"

 _"He's alright I guess. He helped me snag this phone with superb acting skills."_ Oliver smiled and let out a sigh. Suddenly they heard banging. _"Oh shit, someone's outside."_

"Ari, hide the phone somewhere." Katie said quickly. "Call me back when it's safe, ok?"

_"Ok, Katie, please, just find me."_

"Ari listen to me. I know you're scared, but you don't have to be. I will find you, and I need you to really believe it. Stay close to William. We will get you both out of there." she waited for Ari to respond, but the line suddenly ended and Katie growled in anger. Oliver brought his arms around her.

"Hey, stay with me." he whispered and Katie lifted her eyes to him.

"I'm still here, just really pissed off." she glanced over to Felicity who sighed with a shake of her head.


	21. Dancing the Line

**Chapter 21**

**  
Dancing the Line**

_"There's a reason why anger, fear, and hatred are paths to the dark side:_

_they all spring from a single source -_

_the same source as a certain flavor of love._

_A dangerously sweet, addictive flavor."_

_-Matthew Stover_

* * *

They'd some how found themselves in a waiting game. Felicity had reached out to Barry in hopes of getting the CCPD involved. The team was pretty beat, but it still took some convincing for them to go home for a bit and regroup before trying to dive back into this search. Oliver and Katie still lingered in the bunker alone. Oliver was sitting, barely able to keep his eyes open as he watched his wife pace back and forth in front of him. He would walk over to stop her, but he knows she'd just be back up again, diving into her head.

"Tell me what you're thinking?" he asks, his voice revealing his exhaustion clearly.

"Today when Darhk was here I felt it." she says glancing over to Oliver. "It was strange, it was just this sensation, or this instinct I felt and I had absolutely no doubt it was him. It's happened before. Back when you guys tried to set him up, and he used his powers on you, I just had this sudden sensation, like I could some how feel the power as well." she shook her head. "Maybe it's the side affects of the rose. Maybe it's creating this connection between the two of us." she finally stopped pacing and turned to Oliver and could see the exhaustion written all over his face. "You need to go to sleep." she glanced around. "Should we go home?" she looked back to Oliver who sighed before standing to his feet. He didn't answer her question, and she could only assume why. "Right, I shouldn't-"

"Twinkie, that's not-"

"You should get some sleep." she glanced over to the room that after all this time just seemed out of place. "Constantine actually left that room in perfect shape, and cleaned up after himself, so you should-" Oliver's hands are suddenly wrapped around her waist, but her eyes don't look to his. She's not oblivious to the fact that the events of today haven't just been erased. It's still there, and it's still fresh, and she knows he will always remember it. "If you don't think I should be near her, if you worry-"

"No." Oliver brought a hand to her cheek and she turned to finally meet his eyes. "I have no doubt that you would never hurt Robyn. It's just-" he let out another sigh. "Today was supposed to be a happy day. I got to marry the woman I love again, and right now we're supposed to be blissfully happy on our honeymoon. And now it's not a happy day. Now Ari and William are being used as pawns to hurt me, and to hurt you, and it's just not fair. I just wanted one day."

The next morning Oliver's eyes opened, looking up to the pale white ceiling before turning with a frown to empty space beside him. He sat up from the bed before reaching over to turn on the light allowing him to see the room fully. They did end up sleeping in the room of the hideout, in hopes of not being too far if news from the CCPD came in.

"Twinkie?" Oliver stood from the bed and walked over to the bathroom that was slightly cracked open. He pushed open the door only to find it empty as well. Oliver could usually sense when the woman was gone after only a couple of minutes, but now he fears his exhaustion had somehow overpowered those instincts. He was suddenly nervous. He fears that in the couple of hours that he'd been sleep, maybe his wife's anger got the best of her and that darkness had once again taken over. Oliver bolted for the door, only to stop noticing the piece of paper taped to it with his name written on the front. He quickly pulled it from the door, and unfolded it to read the message.

_"Don't be mad Liver, but I have to fix something I broke."_

Oliver lifted his eyes in confusion unsure what the message meant. Soon a thought hit him and his eyes went wide.

Ethan Mills was up early. He'd been at Laurel's bedside all night, and now was saving her from having to indulge in the fine cuisine of hospital food. He headed out before she woke up, went home to take a quick shower and change before picking up some breakfast from a spot she always liked. At the moment, the doctor was attempting to balance two bags, and a cup carrier that held their coffee.

"Let me help you with that." a voice spoke before plucking the carrier from his hand. Ethan turned with a quirked brow to see Katie. The woman currently was wearing a hoodie and sunglasses that the man's sure is supposed to be an attempt at a disguise. "Ethan, before you-" Ethan shook his head before stalking away from the woman. "Ethan, listen, I know what you must be thinking right now-" Ethan stepped inside of an empty patient room, and Katie followed behind him to see him place the bags on a nearby table. "Ethan, just listen to me please, this-" before she could even attempt to finish her sentence, the man had grabbed her by her jacket and shoved her against the door.

"I don't know what game this is, what Damien Darhk has you doing, but the last thing I am going to do is let you anywhere near Laurel." he growled and Katie stared into the serious eyes piercing her and she could honestly say that she was surprised. Since meeting Ethan, he'd always fawned over her, always flirted and joked. But the man in front of her looked as if he wouldn't give a second thought to hurting her right now if it protected the woman he loved. "Whatever this is-"

"This is me, Ethan!" she snapped before pushing him back. "One half of GMH's dynamic graveyard shift duo. I'm not here to hurt Laurel."

"Then why are you here?"

"To help."

Laurel was glad the medication she was on both made her numb to the excruciating pain she was feeling and let her sleep. Since being admitted to the hospital, she'd been dozing off and on, always opening her eyes to someone in her room at her bedside. The normal faces were her father, John and Thea had stopped by, she thinks she remembers Bruce and Felicity, but she definitely remembers Ethan's face the last time she dozed off. And she distinctly remembers him telling her that he would be here when she woke up.

Laurel's eyes barely cracked open, and was immediately struck by the sunlight that filtered through the room. She groaned slightly because she felt completely sore all over and it revealed her fear that the medication had worn off. She let her hand search for the call button, but she couldn't seem to find it.

"Nurse," Laurel groaned hoarsely, and a cough immediately followed. She turned in search of a cup of water, but stopped when she realized she wasn't alone. The moment her eyes see Katie, her thoughts traveled back to the last time the pair was in a room together. Soon the monitors in the room began frantically beeping, an audible sound of the nervousness and fear she was feeling.

"Laurel, calm down." Katie says hurrying around the bed, and looking at the monitors before reaching forward and doing something to turn the volume down. She turned back to the woman and sighed. "I can't imagine what you're thinking right now, but I need you to know that I'm not here to hurt you." Laurel's hand continued to search for the call button, in hopes of getting help. Soon the door opened, and both women turned to see Ethan who hurried inside, closing the door behind him.

"Ethan!" Laurel called, and the man looked over to the woman and saw everything she was feeling in her eyes. He quickly rushed over, taking her hand. "You have to get me out of here, she's-" Laurel turned back to Katie. "There's something wrong with her."

"You're right, there is something wrong with me." Katie sighed, unsure where to even begin. "What you saw was not me. Not completely. I'm still not completely sure what's happening, but what I do know is that a couple of months ago, an envelope was slipped under a door. An envelope filled with the pedals of a black rose, that I picked up, and when I did something happened. I've felt darkness for the better part of my life, and I've always been able to rein it in, not let it control me. But whatever those pedals did, is slowly taking away that control." Katie shook her head and walked around to stand in front of Laurel's bed. "Little annoyances are magnetized and it's-" Katie looked back up to Laurel whose was still watching her with wary eyes. "You tried to kiss my husband. And I know you have no feelings for him and I know he has no feelings for you, and normally that would be enough for me to move on, but with this thing inside of me, whenever I look at you, I feel so angry. Whenever we're in the same room, I just want to hurt you, and I've come so close before, but I always rein it in. Yesterday, I was broken. I found out Damien Darhk had kidnapped my little cousin, the child I promised I would protect, and I just gave in and let it take over. I know it was stupid, and I know it was dangerous, but I was so angry, and it wasn't the normal kind of anger. It was intense, in a way seductive-" Katie dropped her head, unable to look at the woman. "I was weak. I let it have everything, and because of that you're here. Because of me—" she looked back up to Laurel. "Because of what I did, you're here, and I know you have no reason to, I know with everything that has happened, you have every right to just hate me, but I want you to know that I deeply apologize for what I've done, and I'm here to fix it."

"Fix it how?" Laurel asked.

"I know this will not make any sense but I've recently learned that I have abilities. I can say something or think something and it just happens. I have no idea the ins and outs of it completely but I figure I should at least be able to fix what I've broken." Katie walked around to the other side of Laurel's bed and took a deep breath.

"What are you doing?" Laurel asked, now gripping Ethan's hand.

"Honestly, I don't exactly know." Katie replied.

"What?" Ethan said looking over to the woman. "That's not what you were saying when you came in here all confident that you could help her." Katie looked over to the man and shrugged. "You know what, forget this, just-" he made to go over to the woman, and without really thinking Katie suddenly reached her hands out, placing them on top of Laurel's stomach. "Kit, what-" the whole room went quiet at the sight of bright lights coming from Katie's hands. Ethan stared with wide eyes, before looking up to Laurel whose eyes seemed to be tightened shut as she groaned in pain. "You're hurting her!" he looked back over to Katie. "Stop, Kit-" he once again went to go around to the woman fully prepared to forcefully pull her away when suddenly she stumbled back.

"Ethan-" Laurel's voice pulled Ethan's attention and he turned to see her sit up from the bed easily. She looked over to the man with wide eyes before looking down to her gown and pulling it aside to reveal her bandaged ribs.

"Laur, what-" Ethan couldn't finish his question before Laurel began pulling the bandages until they were gone, revealing her stomach that was now absent of any bruising or discoloration. Ethan took a step forward and pressed slightly against her ribs. "How does that feel?"

"Fine." Laurel said looking up to the man. "I don't feel any pain. I don't think they're broken anymore. How-" both turned at a sudden crash, now seeing Katie who'd lost her footing and had stumbled to the floor.

"Kit!" Ethan rushed over to her, noticing the way she held an arm around her stomach. "What did you do?" he tried to move her arm, but she shook her head.

"Ethan don't." she moved away from him and stood to her feet and looked over to Laurel. "How do you feel?"

"I feel fine. Like better than fine. How did you-" Laurel shook her head, noticing how the woman seemed to be looking a bit pale. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Katie lied, before turning back to Ethan. "I told I could do it." she plastered on a smile before moving toward the door. "I should get back." she looked over to Laurel. "We could use your help finding Ari." Laurel simply nodded before watching the woman rush out the door.

"Ethan," the man turned to Laurel who looked at the door before turning to Ethan. "Go after her, make sure she's-" she sighed. "Just go." he gave a nod before hurrying out the door, glancing down both ends of the hall and not seeing Katie at all. He did see someone he knew would be appearing soon.

"Ethan, have you seen Katie?" Oliver asked as he got closer. Ethan slid a hand through his hair as he let his eyes scan the hall. "Ethan?"

"We need to find her." Ethan turned back to Oliver. "She did something-" the man shook his head still not sure what the hell just happened even though he was standing there right when it happened. "I don't know what she did, but I think she's hurt. You take that end, and I'll go down here." Ethan nudged his head behind him before turning and rushing off not even giving Oliver a chance to ask anymore questions. Oliver groaned, but turned and headed down the hall.

Oliver looked at every face in passing, glancing in every room, searching for one face.

"Where are you Twinkie?" he muttered to himself, and he came to two ended hall unsure which way he should turn. He stood there as if he was at a fork in the road, and in this moment it was as if he could feel every damn emotion clawing at his insides. From his anger at Damien Darhk, to his fear for Ari and William, and in this moment his nervousness about the state at which he would find his wife. Suddenly his phone vibrated and he quickly pulled it out to see a text from Ethan. He found her. Oliver quickly turned and rushed down the hall.

When Oliver spotted Ethan, the doctor was standing outside of a door. He turned to Oliver as he neared.

"She's in there." Ethan says pointing to the door. Oliver turned and noticed it was the woman's bathroom. "She say she's fine, but the last time I saw her, she looked anything but."

"What the hell happened?" Oliver asked, and Ethan sighed. "Tell me what happened!"

"She-" trying to put the impossible into words was proving quite difficult for Ethan. "There was a light, and it came from her hand, and it somehow-" Ethan shook his head, because he could still see it in his head. "Laurel came in here with three cracked ribs, bruising around her neck from strangulation, and she was barely conscious when she arrived."

"What does that have to do with what happened?" Oliver asked.

"It's been less than twenty four hours Oliver, and right now she's completely fine. Your wife did that." Oliver looked at the man in confusion. "But it did something else."

"What do you mean?"

"Kit rushed out of that room in pain. She was cradling her stomach like someone-" Ethan shook his head before turning back to the door. "Like someone with cracked ribs."

"What are you saying?"

"I don't know what I'm saying because all of this is completely impossible. I just would like—" the doctor banged on the door once again. "Kit to open the door so I can make sure she's alright."

"Ethan, I told you I'm fine, now go away!" Katie's voice called back.

Oliver took a step forward, nudging the man to the side. "Twinkie, I need you to open the door." there wasn't an immediate response, and Oliver reached for the door knob and twisted it, but it was still locked. "You know I have no problem breaking this down, just open it." the two men stood there for a moment before they heard the click of the door unlocking before it was pulled open and appeared Katie. Ethan noticed she looked a whole lot better since he saw her a few minutes ago.

"I'm fine." she sighed before turning to Oliver. "Any word from the CCPD?" Oliver didn't say anything as he continued to stare at her. She looked over to Ethan who seemed to be staring as well as if looking for something. "Will you stop looking at me like that, I said I'm fine."

"Lift up your shirt." Ethan instructed and both Katie and Oliver looked at him, and he just shook his head. "Just-" he reached forward to see for himself, but Oliver caught his hand before reaching around Katie and opened the bathroom door. He released the man's hand before bringing and arm around Katie's waist.

"Ethan, go check on Laurel, I'll call you if we need you." Oliver said, before turning and pulling Katie into the bathroom with him. He closed the door behind him and locked the door before turning back to the woman. "You left-"

"I left you a note."

"A note that told me absolutely nothing about what exactly you were doing."

"I find that hard to believe given that you're standing in front of me now." Katie looked into the seriousness in his eyes, and could see the worry. "Really, I'm-"

"Lift up your shirt." Oliver said taking a step forward, and Katie in turn took a step back.

"I said I was fine, lets just-" Oliver reached forward, grabbing the bottom of her shirt, lifting it and gasping at the sight purplish, black bruises along her skin. She pushed her shirt down and took another step back. "It looks worse than how it actually feels. It's fine, I'm fine, Laurel's fine, we just-" she moved around Oliver toward the door. "We need to get back in case there's news on Ari's location." she stopped when she realized Oliver wasn't following her. She turned to see him standing there, his back still to her. "This isn't a big deal." Oliver wanted to laugh at the statement, because it was hilarious for the woman to even infer that anything happening to them right now was anything but a big deal. He turned to face her, that seriousness still etched in his face. "Liver?"

"What did you do?" Katie looked at him for a moment, thinking about how to answer that question. She could keep avoiding it, but she knows they'll probably never leave this bathroom if she does.

"I helped Laurel." she answered honestly.

"How exactly?"

Katie shook her head and lifted her hands still able to feel the tingling in her finger tips since it happened.

"I don't know, I just felt like I could." she looked back over to Oliver. "It was like this instinct I never knew I had and when I felt it, I just knew I could."

"Are you sure it was your instinct, and not-" Oliver sighed. "It," Katie looked at him, suddenly wanting to crawl in a dark hole. There was this thing inside of her, this dark thing, this "it" that was now apart of her, and the one person who always seemed to see her, now also saw it. "Before, with Thea, when she was fighting the effects of the Lazarus pit, you said you couldn't help her because it didn't feel right. You said when you did it, it felt like it was taking over, you said-"

"I know what I said, and it was true." Katie dropped her head. "This time there was no nagging feeling in the back of my head telling me that something was wrong. I just did it." she lifted her eyes back up to the man and shrugged.

"You can't do that again, ok." Oliver walked over closing the distance between them. "You can't just leave me."

"Oliver, I—" she stopped because she realized he wasn't talking about her sneaking off to the hospital. It was the look in his eyes when he looked at her. She dropped her eyes because she realized if she gave him an honest answer he wouldn't like it.

"Twinkie, just promise me you won't go again. Promise that you will stay with me." Katie lifted her eyes to the man and smiled as she gently placed a hand to his cheek. "Promise me."

"I can't." she whispered. "But what I will promise is that I will try extra hard not to leave again. But Oliver it's—" she dropped her head once again. "It's getting stronger." she lifted her eyes to meet his. "It might become stronger than me." Oliver slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

"It's not stronger than us. You and me together, nothing can beat us." he leaned forward, his lips brushing against hers, before finally giving into the moment.

Doctor Ethan Mills felt like his brain was just going to explode with the amount of mind altering craziness he's just witnessed in less than an hour. He stood in front of Laurel's room, pausing for a moment before actually going inside. He didn't want to seem as jittery and nervous as he felt. Not when the woman on the other side of this door was practically a freaking hero. She probably dealt with this kind of stuff often and he didn't want to seem as if he couldn't handle it. He took a final deep breath before stepping inside, stopping immediately at the sight of Laurel standing near the window. She turned to him, and a smile came to her face as he closed the door behind him.

"It doesn't hurt when I breathe." she walked over to him easily. "I feel no pain when I walk, and my ribs feel fine. I'm completely healed and I have no idea how it happened."

"And you seem ok with that?" a smile came to the man's face as the woman shook her head.

"Oh, I'm completely freaking out right now. Like my brain is actually trying to catch up to reality and I'm afraid when it does, you'll probably find me in a corner hyperventilating." Ethan let out a sigh of relief. "I'm guessing you're not ok with this either."

"Well I'm still processing." he says walking over and sliding an arm around her waist. "And healed or not, you were brought in near death, I think you should sit. We don't actually know what Kit did-"

"Is she alright?" Laurel asked letting the man pull her to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I'm not completely sure. That woman seems to have a mask for every occasion, so if she wasn't alright, I doubt she'd let anyone see it." Ethan watched as the woman turned away. "Hey, you know it's alright to still be upset. With her, with the situation. It still happened, and you ended up here. Anger is a logical emotion to have right now."

"I know, and I am." Laurel looked back over to the man. "I am upset that all of this happened. But most of that anger is aimed at Damien Darhk. Katie, she-" Laurel shook her head, still not able to forget that woman whose cold, dark eyes stared back at her ready to end her life. "That wasn't her. I know her, I know who she is, and I know in that moment, that just wasn't her." she looked back over to Ethan. "Right now it doesn't matter because Damien Darhk is using children as bargaining chips." Laurel stood to her feet. "It's time I got back into this fight."

Oliver and Katie intended to head back to the bunker in hopes that there was some news that could help lead to Ari and William. Those intentions were interrupted by a text Oliver seemed to know would be coming. The couple walked through the doors of the campaign office, and Oliver lifted his eyes to the woman who stood outside his office speaking with Alex. Katie followed his eyes, and saw the woman as well.

"Samantha," Oliver sighed and Katie gave a nod.

"You should-" Katie nudged her head toward the woman and Oliver looked over to her in confusion. "Talk to her. I'll-" Oliver reached over and took Katie's hand in his and sighed. "Come with you, I guess." Alex and Samantha turned noticing the pair and it was Alex who walked over. He glanced between the couple before turning to Oliver.

"Uh, can we talk?"

"Go, I'll—" Katie looked over to Samantha and sighed. "Go introduce myself."

"Twinkie, you don't have to-" at this moment Oliver really wanted to be present at the first meeting between the women. "Just wait for me and we can-" Katie looked over to Samantha who stared over to them and she looked impatient.

"It's fine Liver," she turned back to Oliver and placed a hand to his arm. "I have to do this." Oliver gave a nod before watching his wife turn and walk over to the other mother of one of his children.

Samantha looked over to Oliver with narrowed eyes, before turning to Katie and just shook her head.

"I need to talk to him, something is-" Samantha shook her head. "My son-" Katie could tell the woman was barely keeping it together, and so she placed a hand on her arm.

"Hey Samantha, calm down."

"I can't calm down!" the woman snapped and Katie glanced around glad they weren't getting too much attention. She nudged her head behind the woman to Oliver's office.

"Follow me." Katie says walking around the woman and into Oliver's office. Samantha glanced one final time to Oliver before turning and following the woman inside the office. "Samantha, I-"

"Stop talking. My son is missing, please tell me you know where he is." Samantha asked and she could see the answer from the look on Katie's face, and the woman groaned before turning away. "I knew it!" she turned back to Katie. The door to the office opened and in walked Oliver and the moment Samantha saw him, the anger inside the woman seemed to just spill out. "I knew the second I realized he was gone, I knew that you had to have some sort of involvement in this." she shook her head. "Oh, my God. What was I thinking letting you get into his life? Just months later, and he's missing."

"Samantha, I-" he glanced over to Katie and then back to Samantha who he expected more of a reaction about him revealing to Katie the truth about William. "I should probably explain about my wife-" Samantha looked over to him in confusion before glancing over to Katie. "I know I promised I wouldn't-"

"He doesn't know?" Samantha asked looking over to Katie, and the question seemed to confuse Oliver who looked over to Katie as well.

"Samantha and I have met." Katie said with a shrug. "Back in Central City, I paid her visit and introduced myself."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"We should have this conversation later, because right now there are more important things." Katie says before looking over to Samantha. "Samantha, we want to find William as much as you do. Tell us what happened?"

"Look, no the two of you are going to tell me what the hell is going on, and you're going to get my son back!"

"Samantha, I promise you that is exactly what we're going to do, but right now we need to know how exactly this happened." Oliver said and the woman sighed.

"I—I went upstairs to get him for dinner, and he was gone." the woman slid her fingers through her hair as she thought of the moment once again. She'd gone over every detail and she still doesn't understand how it happened. "Gone. No-no note, no sign of struggle. Just vanished." she looked back over to Oliver. "I called the CCPD, and they have been looking everywhere, but it's already been 48 hours, and still nothing, but then a crime scene technician pulled me aside and said that I needed to talk to you about this."

"Barry Allen?" Oliver asked and Samantha nodded.

"Yeah, I think that's what his name was." she shook her head. "You promised-"

"I- " she kept at him, not even letting him speak.

"You promised me that you wouldn't tell anyone about my son." she shook her head before glancing back to Katie. "She I was fine with. I was angry at first, but she-" Samantha turned back to Oliver. "Your wife assured me that she was trustworthy, and I believed her, and I believed you and-"

"Barry figured it- that's not what's important right now. What is important is I'm gonna do everything- and I mean absolutely everything in my power- and we will get him back!"

"What can-what can you do, Oliver?" The woman shook her head completely angry and tired of the man's empty promises. "This is my son, my-" she let out a sigh letting her fingers comb through her hair. "I bet if this was your baby girl, she'd be home by now."

"Samantha, that's completely unfair. I am doing everything I can to get William back."

"What can you do that the entire police force hasn't been able to do?" Oliver looked at her wanting to give her reassurance because in this moment he knew its what she deserved.

"Samantha, I-" he glanced over to Katie who looked at him in confusion before he turned back to the woman in front of him. "I am the Green Arrow."

Neither woman quite expected those words to come out of Oliver's mouth in that moment.

Soon all three of them stood in an uncomfortable silence inside of the secret elevator that lead down to the hideout. Oliver stood between the two women, one still looking completely shocked and the other looked angry. When the doors opened, Samantha's eyes widen at what she saw. They all stepped out and she shook her head before turning to Oliver.

"This doesn't make any sense. Oliver." the woman said looking over to the man. She glanced over to Katie and shook her head. "This is really crazy."

"Well, like I said, I'm not the person that I used to be." Oliver said glancing over to the team that all stood at the sight of the new face. Katie lagged behind as Oliver took Samantha over to meet the team. She let out a sigh before glancing down to her cell phone. She hoped for another call from Ari by now. She was going out of her mind with worry. Taking the phone was risky and dangerous and Katie just hopes Ari was able to keep it hidden. The elevator doors opened behind her, and Katie turned in surprise to see Laurel who paused a moment when she saw Katie. Katie shook her head before taking a few steps back, figuring the woman was still wary of her presence. Laurel took a step forward and opened her mouth to speak, but then she turned and saw the new face. The team turned as well, everyone looking over to the woman not believing Laurel was standing there and looking one hundred percent better since they last saw her. Laurel glanced over to Katie once more before walking over to the others.

Katie let out a sigh, glancing down to her phone, before feeling someone standing behind her. She turned and saw Oliver who she knew only wanted to know one thing.

"You've met Samantha," Oliver said, and Katie nodded, glancing over to see Samantha now speaking with Laurel. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you were trying really hard to pretend she didn't exist." Katie says turning back to the man. "Oliver you told me you had a son, and then you never mentioned him or Samantha since we came back home."

"I just thought it would be easier if-" Oliver shook his head. "I didn't want there to be a constant reminder that I screwed up our perfect little family." Katie looked at the man in confusion.

"Oh, Liver-" Katie placed her hands on the sides of the man's face. "Sometimes you have very dumb moments. Oliver, not talking about your son and his mother wouldn't make me forget they existed. They are apart of our lives, and I assumed you just didn't want to talk about that part of your life with me, and so I thought I wouldn't mention the fact that I had met with Samantha when we were in Central City."

"When? You just had a baby, and I-" Oliver couldn't even think a moment he wasn't at her side after Robyn's birth. "I was with you the entire time."

"Not the entire time." Katie replied. "Before we left, there was some problem with the plane and you said you had to check it out before we left." Oliver turned away, remembering the moment. "I didn't really plan on it, I was just staring down to Robyn, and the sudden thought hit me. I wondered if she looked like her older brother." Oliver turned back to the woman. "So I did something crazy. I looked up her name, and there were quite a few Samantha Claytons in Central City. So I just picked one." Katie shrugged. "I figured if it was meant for me to meet her, then it would be right. So I packed me, Robyn and Ari into my car and we drove to her house."

"You should've told me this." Oliver shook his head. "I'm sorry if I ever made you feel as if it was a topic I didn't want to talk to you about, because that was never the case, I just-" Oliver sighed because he assumed not talking about Samantha and not talking about Will would somehow make him forget that he had a son whose life he couldn't be apart of the way he wanted.

"I know. The situation is beyond crazy, and it's not easy. I realized that the moment I met them." Katie smiled. "Me and Robyn waited at that door while Ari waited in the car, and this little boy opened the door. This boy who has the same eyes as my daughter." she looked up to her husband and shrugged. "When Samantha came to the door she recognized me instantly. She sent William to his room and she completely freaked. I came inside and she explained the conditions of you being in William's life and how you broke your promise to her. She was fully prepared to pack up their things and disappear."

"Why didn't she?"

"Well we talked. I told her that her fears are justified, that this guy she had a baby with was once an asshole, but that in time has become someone so much better." Katie placed a hand on the man's cheek. "I introduced her to her son's sister, and I explained to her that every fear she has for her son, I have for Robyn, but I also told her that you being a great dad was never one of them. And because I'm told I have a way with words, she believed me. I promised I would keep the secret as well, and also told her that it was a secret that wouldn't probably stay secret for long. I also told her that I was going to one day tell my daughter about her older brother and I hoped she'd do the same. Then I left, returned to the hotel, and when you returned I just didn't say anything. I probably should've." she shrugged once again. "But maybe I didn't want to make our lives more difficult either by revealing the truth of our lives. And I assumed you not bringing them up meant you were doing the same thing." Oliver brought his hands to her shoulders.

"No more hiding from our truth."

"Deal." Katie says, glancing over to where Laurel and Samantha were still talking. "We need a plan." she looked back over to Oliver before he gave a nod, taking her hand and walked over to the others.

Apparently there was no news from Central City that could help them find William and Ari.

"Do we have any other angles we can work, other than Malcolm?" Thea asked their eyes on Oliver.

"Finding William and Ari isn't the problem. Beating Damien Darhk is." John added with a shake of his head. "Every time we've faced him, we have been beaten thoroughly."

"That's because we can't go against his magic." Thea said, her eyes drifting to Katie whose eyes glanced down to her cell phone. She didn't seem to be in the moment, not actively participating in the idea planning. She glanced up to see Thea's eyes on her.

"What?" Katie asked and they all turned to her.

"Nothing, it's just we can't fight Darhk's magic, but maybe-"

"Absolutely not." Oliver said, and they turned to see the seriousness in his eyes. He glanced over to Katie and shook his head. "We just need to fight harder, we need to fight smarter."

"No, we need to fight different." Katie said looking over to the man. "You've been trying to fight this bastard like every other villain of the week, when he's not. We need to come at this differently, maybe Thea's right, maybe I could-"

"No." Oliver said firmly once again. "Look your abilities aren't reliable, and you have no idea how to control them. They're also linked to the darkness that's still inside of you. So right now, you need to limit how much you use them." he turned to the others.

"Has Constantine offered his mystical assistance with taking down Darhk?" Felicity asked trying to steer the conversation back to coming up with a plan. "I feel like he's been here this whole time, and may actually be the help we could use."

"Constantine has been preoccupied with-" Oliver glanced over to Katie who shook her head.

"With trying to get the devil out of me." she grumbled in annoyance. "At the moment he's not here right now, so we need an alternative."

"You're right, we do need to come at this differently." the man turned away at a sudden thought, before turning back to the team. "I may know someone. Her name is Mari McCabe."

"Why do I know that name?" Katie asked looking over to the man. "Wait, that trip you took to Detroit with Barry."

"Right, Mari possesses a totem that's powered by magic." They all looked over to the man surprised he hadn't thought to bring the woman in sooner. "She calls herself Vixen."

"Awesome, do you think you can get in contact with her?" Katie asked and Oliver turned to her and gave a nod. She looked at him for a moment and sighed. "You have to leave, don't you?"

"I don't exactly have her phone number, but I know where I can find her." Oliver replied.

"Right, well then you should get to it." Katie began backing away, glancing over to Samantha. "I'm going to get Samantha set up with a place to stay." she turned and only took a couple of steps before Oliver caught her arm.

"Twinkie-" Katie let out a sigh before turning to the man. "I think you both should stay here. I really don't want to worry about either of you."

"Fine, then I'll stay here." she replied, her voice void of any anger or annoyance. She turned to walk away again, but he slid an arm around her waist, and she once again turned back to him. "I'm not upset. Right now I just want to get those kids back, and if this Mari woman can do that, then you should already be gone." she glanced up to meet his eyes, and placed a hand on his cheek. "I'll be here when you get back." she knows those words brought relief to him, because in this moment he could see that she truly meant it. He placed a kiss to her lips before pulling away, and going to grab his gear.

Soon Oliver was gone, and the team simply waited for his return. Katie sat at one of the computers her eyes boring at the cell phone in front of her waiting for it to ring. She lifted it up, pressing a button to ensure that it was still on, and still fully charged. She let out a sigh before sitting the phone down and sliding her hands across her face.

"How are you doing?" the question came from an unexpected source. Katie lifted her head to see Laurel standing in front of her awaiting an answer to the question. Katie glanced around, and she saw the nervous looks from their friends.

"I'm fine." Katie replied turning back to the woman. "We shouldn't be this close. It makes everyone nervous."

"Well it makes me nervous too." Laurel said grabbing a nearby chair and sliding it over so she could sit in front of the woman. "But I'm not going anywhere."

"Why? What I did was horrible and wrong, and scary."

"It was, but it also wasn't you."

"How do you know that? How do you know that deep down inside I wasn't the one calling the shots?"

"Well you're right, I don't know, but I have a feeling." Laurel looked over to the woman and smiled slightly. "You're good. I know you're good. I know Oliver Queen wouldn't be crazy in love with you if you weren't good." Katie let out a sigh, her eyes looking over to where Samantha stood, looking up to the team's suits that were displayed in the cases. Laurel followed her gaze and sighed. "She's scared."

"I know." Katie replied standing to her feet. She began to walk over, but stopped and looked back over to Laurel. "You're good too Laurel, and I promise I won't try to kill you again." Laurel stood to her feet and gave the woman a nod.

"And I promise to never try to kiss your husband ever. Like ever." Katie gave the woman a smile before turning and walking over to Samantha.

"That was unexpected." Laurel turned to the voice of Felicity who stood there with a slight smile. "Much like your presence here. So what we got from Ethan's call earlier was that Katie did something and now you're all healed."

"Pretty much." Laurel replied glancing over to where Katie and Samantha were. She wondered if anyone else noticed moments when Katie would slightly wince in pain since Oliver left.

"Did you need anything?" Katie asked, and Samantha turned and shook her head.

"I don't think I could eat or drink anything right now. I just want my son back." the woman said, and Katie gave a nod. "Uh, Oliver told me about your little cousin, Ari?" Katie's eyes dropped to the phone in her hand. "He says she's with Will...keeping an eye on him." Katie lifted her eyes and gave a small smile.

"She is. She's fifteen, and she's really smart. She will do everything she has to to keep her and Will safe." Katie said, and it brought Samantha a bit of relief knowing he wasn't completely alone. The woman shook her head and turned away.

"I should've been watching him, I should've made sure the doors were locked and I should've-"

"This isn't your fault, Samantha." Katie placed a hand on the woman's shoulder and Samantha turned to her. "This is absolutely not your fault. I promised you that we were going to get him back and I plan on keeping that promise."

"How do you fit in here?" Samantha asked glancing back up to the display cases at the suits of heroes apparently. "Do you-" she looked back to Katie. "Do you put on one of those suits and go out there and fight crime." Katie's eyes turned and lifted to the suit she hadn't worn in what felt like ages.

"Only when the time calls for it." Katie replied before turning back to the woman. "It takes a certain type of person to put those suits on and go out there." Samantha looked at those suits still not able to believe it.

"He really has changed, hasn't he." she sighed turning back to Katie. "You know I apologized to Laurel earlier. I knew she and Oliver were in a relationship when me and him got together, and it wasn't right."

"I doubt she holds that against you. She's all too aware of Oliver's past." Katie chuckled.

"I should apologize to you too." Katie looked over to the woman in confusion. "He mentioned you when were together. Like he actually talked about you quite a lot. He had stories about this funny thing he and his Twinkie did, or those dinners he would go to with you and your parents. It confused the hell out of me. I mean he would never talk about Laurel, which made sense given what we were doing, but you-" Samantha shook her head. "I felt like I knew you and we hadn't even met."

"Why do you need to apologize?"

"Because I was too dense, and naive, too star struck at the time that Oliver Queen wanted me when the truth was staring me right in the face. He was in love with you, I just don't think he knew it and I just chose to ignore it. Maybe if I didn't, maybe if I told him what he was refusing to see then maybe-"

"No, you definitely don't owe me an apology Samantha. Me and Oliver's story happened the way it was suppose to happen, and I wouldn't change it for anything."

"Well then I think I should at least apologize for asking him to keep the fact that he was William's father from you." the woman shook her head. "I could tell when he was making the promise he wouldn't be able to keep it. Not from you." she looked up to the woman's eyes. "I wasn't as surprised to see you at my front door as I thought I would be."

"You don't have to apologize for that either. I completely understand the protectiveness of a mother. I understand that no one's feelings or their emotions matter when it means keeping your child safe." Katie gave a nod because those words were completely true. She knew she was dying to see her daughter, dying to hold her in her arms, but she was too scared of being around her right now. She didn't want any of the bad stuff inside of her near her daughter. "Uh, I need some air, I'll be right back." Katie glanced around before heading over to the underground exit. She felt like she was being followed, and turned to see John. "I just needed some air."

"Fine, I could use a little fresh air too." he said moving around her toward the door. Katie let out a sigh before following behind the man.

Tonight's dinner was some weird kind of meat covered in gravy with carrots and mashed potatoes. Ari picked at the food, her eyes glancing over to William who looked just as unsure about the meal as she. She turned to Nora who seemed to be happily eating the food and Ari just shook her head.

"Not hungry Arianna?" the girl didn't immediately turn to the person who asked the question. Mostly because she was too tempted to throw the knife that rested beside her at the man.

"Don't have much of an appetite." she replied glancing over to Damien who seemed to be studying her. Since the night of William's fake choking fit, it felt like she was being watched all the time by his guards. He knew she was up to something, he just didn't know what. She tossed her napkin onto her plate. "May I be excused?"

"I'm not hungry either." William said placing his napkin on his plate too glancing over to Ari. He turned to Damien as well. "Can I be excused too?" Nora lifted her head and looked between her friends before turning to her father who seemed to have a look she knew meant he wasn't completely happy. He suddenly pulled on a smile and gave a nod.

"Sure, but no dinner means no dessert." he said and Ari just rolled her eyes before standing to her feet. She turned to William who did the same. He walked over to her and took her hand and the pair walked out of the dining room. Damien nudged his head, and watched as one of his guards went to follow.

"Can I have dessert daddy?" Nora asked with a bright smile and Damien looked down to the girl and gave a nod.

"Absolutely, go into the kitchen and tell the chef to give you anything you want." Nora's eyes lit up as she jumped to her feet and rushed off to the kitchen. Damien sat back in his chair and glanced over to his wife who took a sip of her wine.

"Have you figured out what she's up to?" Ruvé asked and Damien tilted his head slightly.

"Not yet, but I have more important things to worry about. Like making you mayor." he looked over to her with a smile. "It's all happening as planned." Ruvé shook her head. "You have doubts."

"I have annoyances and my main one is Katherine Queen." Ruvé replied drinking the last sip of her wine before grabbing the bottle to pour more. "Your focus should not be on Oliver Queen with the power that woman has."

"If she was as powerful as you say, she'd be at our door right now." Damien replied and Ruvé huffed before standing to her feet. Since she told him the story of how Katie only uttered a few words and took her ability to speak, her husband didn't seem worried about it all. He actually made her believe she was over-exaggerating the entire thing and it only made her more angry. "Katherine probably doesn't even know the power she possess, so right now she's the least of my worries. She's not as nearly as powerful as her mother and-" Ruvé groaned.

"Don't you dare even say her name. If I have to suffer through another damn tirade about the oh so perfect Minnah, I will blow my own brains out. It's because of her you're acting like a wounded dog when it comes to her daughter. She is threat, she has the abilities to ruin all of our plans, and you've had multiple opportunities to put her down and each time you've choked." Damien stood to his feet and stalked toward his wife who stumbled back slightly not liking that look in his eyes. He walked over to her, bringing himself extremely close to her, and ignoring her personal space. She looked up meeting his eyes.

"Are you questioning my choices, my love?" he asked her and she could tell that the wrong answer to that question could have unpleasant consequences, and so she dropped her eyes and shook her head. Ruvé knew her husband. She knew how far she could push him, and she also knew when she needed to pull back.

"Of course not, I just meant, I don't want you to underestimate her." she looked back to her husband. "She's dangerous."

"Oh, honey," he slid a hand around her waist and pulled her to him, a smile on his face. "Do I look worried about Katherine Queen?"

A sudden wind blew threw the room, and the couple turned to see the now flameless candles simply smoking. Damien glanced around the room, and released his hold on his wife, taking a step forward. He lifted his eyes to the mirror that hung on the wall, and his eyes slightly widen because he could've sworn there standing right there looking at him was the woman who should be dead. He took another step forward.

"Minnah," he whispered.

"Honey," Ruvé touched his arm and he looked down to her. "Everything alright?" he turned from her and looked back to the mirror, and then she was gone. The man shook his head before turning back to his wife.

"Everything is perfect."

John stood, arms folded over his chest as he watched the woman who stood a few feet away from him. The sun had gone down, and the moon sat high above in this chilly night. They'd been standing back there for a while when he decided to suggest they go back inside.

"Hey," he walked over to her, but she didn't turn to face him. The man walked around to stand in front of her, noticing the woman standing there with her eyes closed. "Katie, what's happening?" she didn't say anything and so he reached out, and placed a hand on her shoulder. The moment he touched her, her eyes snapped open and she exhaled loudly stumbling back a bit. "Hey, what-" he caught her arm to stop her from falling. "What are you doing?" she looked up to the man and shook her head.

"Nothing, just-" she shook her head before turning back to the building. "We should head inside."

"You know I'm getting sick and tired of all of these secrets." John says and the woman stops and turns back to him. "You and Oliver had us in the dark this entire time, and you put us in an impossible position."

"And what position is that John?" Katie asked turning to him. "Would knowing what was happening to me change anything? Would it help at all?"

"Maybe not, but we would've at least been prepared to-"

"Knowing wouldn't have prepared you for anything! I've known this entire damn time, and I'm not prepared for any of this. You not knowing was us simply hoping to keep the craziness happening to us contained to only us. Telling all of you, letting you know what was happening wouldn't have changed anything. It would only be the reason for the looks and nervousness, but now it doesn't matter because here we are." she turned to head back inside.

"Yeah, here we are. But you're forgetting one thing." the man walked over to stand in front of the woman. "Telling us sooner probably wouldn't have changed anything, but we would've at least been able to try." he walked around the woman and held open the door, and she let out a sigh before walking inside.

Katie's eyes were on the Guardian suit when she heard the sound of the elevator doors opening. For some reason she didn't turn. She kept replaying those words she'd told to Samantha.

It takes a certain type of person to put those suits on and go out there.

Those words were definitely true. She couldn't even imagine herself slipping that suit back on. Not the person she was now...the things she's done...said. She shook her head at the thought.

A hand touched her back, and she was snapped out of her head, and turned to see Oliver, a slight look of concern on his face. She opened her mouth to reassure him that she was alright, but her eyes turned to see a new face. The woman walked over a slight smile on her face that seemed to slowly dissolve the closer she got.

The woman's posture seemed to change, standing a bit straighter and choosing to stop a few feet away. She closed her eyes and slightly gasp.

"Mari?" Oliver asked turning to the woman. "Are you alright?" she opened her eyes and gave a nod before turning back to Katie.

"Mrs. Queen, I'm Mari-" the woman held out her hand, and Katie glanced down to it for a moment. There was that nagging feeling again, that thing inside of her that didn't make sense, and at this point she knew what it was. It was the darkness, and it did not like the woman standing in front of her right now.

"Twinkie?" Oliver said once again noticing the far away look in Katie's eyes as she looked down to Mari's hand.

"Call me Katie." Katie finally answered looking up to meet the woman's eyes. "And I can't shake your hand." Mari glanced over to Oliver. "Sorry, whatever my husband asked you to do to me is going to have to wait. There are children that need to be found."

"Right," Mari dropped her hand to her side and looked over to Oliver who nudged his head over to the others. Mari headed over, and Oliver turned to Katie who just shook her head .

"Twinkie-"

"Not the time Oliver." she replied going over to the others as well.

Samantha stared in disbelief at Mari who stood in front of her and told her that she could find her son with magic.

"Yeah. It's a long story, but the short version is that this totem gives me the ability to channel the Ashe- or the spirit- of any animal." Mari said, but she could see the confusion written over the woman's face. "Do you have anything of William's with you?"

"Yes, I do." Samantha reached into her bag, and pulled out a toy. It wasn't until she was closer did they see that it was a Flash action figure. "Just this. It's his favorite." Mari took the toy in her hand and looked at it for a moment before bringing it to her nose, but stopping and turning to Oliver.

"Don't you dare tell Barry about this." she warned and Oliver lifted his hands in agreement. The woman took a few steps away as she sniffed the action figure. Katie took a slight step to the side and watched the woman's eyes slightly widen before turning to everyone.

"He's in the city. I think I can find him."

"OK. Good." Oliver gave a nod before turning to John. " Dig and I will cover you." Diggle gave a nod before turning to Laurel. "Are you alright to be in this?"

"I'm good." Laurel glanced over to Katie with a nod before turning back to Oliver. "I want to help."

"Ok, get in touch with your father. We're gonna loop in the SCPD." Laurel gave a nod before heading off. Oliver gave a nod before turning and Felicity and opening his mouth but the woman already knew what he was going to say.

"Me and Samantha, Workup a search profile?" Oliver gave a nod and the woman smiled. "Sure."

"Great, Thea-"

"Yeah. Malcolm's coming over." Thea said and her brother gave a nod. "I'll go talk to him." and with that the woman was off. Oliver turned to Samantha and could see that with the new information she was still nervous.

"Hey, we're going to find him. He's going to be ok." he said, and she only silently nodded. She knew she wouldn't feel true relief until she was staring back to her son. Felicity came over and lead the woman over to the computers.

Oliver stood there for a moment before he felt the eyes staring at him from behind. He took a deep breath before finally turning.

"You're going to tell me stay here. Maybe help Felicity and Samantha with that profile."

"Twinkie, I need you to trust me." Oliver walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking her in her eyes. "Right now, with everything that is happening, I just don't think it's a good idea to bring you close to Darhk. I think the best thing is for you to stay far away from this."

"He has Ari-"

"I know, and I promise you I will get her back, but you can't go." he said, and she turned away from his eyes and let out a sigh. "I know you hate it when I do this, when I-"

"Tell me to do something, when you order-" she refused to meet his eyes and he leaned forward placing his head to hers. "You should go, time is of the essence." she tried to pull away from him, but he held onto her.

"Can you promise that you won't lose yourself in a fight with Darhk? That with all that anger and sadness, it won't be easy for you to just fall again? Right now I need to find those kids, and I can't worry about losing you in the process."

"You're afraid that I can't do this." she said, and he brought his eyes back to her and shook his head. "You're afraid that I'm not strong enough to keep fighting this, and so you think it will help to pull me out of situations that might push me further." Oliver didn't say anything, he couldn't say anything because he wouldn't lie to her, and he also wouldn't admit that her words were true. When she turned her eyes back to his, it nearly broke the man right there. There was a sadness in her eyes, fear, and also betrayal. He brought his arms around her, but she pushed him away. "Oliver, you really need to go. I don't care about anything else right now, just find them." Oliver knew she was right, that they really didn't have the time to stand there and have this conversation, but he couldn't help but feel the moment he walked away from her, something would change. And he knows for a fact it won't be good.

He finally pulled away from her, and turned to get suited up. He also tried to ignore that twinge in the pit of stomach as he did.

Soon only Felicity, Samantha, and Katie were left in the hideout. Felicity was typing away on her computer when Samantha caught sight of the engagement right on her finger.

"Oh, congratulations." the woman said suddenly and Felicity turned to her in confusion, before glancing down to her right and letting out a sigh. "Or not?"

"No, it's just I'm not really sure." Felicity turned back to the computer and began typing away once again. "I'm just realizing every day that there are still things I don't know about him and it's starting to get to me." Felicity glanced down to the ring again, her mind traveling to Bruce who she hadn't spoken to since he joined Constantine and Jacob on whatever secret mission they had ventured off to.

"Bruce Wayne, right?" Samantha asked, and Felicity looked over with a small smile and nodded. "Well my mom always said if something is meant to be, then it just will." Felicity gave a nod, her eyes glancing over to Katie who stood staring up at the only suit still left in the hideout at the moment.

"Can you excuse me for a moment?" Felicity asked and Samantha gave a nod before watching the woman stand to her feet and walk over to Katie. "I hear locking yourself in your head can be very dangerous. Talk to me." Katie glanced over to the woman who placed a hand on her chest. "Best friend, remember? That's what I'm here for." Katie shook her head before glancing back up to the suit. "Is that what this is about? You want to be out there?"

"He told me that he doesn't think I'm strong enough to be in this fight." Katie said with a shake of her head. "And I think he's right."

"Oliver is scared." Felicity said walking over and taking the woman's hand. "He's scared for William and Ari, he's scared that he may have to give up the election, but I think he is most afraid that he could lose you in all of it." Felicity smiled. "You know I remember Pastor Troy saying at the wedding that he believes the two you have fought your battles and have found your way to each other to help pick the other up. He had no idea how true that was. You see I've seen it. I've seen the crazy, over the moon, ridiculous kind of love you and Oliver have. I saw it before you two saw it. I also saw that when either of you came to fight that cuts you down, you two were always there for each other." Felicity dropped her head to Katie's shoulder. "So yeah, Oliver's scared, so he's going to say some crazy things. You know this. You also know that you are strong." the blonde moved in front of Katie and placed her hands on her shoulders. "I don't know what that thing inside of you is, or what it's doing, but I know you. I know that Dr. Katherine Queen has been through her share of fights and she doesn't get knocked down without trying to get back up."

"So are you saying I should go out there?"

"I think if you really thought you should go out there, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. Oliver's scared, but so are you." Felicity moved back to Katie's side, her eyes going to the Guardian's suit as well. "I'm saying that when the Guardian is ready to protect her city again, she will." Felicity gave a comforting pat to the woman's shoulder before heading back over to the computer.

It was late, and everyone was asleep. Well everyone but Arianna who glanced over to the door. There was a light that shined from underneath, and it sounded like multiple people were moving on the other side. Something was happening. She slipped her hand underneath her pillow, grabbing the cell phone before she quietly stepped out of bed. When she opened the door she was surprised there wasn't a guard posted as usual. She took a few steps further, to see people rushing around in the distance. She shook her head before rushing into the bathroom. Ari locked the door behind her, before heading over and lowering herself into the bathtub. She pulled the curtain around her before powering on the phone.

The girl groaned when the moment she powered on the phone, a low battery notification popped up. Soon this phone would be useless. She had one more call, so she had to make it count.

Katie finally took a seat on the steps, her eyes glancing up to the Guardian's suit when the phone she'd been gripping began to rang. She looked down to the unknown number and stood to her feet and quickly answered.

"Ari, are you ok?"

" _Something's happening."_ Ari whispered. " _Everyone's running around like a chicken with their head cut off, and Darhk's yelling. Where the hell are you? Why haven't you come for me?"_

"Ari, we're close. I promise we're going to find you soon, but I just need you to hang on a little while longer."

"Is that Arianna?" Samantha asked walking over to Katie. "Is Will with her? Can I talk to him?" Katie glanced over to the woman before turning away at the sound of something crashing.

"Ari-"

 _"No!"_ that was Arianna screaming. Katie heard scuffling, and the girl's screaming getting further and further away.

"Ari, are you there?! Ari?" Katie felt like her skin was on fire suddenly. "Ari, please!"

 _"I'm sorry,"_ the moment Katie heard the voice, it felt like the world just stopped. Damien Darhk's taunting tone did not help keep her calm at all. _"Ari can't come to the phone right now. Actually she just lost her phone privileges."_ Darhk clicked his teeth. _"I think I'm going to have to come up with some sort of punishment. Any ideas?"_ Katie didn't speak right away, she was still trying to come to grips with the moment she was in right now, and actually trying to think of a way to handle it. _"You still there?"_

"What's happening?" Samantha whispered from beside her. Katie looked over to her for a moment before taking a few steps away.

"Hey Damien," Katie said, her voice suddenly void of the worry he'd just heard moments earlier. Actually she took on a calming, almost happy tone. "It has been a long time, hasn't it. You know I ran into your wife the other day, couldn't get her to shut up."

_"You know she told me about your little parlor trick. She seems to think you're actually a piece on this chessboard and that I should be worried."_

"Very wise advice, I think you should take it." He laughed, and she actually smiled. "You know if you hurt those children, very bad things are going to happen to you, right?"

 _"Ah, I'm used to your husband shelling out the threats. Where is he anyways? I hope prepping for that big speech he has coming up."_ he sighed. _"Well it's been a fun chat, but I should-"_

"You're not listening to me Damien, that's your problem. You keep talking, but you're not really hearing what I'm saying. If you hurt those children, really, really bad things are going to happen to you. Maybe even your wife-" her lips curled. "You have a daughter right?"

 _"I do."_ his voice seemed to lose it's light amusing tone. " _You have one as well, am I right? In that nice cozy little house, with your big strong security guards you think could stop my men. This is a man's fight Katherine, so if you're not prepared to-"_

"Damien," she actually hummed his name, interrupting his rant. "There you go again, talking, when you should be listening. All you need to know is that if you hurt those children, really bad things are going to happen, and this is your warning. I would heed it if I were you."

_"Well Katherine, I'm in the business of making bad things happen."_

"Your heart must be as dark as you are. I'll be sure to check when I rip it from your chest." Katie ended the call and turned to where Felicity and Samantha now stood. "Could you trace the call?"

"No." Felicity said watching the woman carefully. They'd heard most of the conversation, heard that octave in Katie's voice change as she spoke to the man. Katie's eyes glanced over to Samantha who stood in both confusion and fear. Felicity took a step forward, placing herself in front of the woman, not sure she likes the look Katie was giving her. "Are you alright?" Katie looked over to her friend and took a deep breath.

"I'm still here." she replied before nudging her head toward the computers. "Go, do your part in finding those kids." Felicity gave a nod before turning to Samantha.

"I don't understand. What's happening?"

"We're not completely sure, but right now, you're going to come with me, ok?" Felicity brought an arm around the woman and lead her back over to the computers.

Katie turned, sliding a hand across her face. She felt it. It was practically screaming at her to just let it go as she was talking to the man, and it took a hell of a lot to keep it inside. Katie lifted her head, her eyes looking back to the suit and just shook her head. The darkness was getting too close, and she didn't know how she was going to win this fight.

Felicity was relieved when she got news that Mari had found Darhk's location. She thought for sure when the whole team showed, and did their hero thing, that this night would end on a happy note with two children both safe at home.

The truth was, that night Darhk knew they they were coming. The kids were gone, and he beat both the Vixen and the Green Arrow. The moment the news was relayed to her, she glanced back over to Katie who still stood across the hideout, pacing back and forth. Samantha couldn't sit any longer, so she went to the bathroom.

"Oliver, if I walk over to your wife right now and tell her-"

" _Felicity don't tell her. I will tell her when I come back."_ Oliver sighed. " _Just let me tell her."_

Felicity ended the transmission and looked down to the computers before once again looking over to Katie with a shake of her head.

Ari's eyes scanned the new place. It was a big house, lots of windows and doors. She sat in a large living room, a blaring fire in the grand fireplace. She'd been separated from William and Nora, and she knew whatever Darhk had planned for her wouldn't be good.

"You know given the circumstances, I'm actually impressed." came Darhk's voice as he entered the room. Ari's eyes watched him closely as he head over to pour himself a drink. "I mean the whole William choking ruse, while you snag the guard's phone." he turned to her and chuckled as he brought the glass to his lips. "Actually a pretty genius plan. Too bad you squandered the opportunity. Someone smart would've called the police, not their annoying cousin."

"Well that annoying cousin is going to find me, and when she does-"

"What?" Darhk asks truly amused at the teenager. "What is your cousin going to do? Is she going to fight me? Maybe she'll try to shoot me? So far the only things she's done is toss around some wild threats that have only annoyed me." Damien walked over and plopped down on the couch beside the girl. "But at the moment, I have another problem. You broke the rules. I told you if you broke the rules, you wouldn't be happy."

"I don't-" Air suddenly stopped flowing through her lungs with just the lifting of the man's hand. She tried, she really tried, but it wasn't happening.

"You see Ari, I'm a bad guy, you know this. You also know I have some pretty sick tricks up my sleeve." he slid over to sit beside her. "Right now I'm not laying a finger on you, but I'm controlling the air, and stopping it from going into your lungs. You're a smart girl. You know you won't make it much longer like this." he leaned in closer to her. "You'll die. I will kill you, and not lose a wink of sleep over it." the man dropped his hand, and the girl could finally breathe. She turned her eyes to him, as she inhaled and exhaled ragged breaths. "Rules are made for a reason, so you break another, and I remind you why I'm the bad guy, and I show you some more of my tricks." he chuckled and nudged her shoulder. "Now off to bed, it's late." she continued to glare at him, but stood to her feet. A guard appeared and she assumed she was supposed to follow him.

When the team arrived, Katie wasn't so deep in her head that she didn't even notice. She stopped pacing, and looked over. Soon she saw Oliver, Mari, John, Thea and Laurel step out of the elevator. The looks on their faces told it all, and Katie inhaled deeply, turning her back to them and once again tried to keep a cap on her emotions.

She heard Oliver explain to Samantha the setback in their plan. She questioned him, and then his phone rang. Katie glanced over her shoulder to see the team staring at Oliver, and then glanced over to the elevator. She silently nodded before quietly heading over to elevator. Her eyes were so focused on those doors that she hadn't realized that someone was actually paying attention to her

"Hey," a hand caught her arm and Katie turned to see Thea standing there. "Please don't." Katie looked over to the woman, before turning to Oliver who eyed them both when he ended the call.

"He moved up the timetable." Oliver said and they all knew who "he" was. "Wants me to drop out of the race tonight." the man looked over to his sister. "Thea, let Alex know." Thea sighed but gave a nod before turning back to Katie.

"We handle this together."

"We don't. If we did, we'd have those kids back. Go make your call Thea." Katie stalked away from the woman, needing to be away from people right now. She went to the far side of the hideout, still trying to reign in her raging emotions.

Katie found herself pacing again, really thinking about this situation. Damien really kidnapped these children to force Oliver to drop out of the mayoral race. She believed the key to getting into Darhk's head was understanding why he wanted Ruvé to be mayor. There was something about that position that somehow benefited him. Couldn't be power, he already had that. It had to be something else. A hand touched her shoulder and when she glanced over she saw Oliver watching her warily. She hated the look. Hated that when he watched her, he wasn't sure if it was her, or "it" .

"Twinkie-"

"You're about to tell me a bunch of things I already know." Katie said turning back to the man. "You lost Damien, and you lost those kids because that big surprise attack on him wasn't as strong as you thought it would be."

"Twinkie, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize for that. We don't know how to fight this guy, and you thought it would work. It made sense, but we still don't have those kids."

"He wants me to make the announcement tonight." Oliver shook his head. "I just get the feeling-"

"It's all a big game? That he'll double cross us like he did before?" Oliver looked back over to her and gave a nod. "Well that would be a very big mistake for him to make." Katie says glancing over to see Captain Lance and Mari huddled together doing something. Oliver followed her eyes.

"Uh Mari seems to think Darhk may get his powers from sort or totem. Lance thinks he may have seen it." Oliver turned back to his wife. "Felicity told me about the call, are you...alright?" there was that tone again. That question that asked more than what it was actually asking.

"I'm not alright." she looked back over to him, meeting his eyes and taking a step toward him. "I'm really not alright. You should've taken me tonight."

"And we've already discussed this-"

"No you let your fear of losing me keep you from playing a very big move."

"Except you're not a move. You're my wife, who I love and who I will continue to protect from this for as long as I can." he placed a hand on her cheek, but she pulled away. "Please don't do that, don't pull away from me right now. We need to stick together on this." he brought his hands around her waist, but stopped when she grimaced, and the man suddenly remembered her bruised ribs. He pulled back, and lifted her shirt to see that the bruises had gotten darker, and looked absolutely painful. "We should-"

"I'm fine." she pushed her shirt down, and shook her head. "You should be getting ready, right?" he reached out to touch her, but she once again pulled away. The man didn't move from the spot in front of her. She knew all of this was getting to him as well. That after everything they'd done to prevent Damien from getting what he wants, he's about to just give it to him. Oliver wanted comfort from his wife, he wanted her to tell him that he was doing the right thing. He wanted to know he wasn't totally screwing everything up. Katie slid her hands through her hair before taking a step forward and placing her hands on his chest. He gently brought his arms around her. "I know you don't want to do this, and I know right now you feel your hands are tied. Damien has pushed us into a corner and you feel that giving him what he wants will get those kids back safely."

"And you don't?"

"I don't know. With this guy it's hard to know what's going to happen. Mari figuring out this totem will be a good contingency plan in case he goes back on his word."

"Me pulling out of this race will blow back, on you, and the company. The board-"

"The board of directors aren't problems I'm focusing on today. Right now all I care about is getting those kids back safely." Oliver closed his eyes and dropped his head against hers. She slid a hand across his cheek. "Which is why I will be there the next time you go after Damien." Oliver lifted head, and she could see the objection in his eyes. "You're afraid Oliver that I'm not strong enough to face Damien and the darkness happening inside of me at the same time. Maybe you're right, maybe I'll lose, maybe you'll lose me." she saw how much those words hit him, how badly he wanted to stop it from happening. "But I will not let the fear of losing keep me from fighting for something I believe in. Damien is a monster and he will not just win this. We will fight him with everything we have, and that includes me, so make your peace with that." she placed a kiss to his lips, that he deepened even though he really did want to oppose her request. He wanted to tell her that he would do everything in his power to keep as much distance between her and Darhk.

They wished the kiss could last longer than what it could. In reality they wished for a lot of things.

"Ollie," came Thea's small voice. The couple pulled back, and opened their eyes and their reality slipped back in. Oliver lifted his eyes to his sister who looked a bit guilty for interrupting the moment. "I just talked to Alex and he says everything should be all set in an hour. We should start getting ready."

"Right," Oliver looked back down to his wife who placed a hand to his cheek. "We should head to the house-"

"No, I have clothes here." Katie replied with a shake of her head. She pulled away from him. "You go, give Robyn a kiss for me, and I will meet you back here."

"Twinkie-"

"Oliver, go. We have no more time for things that aren't focused on getting Ari and Will back." she placed a hand on his chest before turning and walking off. Oliver watched as she left before glancing over to his sister.

"Is she afraid of seeing Robyn?" Thea whispered, and Oliver didn't say anything. He did let out a sigh before heading off to change out of his gear.

The truth was, Katie didn't really have any clothes that would be appropriate for a press conference. She lied, and she's positive that Oliver knew she lied as well. It's why Thea arrived before him with an nice dark blue dress for her to wear.

After changing, pulling her hair back into a pony tail, and putting on a little lipstick, she was done. She stood staring at herself for a moment pleased with the fact that her outside didn't match her insides. Katie slipped on her shoes before glancing down to her watch. Oliver's speech would be starting soon, so she had to hurry. She rushed from the room, and headed toward the elevator, coming to a stop when Mari appeared in front of her.

"Do you have a lead on the totem?" Katie asked.

"Uh, not yet, I just-" the woman seemed nervous as she spoke and Katie was unsure why.

"I really have to get upstairs, was there something you needed to say?"

"I've learned a lot about magic, and one of the things I knew for certain was that most magical beings had some sort of totem, or artifact that was the source of their magic."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I was wrong. I can-" she shook her head trying to find the right words. "I can feel your energy. Whenever you're in the room, I can feel you there, as I'm standing right here in front of you, it's almost intoxicating." Katie looked at the woman in confusion. "It also feels very ancient. Oliver told me that it was passed down from your mother?"

"You and Oliver talked about me?" Katie asked, taking a slight step back, she needed more distance between the current object of her irritation.

"It's not like that. On the plane ride over he mentioned your...problem. The black rose, the darkness using you as a host. He just wanted to know if I've seen anything like this before."

"But you haven't, right? So the conversation was pointless." Katie sighed turning and pressing the button for the elevator. "Look I appreciate whatever help you think this is, but I would appreciate it even more if your sole focus was on helping us find Ari and William." the doors opened and Katie stepped inside, turning and giving the woman a nod.

When Katie found Oliver, he was in his office, sitting behind his desk. He looked up to her when she walked in and took the seat across from him.

"Thea said I have about ten more minutes before everyone's here." he said, his voice filled with defeat. "Ten minutes before I give Damien Darhk the one thing we've been fighting to stop. It's just-" Oliver shook his head. "This isn't-"

"The way things were supposed to happen. We were supposed to have beaten this guy ages ago. We're supposed to be on your super secret surprise honeymoon still arguing about how many kids we're going to have." he looked over to her with a small smile. "This is a set back. But we have not lost this fight yet. An enemy who thinks they've won don't fight as hard as they should." the man sat up straighter in his seat. "And no that wasn't a quote from my uncle. It was my mother actually, and she was right." Katie stood to her feet and walked around the desk to Oliver. "So in less than ten minutes you're going to give Darhk something he wants to get us those children back. After that we do everything we can to bring him down."

"I thought we were." Oliver said with a shake of his head.

"No, because you didn't have your Guardian at your side. Now you will. Now the fight will be different." Oliver didn't say anything to that, because he knew she didn't want to hear his opposition to this new route she thinks will be the game changer.

There was a knock on the door, and both turned as Thea peeked her head inside.

"It's time." she said and Oliver gave a nod turning back to his wife who held out her hand. He smiled before taking her hand in his and standing to his feet. He placed a kiss to her cheek and lingered near her ear for a moment.

"Four is still my final answer, Mrs. Queen." he said before taking a step back, placing a kiss to her hand before they all walked out to the sea of reporters.

Katie's eyes looked up to her husband who stood behind that podium and said the words he wished he didn't. She glanced down to her phone to see another call from Michael. He'd been calling since news broke of Oliver's announcement, and now that the news was out, she's sure the man isn't happy. She once again sent the call to voice mail before looking back up to her husband.

"Now I would like to take a moment to thank all of my supporters for all of your hard work. What you've done will not be forgotten." he glanced down, taking a break from the camera flashes before looking back up and giving a nod. "Thank you." with those final words Oliver stepped from behind the podium, walking directly to Katie, taking her hand and pulling her with him through the crowd of reporters yelling out questions he had no intention of answering.

Katie wasn't sure where he was taking her, but she wouldn't let his hand go. There was a car right outside the office, a very nice, expensive looking car, and once they were near Oliver pulled open the passenger side door, and Katie slipped inside. Soon Oliver was behind the wheel, and then they were off. They drove in silence for a while, and Katie knew she would be the one to break it.

"Whose car is this?" she asked looking over to Oliver who lightly chuckled. He actually didn't expect that to be her first question.

"It's Bruce's." Oliver answered glancing over to her before turning back to the road. "It was a loan. It was part of of our my super secret honeymoon surprise." Katie turned away sadly remembering the moments they'd lost because of all of this.

Silence once again swallowed the air between them, neither sure what to say in this moment to make it any better. Katie assumed they'd just be driving around until the reporters had cleared out, but then they passed a familiar street, and then another, and then she recognized a house, and then the next.

"What are you doing?" she asked turning to the man who didn't say anything as he continued to drive. "Turn this car around, right now."

"I'm not doing that," he turned to her once again and shook his head. He turned back to the road ahead, before turning into a familiar driveway, and turned off the car. It was Hank who seemed to appear from the shadows, taking a few steps toward the car, but Oliver lifted a hand to stop him. He waved him off and the man gave a nod before returning to his post.

"I'm not getting out of this car." she said, now refusing to look at him.

"Yes you are." Oliver reached over and took her hand in his. "There is a little girl in there who would very much like to see her mother. And there is a beautiful woman sitting beside me who desperately needs to look into the eyes of her daughter." Katie closed her eyes and shook her head.

"I'm not-" she sighed before finally turning her eyes to him. "I'm-" she looked back up to that house. "The bad things don't get to her, they never get to her, that is the rule." she turned back to Oliver. "There is a very bad thing inside of me and despite what I want, despite how I feel, I will never risk it ever touching her. Just turn the car on and let's go."

"I'm not doing that, Twinkie." Oliver replied once again. She turned a glare to him and he only smiled at her. "You will always be my Guardian, but to be this city's Guardian you can't be afraid of things you think could happen. You can't run away because you think everyone will be better off if you weren't there."

"Right now, this moment, I'm not trying to be your Guardian and I'm not trying to be this city's Guardian, I'm being that girl's mother and the day she was born I promised that I would never let anything on this planet hurt her."

"You're not going to hurt her." Oliver slipped her hand between both of his and held it firmly. "Do you want to know why I'm so sure of that."

"You can't be sure, because you're not psychic."

"You're right I'm not, but I would bet my life on it. Do you want to know why?" he asked again, and she turned to him with a quirked brow. "Because I watched you sing to her when you were pregnant with her, I watched you begin to read the ingredients list on the snacks you were eating when you thought I wasn't looking. I watched you, the doctor, ask our OBGYN every question under the sun when I'm almost positive you knew every answer you were given. I watched when you sit in that rocking chair at night, and you lay her on your chest and rub her back, and you whisper to her, I can never make out what you're saying, but from the smile that's always on your face I assume you're passing along some motherly advice." Katie turned away from him and looked up to the house, her heart swelling at his words, and it's making it so much harder to remain in this car and not go to her.

"Darhk could call at any moment, we should be back at the hideout, we should-"

"I have the phone so whenever he calls, I will answer, but right now I see that my wife is in pain and there's nothing I can do about it. The only thing that I know would even come close to helping her is in that house."

Katie didn't know she was even crying until Oliver reached over to brush the tear away with his thumb. She dropped her head, still trying to hold on to reason, and not let that tug of her heart pull her out of this car.

"You know I came here earlier, and Gloria admitted something to me." Katie glanced over to him. "She doesn't know any Jay Z songs." despite the total emotional train wreck she was, Katie let out a laugh. An honest to god, feel it in her bones laugh. She shook her head before leaning over and placing a kiss to Oliver's lips. "Lets go home." she looked at him for a moment before giving a nod.

Katie clasped her hands in front of her the moment she stepped inside the house. She didn't walk too far inside, and Oliver placed a hand on the small of her back and gave her a slight nudge. Katie looked over to him and sighed before dropping her hands to her side and walking over to the steps. She stared at them for a moment, debating if she should just turn around run out that door, but then something happened.

A laugh suddenly broke the silence that surrounded the house. A tiny laugh that only tugged Katie's feet up those stairs and the woman stopped doubting, she stopped thinking and just let herself feel. Her heart was stronger than her brain right now and she knew why.

Katie appeared in the doorway of the nursery to see Gloria standing with the baby in her arms, gently rocking her. A smile came to Katie's face. Her heart would always win over her brain when it came to one Robyn Maisie Queen. It was because that little girl was her heart, and there wasn't much in this world that could keep her away. Not even fear itself.

Gloria glanced over to the woman, a soft smile appearing on her lips.

"So that's why my little bird is wide awake. She knew mommy was coming home." Gloria walked over to Katie who smiled as the little girl's hands shot out to her, and there was absolutely no hesitation as Katie took her in her arms.

And just like that, everything was just better. It was quiet, and it was easy, and she knew those things were lies, but the little girl somehow made them feel real. Katie pressed gentle kisses to the girl's head as she eased over to the rocking chair where she sat.

"Well then I think I'll turn in for the night." Gloria said, and Katie glanced up and gave a nod before watching the woman leave.

Katie closed her eyes as she held the little girl in her arms, her nose to the baby's head. She heard the soft yawn escape Robyn's lips, and she placed another kiss against her cheek.

Oliver walked into the nursery, his jacket, and tie now gone. The sight of his girls somehow brought a light to this day. A light he desperately needed right now when he felt his entire world crumbling around him. The truth is he doesn't even know how he can help his wife, when he feels himself slipping away as well. The pressure to beat Darhk, and to protect this city, and to keep his family safe was weighing him much more than he thought it would. Oliver walked over and lowered himself to the floor in front of them, keeping his eyes on them.

Katie opened her eyes to see her husband's eyes watching them, and she smiled.

"I concede." she whispered and he looked over to her in confusion. "Four it is." a big smile broke out across the man's face.

The next morning, both Oliver and Katie were both wide awake. They were waiting for the call that was suppose to come. Hours later and nothing.

Oliver glanced down to the phone with a shake of his head. He knew he had to return to the hideout and face Samantha who he's sure is wondering why Damien hadn't made the call yet. He went to find Katie who he expected would be wherever their daughter was. A small smile came to his lips at the memory of watching his wife as she rocked their daughter in her arms. It was the look on her face, that serenity that he knows she's been without for a while. He just hope its enough to keep her with him. His daughter's laughter led him to the den where her toys littered the floor. He walked in a smile coming to his lips as he watches the girl playing with something that both lights up and makes animal noises. He glanced around the room only seeing Gloria who sat near the child watching her with a smile. She lifted her eyes to the man, and could see the slight concern on his face.

"Are you looking for Mrs. Queen?" Gloria asked, and Oliver turned to her with a nod

"Yes, I thought she'd be here with Robyn."

"Oh, she was, but then she said she needed some air." Gloria nudged her head. "I think she just went out to the back yard." Oliver gave a nod, smiling once more to his daughter before heading out to find Katie.

When he stepped outside, he spotted Katie. She was standing pretty far from the house, her back to him as he walked over. She wasn't alone though. Steve seemed to be standing a few feet away from her, and he turned to Oliver as he walked over.

"I was just about to send someone in to get you, sir." Steve says turning back to Katie. Oliver continued walking until he was standing in front of Katie and that's when he noticed her eyes were closed, and her breaths were very slow. "She's been like this for a while. I wasn't sure if I should-"

"It's fine, Steve." Oliver says glancing over to the man. "You can go." the man gave a nod, glancing over to Katie once more before turning and walking off. Oliver turned back to Katie unsure what he was witnessing right now. "Twinkie?" he reached out to touch her, but her eyes suddenly flew open and she gasped. She blinked a couple of times, trying to come back to the moment before finally noticing Oliver standing in front of her.

"When did you come out here?"

"What was that?" Oliver asked instead, figuring it was the more important question. "What were you doing?"

"I-" Katie shook her head trying to find the right words to explain it. "There's this humming, sometimes I hear it as clear as day, and sometimes it just feels very far." she took a step toward him. "It's Damien. Whenever he's close by, I feel the humming. It's this connection that's between us, and I think I could use it to-"

"No," Oliver shook his head, and he knows his abruptness will lead to an argument, but he just can't let her do this. "Look Mari is already coming up with a way for us to find him." Katie didn't say anything, because she was tired of this same argument. He still doesn't want her to help go after Damien, and she thinks she maybe the one to finally knock him off his game. She simply gave a nod before turning and heading back to the house. "Twinkie, wait." he followed after her, but she didn't stop walking. "You don't get what's happening." those words stopped her, and she turned to him in confusion. "Damien will be a trigger, just like the moment you found out Ari was missing. If you...change again, there's a chance I won't get you back, and I don't want to risk that happening. And neither should you." Katie looked at him for a moment, deciding she was actually going to choose her next words wisely. She ran her fingers through her hair before walking over to Oliver, closing the distance between them.

"I need you to believe in me, Liver."

"I do, of course I do, I just-" she shook her head and grabbed the front of his jacket slightly tugging him closes.

"Liver, listen. I need you to believe in me when no one else will. I need you to believe in me when even I have my doubts. No one knows the strength of this darkness inside of me more than I do, but I also know the strength that I have. I'm not saying it won't beat me, but what I am saying is that I will fight til my last breath before it does." she sighed. "So believe in me, ok?" Oliver silently nodded before watching the woman turn and head inside the house.

There was something somber about walking into that empty campaign office as Katie and Oliver walked inside and just stopped. So much hard work, and promises went into this campaign, and now it was all gone. They both looked up as Alex appeared carrying a box. He glanced over to the couple and paused for a moment before heading over to his desk to continue packing up. Katie turned at the sound of her ringing phone and she groaned at the sight of Michael's number again.

"You should take it." Oliver suggested and Katie looked up to him with a shake of her head.

"I can't think about the company right now." she replied before nudging her head over to Alex. "You should say something to him." Oliver glanced over to the man before walking over. Katie took a seat at one of the desk, her eyes looking around at all of the "Vote for Oliver Queen" posters that were posted around. She was upset with all of this, angry that Damien had manipulated and schemed to get what he wanted. There was a very tiny part of her, one she's not quite proud of that is relieved that Oliver is out of this race. In this fantasy in her head, once they've finally figured out a way to stop Darhk and get rid of all of his HIVE, maybe they can once again find peace away from the craziness of this city. Maybe they can start over.

She turned, meeting Alex's gaze as he silently headed out the door. She turned to Oliver, and she could see the guilt that was written all over his face. Katie stood to her feet, and walked over to him and he turned to her with a shake of his head.

"I should've made more of an effort in trying to be more in William's life. Maybe if I was there-"

"Hey you can't beat yourself up about things that were beyond your control. Samantha made her terms very clear."

"Yeah, but I could've tried harder. Showed her how much I've changed, made her see that me being in his life wouldn't be a mistake. Maybe then I could've kept him safe."

"Maybe I could've fought the CPS system. Threw my money at whoever would take it to get Ari back. Oliver we can't change the past, but what we can do is learn from the decisions we've made, and make better ones in the future. It's the only thing we can do." she groaned when her phone once again rang and she didn't have to look at it to know who it was. But she did, and she just shook her head.

"Look I know right now you don't want to worry about the company, but at some point-" Oliver shook his head. "I shouldn't have roped RI into this. I should've ran this race without pulling your name into it."

"Well my name is sort of your name now." she replied placing a hand on his chest. "I have no doubt that there is a shit storm waiting for me at that company, and I will deal with it, once we've found Arianna and William."

Oliver held on to Katie's hand as they rode the elevator down to the hideout. She glanced down to their hands and for some reason she smiled.

"What?" Oliver asked glancing over to her, and she looked up and opened her mouth to respond when the doors suddenly opened.

"I'll tell you later." she replied before they stepped off to see the team, Captain Lance included looking down to something.

Mari's eyes widen the moment she saw the couple walking over.

"I was just about to text you." she said as she walked over. "I e-mailed Captain Lance's drawing of Darhk's idol to a friend of mine at Detroit University." she nudged her head for them to follow her where the team was all gathered looking down to a strange map.

"And did he recognize it?" Katie asked.

"It's a Khushu idol, very rare, very powerful, but its power requires a constant connection to one of the earth's Ley lines." Mari said, and they glanced down to the map now realizing what it was showing. Katie eyes looked over to the sketch she assumes is what Quentin saw in Damien's office. She picked it up from the table, glad everyone was focused on what Mari was saying in this moment instead of seeing the total bewildered look on her face right now.

"I never thought I'd say this, but huh?" Felicity asked, totally confused.

"Ok. Think WI-Fi for magic, and the idol is his Internet connection. If Professor Macalester's theory is correct and this map is accurate-" Mari glanced down to the map, and John gave a nod appearing beside her.

"Then Darhk must be holed up near one of these Ley lines in order for him to get the strongest signal."

"I'll start cross-referencing all the locations that we've encountered Darhk." Felicity replied about to turn and head over to the computer, but stopped when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and rolled her eyes before sending the call to voice mail. Everyone looked over to her in confusion and she just shook her head before turning and heading over to her computer.

"Hey," a hand touched Katie's shoulder and she jumped slightly as she looked up to see Mari standing there with a look of concern on her face. "Are you alright?" she looked down to the sketch in Katie's hand. "Have you seen this before?" Katie dropped her eyes back down to the sketch and looked at it for a moment.

"Yes," she says before looking up as Oliver stalks away from Samantha, and the look on his face shows he's not happy. She hands the sketch to Mari about to follow after Oliver, but she stops in front of Samantha.

"What happened?"

"My son isn't here!" Samantha snapped angrily. "The terms were Oliver drops out of the race and I get my son back, but I still don't have him."

"Samantha, I understand-"

"You understand nothing, because that's not your child being held captive by a psychopath!" the woman turned away in anger about to stalk away.

"You're right!" Katie called after her, and the woman stopped and looked back to her. "It's not my son or daughter that bastard has, but there's this girl, this child that I vowed to keep safe and to give a home and to show her all the love in the world, and that monster took her." Katie walked over to the woman and she noticed how everyone stopped around them and kept their eyes on the two women. "You're hurting and you're scared, and you're angry, and those emotions are justified, but I promise you that everyone here first priority is getting your son, and my cousin back safely. That includes Oliver." Samantha shook her head and turned away. "Samantha-" she turned back to Katie. "Trust me. Trust Oliver. Trust everyone in this room, right now. We are going to get William back to you." Samantha fought the tears that threatened to fall and she silently gave Katie a nod before turning and walking away. Once she was gone, Katie turned and let out a sigh, finally noticing the eyes on her and she shook her head.

"I look forward to the day I can talk to someone and not have everyone watch me like I'm ticking time bomb." she turned about to head off to check on Oliver, but she stopped and turned back to her friends. "I get it. None of us know what this thing is inside of me, and it's scary, and this may be hard to believe but it probably scares me more than it scares you. But right now I'm still me, I'm still here, so I could ask you all not to worry so much, but I doubt that would stop any of you."

"It won't." Felicity said, and Katie smiled before turning to find Oliver. She'd only taken one step before her phone once again rang. Katie looked down to the phone, once again seeing Michael's number. This was getting annoying and she knows he won't stop until she talks to him.

"You look like you need to take that call." Mari appeared in front of Katie. "Go, I'll talk to Oliver." Katie looked unsure, but gave a nod before turning and walking back over to the table and sitting. Her eyes once again looking down to the map before looking to her phone and finally answering.

"Hello Michael."

 _"Hello Michael?"_ his voice was angry, and lacked it's usual amusing tone. _"I've called you dozens of times, and then a dozen more and the first thing you say to me is hello Michael."_

"Well it's better than my usual greeting to you."

 _"This isn't funny. I'm not joking, do you have any idea what is happening here. At your company, yours!"_ he huffed, and Katie heard the clinking sound of a glass which she assumed meant he was a bit drunk right now. _"You should've taken their deal and backed Adams, at least now our company wouldn't look so incompetent. It was your decision to align RI with Oliver's mayoral campaign-"_

"I know."

_"It was your decision to not offer support of Ruvé Adams which could've put us in a better place right now."_

"I know that too."

_"The board isn't happy right now."_

"I assumed they wouldn't be." she said and the man huffed, and she heard something crash, and she dropped her head. "I don't know what you want me to say Mike. Oliver is no longer running for mayor."

_"Do I at least get to know why this is happening?"_

"I'm sorry, but you don't." she glanced up, and looked over her shoulder. "I really can't talk now, we should set up a meeting with the board-"

 _"There's already a meeting scheduled, Sweets._ " he sighed. _"One you're not invited to."_

"They're taking a vote to unseat me as CEO?" she asked and the man didn't reply. Katie turned back around, taking his silence as answer enough and she wasn't sure how she felt. "Ok."

_"Ok? There's nothing ok about this situation. You need to get ahead of this. Come to the office, plead your case to the board, spin whatever lie you have to, just get here and show them that this company is your first priority."_

"I can't do that, Mike. Because right now, it's just not. Look I can't talk right now, I have to go."

 _"Sweets, don't do this. Don't-"_ he sighed in frustration. _"I won't be able to protect you from this."_

"Well then it's a good thing I never needed your protection." she ended the call and dropped the phone to the table. She buried her face in her palms, and in a spell of frustration she slammed her palm to the table and unintentionally to the map that show the ley lines in the city. "One thing needs to go right today." Katie stood to her feet, her hand still planted on the map as she closed her eyes. "Where are you, you bastard?"

Oliver looked up to Mari who just suggested something he didn't really want to believe was true.

"Oliver, the best gift you can give him is his childhood." Mari said. "Keep him as far away from your world for as long as possible." Oliver shook his head.

"I have a daughter. She's just as much at risk as William. I couldn't even fathom the thought of not watching her grow up, of not being in her life. How fair would it be to send William away, and not her?"

"Oliver I have no doubt that you love both your children, and I know in the end you will do what you think is best to keep them safe." Mari said with a slight shrug. Both glanced up when the lights above them began flickering.

"What the hell is that?" Oliver muttered standing to his feet. He look over to Mari who tilted her head slightly. "Mari?" she looked to Oliver before standing to her feet as well and rushing off. Oliver quickly followed after her.

Both seemed to stop when they found the others all standing as they seemed to be staring at something. Oliver and Mari walked further to see what had caught everyone's attention and their eyes slightly widened at the sight of the ley line map floating in the air in front of Katie whose extended hand was glowing, an incandescent white light. Oliver took a step forward, but Mari caught his arm to stop him. He turned his eyes to her and she just gave a nod before walking toward the woman.

"You all should stay back." Mari ordered over shoulder.

"Is she..." Thea let the question linger not wanting to actually speak the words.

"I don't think so, but I want to be sure" Mari replied as she slowly took the few steps to the glass room. It was at this point did she see the same glowing that came from Katie's hand, had also replaced her eyes.

"Katie?" Mari spoke softly, but Katie didn't answer. She glanced over to the map, now noticing the small orbs of white light moving over the ley lines of the map. She took a step toward the map, slightly tilting her head as she realizes what she's looking at. Mari glances over her shoulder to Katie with a quirked brow before looking back over to the others who were still watching. Oliver shook his head before walking over and placing a hand on Katie's shoulder. The moment he does the map drops back down to the table, and her eyes are once again normal. Katie turns to the concerned eyes of her husband before turning and walking over to the table and looking down to the map. There was a single, tiny white orb still there for just a moment longer before it was gone.

"There." Katie says looking up to Mari who stood on the other side of the table, before turning to Oliver. "That's where Damien is." she looks out of the room where the others still stood, watching warily. "Sky Woods. We got him." She expected everyone to move in urgency and yet no one moved as they continued to stare at her. She turned and looked at Oliver who stood in front of her, his eyes glancing down to the map, before looking over to Mari, and the pair turned back to Katie. "Ok, the five seconds of everyone freaking out is over—” she looked over and pointed to Felicity. "Tell me what is in Sky Woods." she turned to Oliver who opened his mouth to speak when his phone suddenly rang.

"Hello?"

 _"Very good speech. You look great on television_." Darhk said with a slight chuckle. _"Nelson Plaza, 3 hours. William will be there."_

"What about Ari?"

 _"Like I instructed before, Ms. Locke will be handed off directly to her cousin who I will be meeting as well, at a location she should be getting soon_." he hung up and Oliver glanced over to Katie before turning to the others.

Katie's phone suddenly beeped and she lifted up to see a text message. Looked down to see an address, along with the instructions to come alone. She turned back to Oliver who glanced down to her phone before they walked over to the others.

"Darhk says he's gonna release William 3 hours from now at Nelson Plaza."

"And he wants me to meet him-" she looked down to her phone once again, finally realizing how she knew the address. "It's the cemetery where my mother is buried." she looked from her phone.

"There's no guarantee with Darhk." Laurel said. "This could be a trap."

"And now we have a chance to take out his power idol thingy." Thea added. "Ollie, without his magic, he won't be able to do this to anybody ever again." she shook her head. " It-it will be game over." Oliver wished to hell it wasn't him they were looking at...waiting for decision that he wasn't completely sure about. There were too many variables. Too many ways for this to go all wrong if he makes the wrong choice. But then he realizes with this, it shouldn't be his choice, and so he looks over to Samantha.

"Samantha-" he takes a slight step forward. "He's your son. It's your call." Samantha looked at the man for a moment before giving a nod.

"He's your son too, Oliver." she replies. "Get him back and take this son of a bitch Darhk out." Oliver simply nods before looking out to the team.

"Let's suit up." and with those words, everyone was moving. Everyone but Katie. Katie stood looking down to her phone, reading that address over and over again. She was curious the purpose he would have for meeting her there. She knew it was probably a part of some sort of mind game he was playing, but the fact that she still has no idea the connection between this man and her mother still irks her. She feels knowing it could possibly answer questions she doesn't even know she should ask. And that's what pauses her. The unknown of everything, herself included. There was a big freaking question mark hovering above her head, and with that question mark came unpredictability. Right now when it came to the lives of those kids, unpredictability needed to be reduced as much as possible.

Oliver had only snagged his hood from it's case before noticing that Katie hadn't moved. He glanced over to Felicity who stood near the woman watching her as well, but it was someone quite unexpected who decided to take a step forward.

"Hey," Katie looked up to see Samantha now in front of her. "I'm not completely sure what I just saw you do before, but I have no doubt it's something your friends will need to get our kids back." Samantha took a step forward. "You said it takes a certain kind of person to put those suits on, and go out there and fight, and from what I've seen from you, I think you might be that kind of person."

"You haven't seen all of me." Katie mutters dropping her eyes back to her phone and shakes her head.

"Well I've seen the good parts. The strong parts. And right now those are the parts needed out there." Katie looked back up to the woman, before turning and looking up to a suit she never thought she'd ever wear again.

John, Laurel, Thea and Mari had all changed and were already off to survey the area. Oliver stayed behind, packing up his quiver, and purposefully waiting for a door to open. He'd just pulled his quiver over his shoulder and picked up his mask when he heard the subtle creek of the door behind him open. Felicity and Samantha both stood to their feet and took a step forward before Oliver finally turned.

Oliver stared, his mouth slightly gaped as he watched his wife, who was now the Guardian walking toward him. It was strange how he'd looked up at that suit in the display case dozens of times, and now that she was wearing it, it looked completely different. He didn't say anything right away when she stepped in front of him her bodysuit seemed to fit her like a glove, hugging all her curves. The kevlar vest she was already equipped with various knives and gadgets he never seen, but he thinks Bruce may have added at some point. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight bun. The man was still trying to find actual words as his eyes seemed to linger over her. She rolled her eyes before swatting his shoulder and heading over to the weapon's cache. She slipped two hand guns into holsters on her hips, and grabbed her sais, then she slipped them into the holster on her back. She walked over to Felicity who tried and failed to fight the smile on her face as she handed Katie her comlink and voice modulator.

"When you get back, I'm going to tell you how happy this makes me." Felicity said and Katie shook her head before turning to Oliver who walked over to her.

"You're missing something." he finally said, and Katie looked up confused for a moment before reaching into one of the many pockets of her vest and pulling out the bright yellow and black leather domino mask. She slipped it over her head and looked up to the man.

"So am I ready now?" she asked and the man half smiled before walking around her toward the back exit.

"I guess we'll find out." he called over his shoulder.

"Such a dork." Katie muttered pulling the hood over her head before turning and following after him.

When they arrived, they took up their spots to give them the best vantage points of the large house. The basis of their plan was spreading out and trying to figure out the best mode of attack. That's why Katie ventured off, posting up near the east side of the building. Oliver, though a part of him was nervous about her being out here, actually decided to focus on the mission and trust her.

"I count 17 Ghosts." Vixen informed over the comlink.

"Copy. Canary?" Green Arrow asked.

"Ready."

"Spartan?"

"I'm all set."

"Guardian, are you in position?" Green Arrow asked, and he expected an immediate reply...at this moment time was of the essence. "Guardian?"

"I'm in place." The Guardian whispered and the Green Arrow turned his head slightly.

"And what place is that exactly?" he asked.

"Inside."

"Twink-" the Green Arrow growled. "That was not the plan!"

"Yeah, I know, I'm supposed to wait and specifically be told when to actually engage in the plan. You can yell later."

The Guardian slowly crept down the hall, she tried to ignore the buzzing, the signal telling her that Damien was near. The major problem was this place was huge and she had no idea where the children were. She stopped when she heard the sound of a toilet flushing, followed by the door to her right opening.

It was one of Darhk's guard's who immediately reached for his gun at the sight of the masked woman. He'd only been able to aim before she lifted her hand, and he suddenly lost all feeling in his hands. It was strange, it was like he was there, fully aware of everything and yet he couldn't move a muscle. The Guardian took a step toward him.

"Where are the children?" her modulated voice growled. The sudden sound of gun fire outside let her know that she didn't have much time. The guard didn't speak, and so the Guardian slightly curled her fingers and the man cried out in pain. "Tell me where they are!"

"oom, at the en hall." he muttered through his jaw that wouldn't open like his brain was telling it to.

"Thank you, now, go to sleep." she muttered and she watched the man's eyes flutter closed before dropping to the floor with a thud. She stepped over him and continued down the hall. In any other moment she'd have dozens of questions. How did she know when she lifted her hand, the man wouldn't be able to move? How did she know how to make him cry out in pain? How did she know that if she told him to go to sleep, he just would? In any other situation she'd be freaking out right now, but right now wasn't about her or freaky abilities she seemed to instinctively know how to control in a time of need. When she reached the end of the hall, she stood outside the door, placing her hand on the gun at her waist before slowly pushing it open.

She had no idea what she expected, but Arianna Locke stepping on her foot was not one of them.

"C'mon, Will, run!" the girl called and The Guardian watched as both kids bolted down the hall.

"Son of a-" Katie turned limping a bit, before gritting her teeth through the pain as she ran after them. "Wait!" She followed them down the long hallway, continuing to yell for them to wait and that she was here to help. Neither seemed to listen or even look back. Ari and Will skipped down the stairs, but came to a sliding halt at the sight of Damien who turned to them with a quirk brow before lifting his eyes to the masked woman behind him.

"Well this night just keeps getting better and better. The Green Arrow has a lot of friends. Who are you now, and how would you-" the man seemed to turn away slightly at the familiar buzzing. "She's here." the man chuckled before turning back to the children in front of him who stood breathing heavily out of breath. "That cousin of yours is just full of surprises." he reached forward the grab Ari's arm.

"Don't!" The Guardian called before lifting a hand and suddenly Damian couldn't move. "Kids, run, hide until I get you!" both Ari and Will finally turned back looking to the masked woman as she came down the steps. "Go now!" Ari tugged Will's arm and the pair went running. The Guardian found her self right in front of Damien, her arm still extended in front of her keeping him in place. She reached up with her other hand to press the comlink.

"This is Guardian, I have Darhk."

"What? Guardian get out of there now!" The Green Arrow ordered, and she shook her head before turning back to the man in front of her surprised as he starting laughing.

"I never knew ole Green Ass had so many cool friends." Darhk says and The Guardian notices a slight twitch of his arm and her brow furrows. "With really neat tricks." he slightly grunts as his arm slowly begins to move in front of him. "But it's not enough, it's never-" a sudden light illuminates from the Guardian's hand and his eyes brows knit together in surprise. His eyes look back up to hers. "Impossible." The Guardian doesn't say anything before The Vixen suddenly crashes in from the ceiling, pausing at the sight in front of her. Damien seemed to come back to the moment, and pulls himself free from the spell before flicking his wrist and sending the Vixen flying across the room before turning back to the Guardian. "Who are you?"

"Somebody who really wants to see you burn." The Guardian says with a slight smirk once again lifting her hand fully prepared to do whatever damage possible. She didn't expect for a force she couldn't see suddenly send Damien across the room. The Vixen, now back on her feet quickly grabs the totem and turns to the Guardian.

"This is the part where we leave." she says and the Guardian's eyes look back to Darhk whose standing back to his feet.

"I have to get the kids." Guardian's grits before rushing off in search of the children. She's so tempted to turn around and finish what she's started. She can feel it with every step further away she gets. He was right there, right in front of her, and with just a flick of her hand she probably could've snapped his neck, or with the utterance of a few words caused him to suffocate right there in front of her. She could've ended him right there and slept like a baby tonight.

She stopped running at the slight sound that came from the door to her left. She turned and quietly opened the door to the closet and looked down to see Ari and William crouched down to the floor hugging each other tightly.

"Hey-" the Guardian took a step back and looked down both ends of the hall to make sure the coast was clear before turning back to the kids. "I think it's time you two got out of here." they looked up to her as she held out her hand. "Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt, ever again." Ari looked at the woman for a few moments before her hand reached out. The Guardian grasped Arianna's hand, while the teenager still held firmly to William's. "Aright, stay right behind me, ok?" Arianna nodded and followed behind the masked woman. "I have the kids and we're headed out the front, is it clear?"

"Yeah, the totem's destroyed, Darhk and the HIVE are down and police are about to be covering this entire compound." the Green Arrow said. "You need to get out of there." The Guardian glanced back to the children behind her and gave a smile. "Guardian for the first time during this mission, I want you to just listen to me." they reached the front door and saw the flashing lights. The Guardian stopped and turned back to Ari and Will.

"The police will be here soon, and when they do, I can't be."

"Why? You saved us. You're—you're like a hero right...like the Flash?" Will said and Katie gave the boy a smile. It was ridiculous how much he looked like his father. She turned back to Ari.

"I want you to hold his hand and not let it go until it's time. Stick together until this is all over. Your families will be waiting for you." The Guardian said before taking only a step to turn before a hand reached out and grabbed her arm. She turned back to see Ari who took a step forward.

"Who are you?" Ari asked.

"I'm Star City's Guardian." and with that the woman turned and bolted out the door, and into the surrounding woods. She stood hidden and watched as the police came into view and walked over to Will and Ari before she turned and continued running.

At this moment, the plan dictated that they should be getting as far away from the scene as possible. They're supposed to be moving, headed back to the hideout. When the Guardian reached her bike where she'd hidden it a few miles away from the compound and saw who was waiting for she knew a lecture was in her future. She stepped cautiously to the man who didn't say a word before climbing onto his own bike and speeding off. The Guardian let out a sigh as she climbed onto her bike and trailed behind him.

Katie expected the lecture to come the moment they arrived at the hideout, but when they arrived Oliver informed Samantha about William's rescue and the woman immediately rushed off to meet him at the police station. When she left, the team stood there for a moment before their eyes turned to Katie. "Ok, I went off script-"

"Stop talking." Oliver says pulling the mask from his face and walking over to her. "What happened tonight will never happen again. What you did was reckless, and it was dangerous. We come up with these plans for a reason, and following them is our only assurance that everyone makes it out alive."

"Liver-"

"No, right now this moment, I'm not your husband. I'm the one who stands at the head of this team and makes sure everyone returns home to their families. We don't go off script unless its necessary. You going into that house and facing Darhk alone was stupid and-" Katie turned and walked away from the man in the middle of his sentence. "Where are you going?"

"Well I would love to stand here and listen to you yell at me for doing something you probably knew I would do, but Ari is on her way to the police station and I will be there when that happens." Katie turned, but stopped and turned back to the man. "You were going have me wait there for the entire thing!"

"That's not—"

"It’s true. So I apologize to each and everyone of you for messing up the plan that all of you had your parts in." she glanced around to the team who stood their eyes still on her before she turned back to Oliver. "And I'm sorry I disregarded your orders while we were out there. I know who you are when we're out there, and I know you're in charge, but I wasn't leaving that house without insuring that Ari and Will were safe. I wasn't leaving that house until I looked in Damien Darhk's eyes and proved to myself that being in a room with him wouldn't be the trigger that pushed me off the edge. Tonight we won, tonight we saved the kids and the bad guy is in jail." she pulled the mask from her face and tossed it on the floor. "And you're right, what happened tonight won't ever happen again." and with that the woman turned and headed off to get changed.

They all stood in silence, their eyes looking over to Oliver. It was Mari McCabe brave enough to break the awkward silence.

"She had him pinned down." Mari said and they turned to her. "Darhk. I went in there and saw her and she had him stuck. He was breaking through, but I can only assume that's because she doesn't truly understand the power she actually holds. I know the worry is probably warranted, but the woman I saw today, the Guardian, she played a part in this plan. One she succeeded in playing." Oliver took a few steps forward and picked up the black and yellow domino mask from the floor and sighed. His mind went back to the moment Darhk stepped outside, and the wide eyed look the man had as he glanced around. The man whose usually calm and calculated was slightly off balance and he knew his Guardian was the reason. There was something about her the man didn't expect and because it, Mari was able to destroy the totem and strip the man of his powers.

Oliver assumed the frustration and aggression in the air between he and his wife would be reason enough for her to head off to the police station alone. He was a bit surprised when she actually walked with him to the car and climbed inside. The ride itself was painfully quiet, neither of them quite ready to actually deal with their current problem. When he pulled in front of the police station and turned off the car, neither rushed out right away.

"Twinkie-"

"Three." the woman suddenly said glancing over to the man. "We're having three kids." and without another word she stepped out of the car and stalked toward the door. Oliver sat there for a moment totally confused before he got out as well and hurried to catch up to her.

"Twinkie, we should talk. " he reached forward to grab her hand to stop her from walking away from him. She turned back to the man with a shake of her head.

"We don't argue about hero stuff when we're standing here as Liver and Twinkie. We argue about how many kids we're going to have some day." she turned to walk into the station but he pulled her back to him, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her to him. "Liver-"

"I just want to say one thing."

"Well are you my husband right now or are you the other guy?" she muttered and he chuckled out a sigh and he looked back down to her.

"I'm sorry for yelling, I just-" he shook his head. "You know I never really learned how to handle having you out there with me. Because you were there, and you wore the suit and the mask, and yet all I saw was my Twinkie who I-" he looked back down to her eyes and reached up sliding a hand across her cheek. "I'm scared to death I will lose."

"I'm still right here, I'm still with you. For now let that give you some peace." she placed a kiss to his lips before turning. "No c'mon, Ari and Will should be here soon." the couple walked into the police station where they found Samantha nervously pacing. She rushed over the moment she spotted them.

"They're bringing William here, but Ari is being taken to SC General Hospital." Samantha said, and Katie's eyes widen. She was standing in front of the girl and she didn't look injured.

"Wha-" Katie turned to Oliver whose hand around her kept her on her feet. "Liver," Oliver looked down to Katie before turning to Samantha who shook her head.

"It's ok, you should go." she said, and Oliver felt guilty. He wanted to be here, wanted to see William, maybe talk to him.

"Mom!" they all turned around to see William who smiled widely at the sight of his mother. Katie's eyes looked from the boy to the teenager still holding onto his hand.

"Well go on pip-squeak." Ari says nudging the boy's shoulder he turned to her before throwing his arms around her in a hug. The girl hugged him back before he pulled away and rushed over to his mother. Katie hurried over to Ari, placing a hand on her cheek.

"I thought they were taking you to the hospital?" Katie asked looking the girl over. "Are you hurt?"

"I have a few bruises." Ari replied and Katie turned to meet her eyes. "Courtesy of my winning personality." Katie placed her hands on the girl's shoulders and let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm so sorry, Ari."

"What are you apologizing for? You didn't ask the lunatic to kidnap me."

"No I didn't but I feel responsible anyway." Katie pulled the girl into a hug. "Nothing like this will ever happen again, I promise." Ari, actually happy to see her cousin brought her arms around her as well.

"Hey Ari," Oliver walked over as they pulled from the hug. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm actually not sure." Ari sighed glancing over to where William was smiling up to his mother, and a part of her was a bit jealous. She really missed her mom. They all turned as Samantha and William walked over.

"Arianna, my name is Samantha Clayton, I'm William's mother and he told me what you did for him. How you stayed close and kept him safe, and I want to thank you." Samantha took a step forward and brought her arms around the teenager. "Thank you so much." the woman pulled from the hug, and glanced up to Oliver and Katie and smiled with a nod before taking William's hand and walking away.

"Hey Bullet Magnet," Ari said, and Oliver chuckled as he looked down to her, but the amusement soon left as he noticed the way she slightly swayed. "I think I'm gonna pass out now." the moment the words came out of her mouth, her eyes closed and she went down. Oliver quickly grabbed her and hiked her up in his arms.

It was bright and early when Dr. Ethan Mills went about his daily rounds. He made sure the very first patient he saw was his little hero. He pushed open the door and found Ari propped up in bed flicking through the channels on the television.

"Why aren't you sleep?" he asked walking over to the side of her bed, and checking the monitor. "I thought all you teenagers lazed about and slept your lives away."

"I think you're mistaking teenagers for you." Ari quipped with a smirk as she looked over to the man. "So when can I go home? I hate hospitals and my cousin-" the girl looked over to Katie who sat asleep in the chair beside her bed. "Probably shouldn't sleep in that chair much longer."

"Wait? Is this actual concern for your guardian?" Ethan asked and Ari rolled her eyes. "Do you, dare I say, actually care about her?"

"You're such a dork. Again I ask when can I go home?"

"Well kid-"

"Stop calling me kid."

"Fine, well Ari-an-na!" he said stressing every syllable of her name. " Like I told you last night, all the excitement got to you, and once the adrenaline came down, you crashed. All your vitals are looking better. I want to keep you a little longer, keep these fluids going and get you to eat more than two bites of food."

"The food here is terrible!" she said tossing her hands up in frustration.

"Well then we'll get you something else, but you have to eat something." he reached up and mussed her hair and she shooed him away. "I'll be back a little later." he turned about to head for the door when a sinister idea struck him. He glanced over to Katie who was still propped up in the chair asleep. He crept toward her, not hearing the door open to the room.

"I wouldn't do that Ethan," the doctor quickly stopped and glanced over his shoulder to see Oliver who came in with a few bags and a couple of balloons. "I've warned you before, she doesn't like to be startled, and she will hit you."

"Listen to him Ethan." Katie muttered and the doctor turned to the woman who still sat with her eyes closed. The man smiled before turning and heading for the door.

"I'll be around." he called over his shoulder.

"I brought breakfast." Oliver said sitting the food on a nearby table. "Which you-" he glanced over to Ari. "Will eat because it's food you actually like."

"Do you have waffles?" she asked with bright eyes and the man looked over to her with a nod.

"I have waffles." he replied gathering up the girl's breakfast and placing it in front of her before looking over to his wife. "Twinkie-"

"Not hungry," she tiredly replied as she readjusted herself in the chair in an attempt to find comfort. It was pointless. "Just sleep."

"You should head home and-"

"I will throw my shoe at you, Liver." she said pointing a finger, her eyes still closed. She was pointing nowhere near the man, and he just shook his head before turning to see Ari eating her breakfast. He stood there for a moment before she stopped and looked up to him.

"For ten seconds you were cool, you brought me waffles and that brought you up a notch in my book, but now you're standing here staring at me like a weirdo." Oliver let out a sigh before grabbing the chair near him and pulling it closer to the bed. "Aw, serious face, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "I just thought that after all of this, I owe you an apology. You were used as some pawn in a scheme and that's not supposed to happen no matter what the circumstances are. I promise you from this day forward, I will make sure you're safe, always." Ari looked at the man for a moment before shaking her head and turning away from him. The teenager had yet to actually deal with her emotions with all of this. It was nothing new with her though. She didn't know how to quite handle some situations, so she pretended as if she were fine. That's how she handled her father's death, and it's how she's handling the fact that her mother is currently in prison. "Ari?"

"Damien Darhk is a bad man." Ari finally spoke turning to Oliver. "But he's still around."

"He's in jail."

"Yeah, and all the stuff I've seen him do, I'm not sure a jail could hold him." Ari replied looking back down to her waffles. "I just-" she turned back to Oliver and he could see it. The fear in her eyes and he simply nodded before standing to his feet and placing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Don't worry, everything will be alright." he pulled back and looked down to the girl. "And everything being alright begins with the super secret trip we're taking." he looked over to his wife who lifted her head and looked over to him in confusion.

"We're not still going?" she asked. "We can't...can we?" Oliver smiled over to her, and Ari looked between the the couple in confusion.

"Wait, where are we going?"

All roads must be traveled before you get to a happy ending. Katie realized that before she ventured off with her family, there was still something she needed to do.

Her eyes stared down to the contract in front of her. It was filled with words that all summed up that she would step down as CEO of Robins Incorporated.

"Look you don't have to sign this." Katie glanced over to Michael who sat to her right. It would seem he was the one defending her to the board, and suggesting that she fights this. "Call your lawyers, there is a way around this."

"If you take this to court-" Katie turned her eyes to the board members who all sat around the table. It was Joshua who seemed to be the voice of the board. "If you fight this, you will lose. We have various accounts of your poor decision making when it comes to this company, and Oliver Queen dropping out of the mayoral race when we put all of our resources behind him was the last straw. That decision has damaged our reputation and-"

"I'm not going to fight." Katie replied with a shake of her head. She turned to Michael who looked as if he wanted to interject, but she held up a hand to stop him before turning back to the board. "I sincerely apologize that I wasn't the CEO you wished I could be. I'm sorry the mistakes I've made have influenced this company's reputation, it was never my intention. I wanted-" Katie shook her head as she looked around to the faces at the table. "I really wanted to be good at this, like...like my dad was. But I'm not him." she shrugged her shoulders and looked back down to the contract.

"We accept your apology Mrs. Queen, but it doesn't change what needs to happen." Joshua said. "Outlined in that contract states that you will retain your shares in this company, and will have the freedom to offer opinions and suggestions with all of our projects, but it's not required. Out of courtesy, you will continue to receive quarterly reports to keep you abreast on the progress of the company. Despite what has happened, that is your name on this building, and we have much respect for that name. This company will continue to make you a very rich woman, but we can no longer let you sink it any further than it's gotten. Your father left pretty big shoes to fill, and I think we're all a little disappointed that you couldn't fill them."

Katie felt a pang of offense at the words, even though she knows they're true. Deep down she knew she had no business running this company, but she thought...she thought she could prove even herself wrong. Katie silently picked up the fountain pen, and looked down to the contract once more before signing her name on the dotted line. The moment she did, she let out a heavy sigh, turning to Michael who slid his hand across his face and sat back in his chair.

"A press release will go out tomorrow morning announcing your step down as CEO. Michael will continue as the Interim CEO until a suitable replacement is found. Katie gave the man a nod before standing to her feet and walking over to each member that sat around that table and shook their hand, and telling each and everyone of them that it was a pleasure to work with them.

The last person she would look in the eyes was Michael who just shook his head.

"This wasn't supposed to happen." he muttered and she sighed before placing a hand on his arm.

"But it did, and I will accept it and you will too." she said, and he looked up to meet her eyes. "I couldn't fill those shoes, I couldn't-"

"And that's why this place was succeeding. You had something your father never had, something this company needs, and without it-"

"You will make sure that doesn't happen." she replied with a smile giving his arm a gentle squeeze. "Make sure the Robin continues to soar." she glanced back over to the board members once more before turning to leave.

The moment she walked out of the board room, silence seemed to swallow the space around them. It was Joshua who stood to his feet, and cleared his throat.

"Alright-"

"You can sit Mr. Campbell." Michael says glaring over to the man who looked slightly surprised, but lowered himself back down to his seat. "Well it's done. You all just voted out a respected member of this city, an elite member of this society, the sole living creator of one of this city’s most prominent New Beginnings program, and-" the man shook his head. " The woman who some still deem the hero of the Glades. We could've spun this, and came up roses in the end, but now-" he let out another sigh. "Now we have to deal with the fall out from this," he looked over to Joshua. The idea man for this entire thing. "And when this company crash and burns, I want you all to remember this moment." Michael stood to his feet. "I guess I will see you all at our regularly scheduled meeting next week. Let's hope we make that long. Meeting adjourned."

Oliver slightly craned his neck as he looked to the end of the plane where his wife stood tugging the blankets over a sleeping Arianna. She placed a kiss to the top of the girl's head before walking over and taking her seat in front of Oliver. She glanced over to the seat beside her where a sleeping Robyn slept in her child seat.

"Do you want to tell me now about the meeting?" Oliver asked and Katie glanced over to him as she sat back in her seat. "Twinkie, I never wanted any of this-"

"I know, Liver, but it is, what it is." Katie replied with a shrug. "So the guy without a hand William said took him..."

"I spoke with Thea, Malcolm admitted it." Oliver said and Katie shook her head turning away from the man. "I can't believe I thought-"

"Letting him live was the best thing?" she asked turning back to the man who didn't need to answer the question. "Well right now Damien Darhk is powerless, and is headed to the deepest darkest prison ever built, and for a little while all is right with the world." Katie says with a smile and Oliver can't help but return it.

"So is it-" he looked at her for a moment, trying to ask the question without ruining the mood. "Is it gone?" the smile fell from her face, and she just shook her head.

"No, it's still there. I can still feel it. So much for hoping that Darhk losing his magic would some how fix me." she sighed, turning away to look out the window.

"I didn't mean-" Oliver sighed. "You're not broken. You don't need to be fixed, just-" Katie turned back to the man. "You just need to be you all the time, and we're going to find out how to make that happen." Katie turned to look back out the window, the mood suddenly different, and he didn't want it to be. This was a new beginning, and he wanted it to be a happy one. "I think I'm going to double back." Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. "I'm voting for five kids again." a smile broke out of Katie's face as she shook her head. "And I actually have reasons why."

"Oh, this should be good." Katie folded her arms over her chest as she listened to the man list all the reasons she should put her body through the both beautiful and grueling experience of child birth four more times.

Oliver watched as Katie tried to contain her laughter after his first point that they had too many empty rooms in the house that needed to be filled. The sound brought a smile to his face as it always did. The truth was, deep down, he wasn't sure more children in their life would be the best thing. If he's learned anything from this experience, it's that being the Green Arrow not only makes him a target, but the people closest to him. It's why before they left, he made Samantha promise to take Will and get as far away as possible, and not tell anyone where they were going. Not even him. He knew they both would be safest if they weren't apart of his life, and though it's heartbreaking to not be able to get to know his son, he knows it's the only assurance that he's safe.

He needed that assurance with the family sitting on this plane with him as well. It was the basis behind this trip. He just hopes when his wife finds out, she won't fight him on this.

He knew that was a fool's dream though.


	22. Happily Ever...Nope!

**Chapter 22**

**  
Happily Ever...Nope!**

_"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,_

_and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."_

_-H. P. Lovecraft_

* * *

Katie was pretty sure that in the dictionary under the word beautiful was the beautiful scene in front of her. She sat swaying back and forth on the beautiful oak porch swing, baby Robyn cuddled against her chest asleep. The sun was going down, reflecting beautifully on the bay.

They were a week into their "family-moon" as Oliver was deeming it and it was completely perfect. Oliver had surprised them all by bringing them to this small town in the middle of nowhere. There was this big, beautiful beach house that rested near the bay that belonged to his parents. It was one of the few assets not lost during the liquidation when they lost the company.

The snap of a camera pulled Katie from her thoughts, and she turned with a shake of her head at her husband who held the camera which at this point seemed surgically attached to his hands. Since they arrived, a moment rarely passed without the man grabbing the camera and taking a picture. When she asked him about it, he simply said he wanted to one day look back on the happy memories.

"I'm going to hide that camera." She said turning away, and looking back to the setting sun. Oliver slid beside her on the swing, bringing an arm around her before placing a kiss to his daughter's head.

"Well this scene with you two was just too beautiful to not be captured on film." Katie smiled turning to look over to the man who brought his lips to hers.

"What's Ari up to?" Katie asked and Oliver lightly chuckled. "Please tell me they're not still playing poker." Oliver only laughed more. The moment they arrived, Arianna complained relentlessly about how they were in the middle of nowhere, with absolutely nothing fun to do. She too assumed they were actually going some place more extravagant. She'd actually tried guessing and getting Oliver to reveal it to her on the plane ride over. She'd guessed Italy, or Paris, maybe Hawaii, or even Cancun. She definitely wouldn't have guessed some small town called Blue Hill in Maine. The end of the teenager's complaining only came at the uprising of her competitiveness that was brought on by Gloria, and a few of the security guards that had come along the trip. At the moment Gloria and Ari were in some sort of poker tournament that seemed to be going on two hours now. "That girl really doesn't want to wash the dishes." she chuckled before lying her head to Oliver's shoulder. "This place really is beautiful."

"It really is. I remember coming here when I was younger, and I didn't really grasp the beauty of this place. I was the Ari of my family, only I think I was worse."

"Well, you were ok for a bit that summer I was invited up here." Katie said and Oliver furrowed his brow and looked down to her. She could feel his eyes on her.

"You remember coming up here, because you said you didn't." Katie didn't say anything and Oliver sighed. "You remember everything, don't you?"

"I remember the good, the bad and the ugly, Mr. Queen. And that includes a drunken kiss we both just decided never happened."

"I knew you remembered that!" Oliver pulled back, and Katie looked over to him, placing a finger to her lips. He glanced down to Robyn who only slightly stirred, but continued to sleep. He met Katie's eyes and she simply shrugged. "Why did you pretend that you didn't?"

"Because it was very weird. We'd just come from that party, walking back here, and we were talking about something, something that made us laugh uncontrollably." she smiled as she turned away. "And then a kiss happened. I don't remember if you kissed me, or if I just kissed you, but-"

"I kissed you." Oliver said and she turned to him. "We were walking, and the alcohol was making my brain fuzzy, but I remember looking over to you as you were laughing, and something was inexplicably clear at that moment. I wanted to kiss you." he leaned into her slow, and a smile crept up on her face. "And so I did." he once again brought his lips to hers.

"Yeah, that was kind of the good. The bad came in the form of your girlfriend who decided to surprise you." Katie laughed with a shake of her head. "And then I had to witness the nauseating scene of you and what was her name?" she turned away in thought. "Was it Jesse?"

"Yeah." Oliver chuckled as well. Jesse Matthews was his girlfriend from Sophomore year, and he certainly remembers her just popping up here to surprise him the day after he kissed Katie. "I can't believe mom and dad actually agreed to let her stay." he looked over to Katie who was staring down to Robyn. "And when I was finally able to have a moment alone with you, I tried to bring up that night, and you said you didn't remember. Something about alcohol induced amnesia, so I just dropped it."

"And then the ugly came from the fight we had." she shook her head before looking over to him. "I was asked out on a date from that guy at the party...I so can't remember his name right now."

"Adam." Oliver grumbled remembering all too well that day he found out about that date. He'd been in a mood the entire day, and decided to pick a fight with her.

"That's right, and you just blew up, saying he was a bad guy, a player and that I shouldn't go out with him, and I asked what made you so different from him." Katie chuckled as she thought about it. She really wasn't interested in the boy, but so needed the distraction. "I barely liked that guy."

"Then why did you go out with him?" Oliver asked glancing over to her and she shrugged.

"I wanted to be with someone, and feel like it wasn't a big secret that we were hanging out." she looked over to the man and dropped her head to his shoulder. "You were such a jerk."

"I know, but I realized how much of an idiot I was, found the girl, married her and had a beautiful baby." Oliver placed a kiss to the woman's head.

"Yeah, there's some missing plot points in that story, but I'll let it go." she laughed. The back door suddenly burst open and out came a dancing Ari who they assumed was doing her winning dance. "So you won?"

"I did, I did, I did." she sang stopping her dance and turning to the couple and letting out a heavy sigh as she walked over to perch herself on the porch railing, her eyes turning to barely there sun as it mirrors against the water. "This place is ridiculously boring, but it's not all bad." Katie and Oliver smiled over to the teenager who they could see was actually starting to like this place. "I wouldn't mind sticking around here." she glanced back over to the couple. "So when do we have to go back?" they heard the slight dread as she asked the question. It was no secret that even though she didn't love this place, she was glad to be out of Star City.

Katie's eyes turned to Oliver who was the captain of this little trip. Oliver looked between the two and sighed.

"I don't know yet." was his answer. Katie looked over to him in confusion, and instead of acknowledging it, he lifted the camera and aimed it at Ari.

"No, don't-" she jumped off the railing, and Oliver stood to his feet. "Will you stop with the pictures!" she began easing away noticing as Oliver moved closer.

"Just let me take one picture?"

"Fine." Ari says standing there, and Oliver looks surprised that actually worked. He lifted his camera, and before he knew it, the girl had bolted off down the beach. Oliver laughed before turning to his wife who just shook her head as she stood to her feet.

"I think I'm going to put her down, so get your picture and meet me inside." Oliver gave a nod before slipping the camera into his pocket and running off after the girl.

When Oliver spotted Ari, she was sitting at the end of the dock, her feet swinging freely beneath her. She glanced back to him and sighed as he neared her, taking the seat beside her.

"Ugh, please, no pictures." she whined and Oliver laughed. He lifted his eyes to the sky and sighed. Ari glanced over to him and lifted her eyes as well. "I don't think I've seen ever so many stars in my life."

"I know. You'd never see anything like this in the city." he said. Ari glanced over to the man.

"We're not leaving, are we?" Ari asked, and Oliver looked over to her. "Like you brought us here to stay, right?" Oliver turned away, not answering her question. "Damien-"

"He's still in jail, and his pretrial was today."

"But you're worried something still could happen?" she asked, and Oliver shrugged. "I'm worried something could happen." Oliver turned back to her to see her looking out to the water. "He said he had no problem killing a kid. I ran away, so maybe-"

"Ari-" she turned back to Oliver. "He's not coming anywhere near you ever again, I promise. You're safe here." the girl gave a nod before looking down to her dangling feet. "Look, you can't say anything yet, I have to talk to Twinkie." she looked over to the man. "But yes, the plan is to stay here, at least until things are safer in Star City." Arianna looked at him for a moment, and he assumed the news wasn't something she was hoping for. She surprised him when she brought her arms around him in a hug. He only chuckled as he hugged her back.

"Thank you, I just couldn't go back there." she said before pulling back and looking back up to the man. "So when are you going to talk to her?"

"Tonight," Oliver said, already dreading the conversation, but he had a plan. "C'mon we should be heading back before it gets too dark." Ari nodded before standing to her feet. Oliver did the same, trailing behind her. "Hey Ari," the girl stopped and turned back, only to be blinded by the flash of the camera.

"Seriously?" she muttered in annoyance before turning away, and continuing down the beach.

Katie walked into the kitchen where she found Gloria just finishing up the cleaning.

"You know you didn't have to clean the kitchen. I could've made Ari do it."

"No, we had a deal, and she beat me fair and square." Gloria said looking over to the woman with a smile. "Plus I don't mind the cleaning at all. So where's that husband of yours?"

"Oh, off trying to hunt down Ari for the picture she's refusing to take." Katie lightly laughed as she walked over to stand near the window. She spotted the pair as they headed back to the house.

"This is a really nice place."

"It really is." Katie says turning back to the woman. "It's so peaceful here. Quiet you know. It's going to be pretty sad when it's time to leave." soon the door opened and in walked Ari, who glanced over to her. "He took your picture, didn't he?"

"Yeah, the dork got the stupid picture." Ari muttered as she glanced around the kitchen with a smile. "You did a great job, Glory." she looked over to the woman. "Let me know when you're up for another game."

"Sure, but the next time you play, no more betting your chores." Katie says and Ari turned to her with a frown. "You do your own chores."

"I don't know why I have to do chores anyway, we're rich, we can hire people to clean this place."

"We can, can we?" Oliver asked walking inside having heard what Ari had said. He looked over to his wife.

"I bet neither one of you had to do chores when you were my age." Ari said with a smirk. "I saw the old pictures of the old Queen manor. You probably had a full staff of people who cooked and cleaned, and ironed your underwear." she turned to Katie. "And I remember stories about your dad, he let you do anything you wanted and I doubt that included chores."

"Actually my dad was big on me not getting so caught up in our wealth, and actually working for the things I got. So yeah, I washed dishes, cleaned my room, did my laundry." Katie walked over to stand in front of the girl. "Money can't buy that feeling of self reliance. Knowing that without it, you'll still be able to survive. So yeah Ari, we could hire a whole staff of people to do everything we don't really like, but we're not going to because we have you, and you're cheaper." Ari simply groaned before turning and heading upstairs to her room. Katie laughed turning back to Oliver. "Ironed your underwear? Where does she come up with this stuff?"

"Well I didn't want to actually admit it, but they did." Oliver said, and Katie turned to him with wide eyes. "I never asked them to do it, but they-" he saw the look on Katie's face as she shook her head at him. "Don't look at me like that."

"How am I looking at you, dear husband?" she asked walking over to him. "Like your silver spoon was a bit shinier than mines growing up." Oliver laughed. "Tell you the truth, I was probably the Arianna of my family when I was her age too. I hated chores."

"I hated your chores too. Your dad would actually send me away when you were doing whatever chores you happened to be doing when I stopped by."

"It's because he knew they would never get done if you were there. He always said you were a bad influence on me." Katie laughed as she saw the offense on Oliver's face. "He actually told me that after the incident at the quarry, I was never allowed to see you again."

"Oh, incident at a quarry." Gloria said, and they looked over to her. "I can only imagine the kind of trouble you two got into as teenagers."

"He got me arrested!" Katie says pointing back to Oliver whose eyes widened at the accusation.

"We weren't arrested!" Oliver laughed before looking over to Gloria. "We weren't arrested, we were detained because we were out past curfew."

"We were put into the back of the police cars, and it was like I could see my future just floating away, all because this guy wanted to show me something super cool." Katie laughed looking back over to her husband. Oliver looked at her for a moment with a smile. "What?"

"How would you like to see something super cool?" he asked and Katie laughed again with a shake of her head. She looked back to the man as he stood waiting for her answer.

"You're serious?" she asked and Oliver took a step back and pulled open the door. "Liver, what-" she glanced back to Gloria, who simply held up her hands to tell her she knew nothing about where he was taking her. Katie turned back to Oliver who gestured for her to go out the door. "We better not get arrested." she pointed a finger at the man before heading out the door. Oliver chuckled turning back to Gloria.

"We'll be back by morning, I have my phone if you need us." Gloria simply gave a nod as she waved to the man.

"We'll be just fine here, you two have fun." she said, and Oliver gave a nod before heading out as well.

Oliver and Katie had been walking along the beach for a while, and Katie was starting to get anxious.

"Seriously, where are you taking me?" Katie asked, and Oliver looked over to her with a smile. She glanced back, not even able to see the house anymore. "Liver, we're getting too far what if-"

"Gloria is at the house, and so are a team of highly armed guards." Oliver replied leaning forward and placing a kiss to her cheek. "Right now, this moment, it's just us."

"Just us, huh?" she was about to question him more, but she spotted lights further down the beach. She looked over in confusion before turning to Oliver. "What is this?"

"You know you sure ask a lot of questions." Oliver sighed before spinning around and hiking the woman into his arms. She squealed with laughter as she brought her arms around his neck as he walked. "This trip has been a family affair, and I've been enjoying it, but I didn't want us to forget."

"Forget what?"

"This is still our honeymoon." Oliver said as they finally arrived. Katie turned seeing two rows of tall lanterns that lead to a large luxury tent where a glimmer of light seemed to be coming from inside as well.

"What did you do, Mr. Queen?" she asked turning a bright smile to him. For the life of him, Oliver could never explain the feeling that stirred inside of him at the sight of that smile on her face. He'd felt it every time it happened for as long as he can remember. He leaned in, capturing her lips with his. When they pulled back, breathless, their eyes locked on each other, Oliver lowered her back to her feet.

"This is our honeymoon." Oliver says before pulling his shirt over his head. Katie's eyes widen as she glances around to make sure no one was out here. She turned back to Oliver who was now untying the strings of his shorts.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Taking off my clothes." Oliver replied before pulling off his shorts, and Katie looked at the man with wide eyes and a big smile on her face.

"Why are you getting naked, on this very public beach?" she asked.

"Well this beach isn't public, it's privately owned by Mr. and Mrs. Queen. The only other people on this beach are in our house on the other side of the beach. Now take off your clothes." he reached for the bottom of her sun dress but she swat his hands away. "Seriously no one is going to see us."

"Oliver Queen if we get arrested for public nudity, I'm going to kick your ass." she said with a shake of her head before reaching down, grabbing the bottom of her dress and pulling it over her head. She glanced over to Oliver who was now full on ogling her right now and she pushed his chest before reaching down and slipping off her underwear. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the man. "Alright, now we're two people standing completely naked on a beach. What's next?"

"Now you have to catch me." Oliver replied before turning and running off toward the water. Katie laughed with a shake of her head and thought what the hell before following after him.

Soon the couple floated a good distance from the shore. Katie arms and legs were wrapped around Oliver, as his hands gripped her waist, their lips never parting.

"Hmm," Katie moans as Oliver lips made their way to her shoulder, and then her neck. "You are so a bad influence on me." She spun around, floating on her back, her head resting on Oliver's shoulder as his lips continue nipping and sucking any part of her that he can get. She giggled, and it turns into another moan. Her eyes snap open, looking up and smiling at the beautiful night sky. In this moment where she can barely focus on anything, she thinks how perfect this moment truly is, and how much she just wants to remember it.

"I love you so much." Oliver whispers against her skin. She spins back around, wrapping her arms around his neck, and meeting his eyes with a smile,

"I'm so in love with you." she says, and Oliver's lips crash into hers hungrily. His lips trailed down her neck, moving down her chest and she hummed in pleasure. "Maybe we should go check out that tent now?"

The next morning, Katie's eyes opened and for a moment she forgot where she was. There was an arm tucked securely around her waist, and a smile came to her lips. Last night was completely perfect. She gently turned over, smiling at her soundly sleeping husband. She slips a hand along his cheek, before leaning in and pressing her lips against his. And then another to his cheek. Soon she slid over a bit, sliding on top of him, placing another kiss to chest. She felt his hands wrap around her and she lifted her eyes to see his tired eyes looking back to her.

"Good morning, my beautiful wife." he said and she smiled placing another kiss along his cheek.

"Good morning, my sneaky, sexy husband." she replied before settling her head to his chest, comfortable just lying on top of him. "I have to say Liver, you plan a damn fine honeymoon." his chest rumbled with a deep laughter. "It's going to suck so much when we have to leave." she sighed pressing another kiss to his chest.

"What if we didn't?" Oliver suddenly said, and Katie lightly laughed.

"Yeah, sure like that could happen." she muttered closing her eyes, fully intending on getting a couple of more hours of sleep.

"Who says it can't?" Oliver asked and Katie just hummed a non committal response. He decided to finally come out and say it. "Twinkie, what if we stayed here?" she lifted her head and looked up to him with a quirked brow. "You love it here, I love it here, Ari loves it, so why don't we stay?"

"You want to move here permanently?" Katie asked and Oliver gave a nod.

"I mean why not? I'm no longer running for Mayor, you're-" he shrugged. "You're no longer with the company and Star City has enough heroes that it wouldn't miss the Green Arrow and the Guardian. Blue Hill could be home." Katie saw just how serious he was, and how much thought he'd put into this. And it suddenly hit her that it wasn't an idea that just suddenly came to him. She moved off of him to sit, and he sat up, still watching her and waiting for her to respond.

"Is this about Darhk?"

"Partly. But it's mostly just about us, needing a fresh start, away from the craziness of that city."

"But we tried that already. We were in a nice house in Coast City, living in this fantasy world and then one day it was just gone and reality swept back in."

"I know, and I'm to blame because I let it. I won't let that happen this time." Oliver took her hands in his. "Can't you imagine a life for us here? Robyn growing up in this nice, safe place, never having to be near the dangers that lurk in Star City."

"I can imagine it Liver, but it's-" she shook her head before sliding her hands over her face. "This is unexpected." she looked back over to him. "And it's a big decision. One that we tried and failed at before."

"I know, but this time will be different. I will make sure of it."

"How can you do that?"

"By ensuring the biggest threat to us can't get to us at all." Oliver replied and Katie looked confused by his words. "Darhk's pretrial was yesterday -"

"And you want to be there don't you?"

"I just want to be there to make sure everything happens the way it's supposed to happen, and to make sure he doesn't attempt to escape."

"So you want to go back to Star City to keep an eye on Damien Darhk, and you want us to stay here until you come back?" she looked at him for a moment, hoping that she really did misunderstand him.

"Twinkie, I won't be gone long. I'll be back before you know it, and we can start our life here." Katie wanted to believe that promise, but she knew there were more factors, more obstacles that he seemed to be overlooking or at least ignoring. "Twinkie-"

"How long were you waiting to bring this up?" Katie asked and Oliver turned away and she shook her head before turning and grabbing her dress. She stood up and slipped the dress back on.

"Twinkie, wait, please just-" Oliver jumped to his feet, slipping on his shorts just as she stalked out of the tent. "Please just consider this."

"I really thought this was just a nice getaway for our family." Katie says stopping and turning back to the man.

"And it was, but we can't be blind to the fact that our lives, the lives we chose are dangerous. I just want that danger as far away from Robyn and Ari as possible. I want that danger far away from you, and here...here that is possible." Katie stared at the man, seeing the seriousness in his eyes as he spoke. She could tell that he believed his words, how he believed being here was the safest for them. "Twinkie, please just see this, really see this for what it could be."

"Oliver, I see this for what it is right now. This is you wanting to lock us away in this safety net of Blue Hill while you go back to Star City with some idea to only be there to make sure Darhk sees justice, but then something else happens, some other bad guy comes along that you feel only you can beat." she shook her head and turned away, looking out to the water. "I just-" she turned back to Oliver and shrugged. "I can't get sucked in again, only to be heart broken when it's torn away. So no, we're not staying." with that Katie turned and headed back toward the house.

Oliver stood there, watching as she got further and further away. He knew trying to convince her to stay wouldn't be easy, but he definitely wasn't giving up just yet.

Bruce Wayne stood frozen at the door of his penthouse, gazing upon the room filled with boxes. He still couldn't quite believe it. That after everything that he and Felicity had gone through to get to where they were, it would end because he was just...him. After William and Arianna's return, Bruce returned not too long after. He knew the moment he arrived, Felicity would have questions. Questions he just couldn't answer.

_"I thought I could do this. I thought I could just be alright with the secrets that you promised were only to keep me safe."_

_"And they are, Felicity-"_

_"But I just can't Bruce. My friend was going through something life changing, and you had information, you had-" Felicity shook her head. "I need you to trust me with everything. I need you not to be afraid to confide in me the things you don't think I can handle-" she took a step forward. "I need you to trust that I can keep myself safe." she waited for him to respond, to just put an end to all of this and give her the one thing the both of them knows she deserves. His honesty. "But you can't do that, can you?" she dropped her head as tears fell, and she quickly wiped them away. She looked back up to Bruce whose eyes silently stared at her. "I don't think this will work." she dropped her head as she pulled the engagement ring from her finger._

_"Felicity, please just-" Bruce shook his head closing the distance between them. "This doesn't have to happen. I'm sorry for keeping things from you, but you have to understand that I only did it to keep you safe. The less people who know what's happening with Robins, the better. You have no idea what-" Bruce caught himself before he said too much._

_"I have no idea, what Bruce? Just tell me!" Bruce didn't say anything and Felicity shook her head before meeting his eyes and holding out the engagement ring to him, but he didn't take it. "Please take it."_

_"I can't do that. This can't just be over. I love you."_

_"And I love you. You have no idea how much I love you Bruce, but the truth is you're still holding on to this idea that secrets and lies are possible options to protect the ones you love. I will never believe that, and I refuse to be in a relationship with a man who does. " she looked down to the ring in her hand. "Please, just take it."_

_"No," his voice cracked with emotions only one person would ever see. Felicity turned away with a deep breath before turning and walking over and placing the ring on the table. She turned back to Bruce trying to will the tears from pouring from her right now._

_"It's over, Bruce." and with that the woman walked passed him and out the door._

"Oh, you're here." the voice pulled Bruce from his thoughts and he lifted his eyes to see Felicity who was carrying a box down the stairs. "I thought you would stay at the plaza until I was done."

"I am, I just needed to grab some things." he replied, his eyes glancing around the room once again. "You know you don't have to do this. I hired movers."

"I worked out a system to maximize the efficiency of the moving process." Felicity placed the box down, and looked at the boxes that filled the room. "The densest, heaviest boxes are put into the moving truck first, creating a solid foundation for the rest of the boxes and providing maximum recovery time during the most physical moments of moving." the string of words came one right after the other, and Bruce's lips slightly curled up in a half smile. Only Felicity Smoak would turn packing up their lives to walk away from each other into an efficient process. " There's, um... less chance for injury, too." she turned meeting Bruce's eyes, and Felicity felt that knot in her stomach once again and quickly turned away. She ran a hand across her forehead. "Did you uh-" she chanced a glance back to the man. "Did you cancel the venue?" Bruce cleared his throat, and looked down. "Please?"

"Of course." Bruce replied looking back to the woman. "Anything you want." There were no truer words spoken.

"Not anything though, right?" she asked, and turned away cursing herself for bringing up the topic she promised herself she wouldn't. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

"But you did and it's alright." Felicity looked back over to him. "The truth is, I'd rather you hate me, I'd rather you wanting to break up with me and be safe, then to walk down that aisle with me with a target on your back." Bruce cleared his throat, trying to rid himself of the emotion he was still fighting. He met her eyes. "Uh, you can call the movers whenever you're ready, and I will see you-" he turned away. "When I see you, I guess." he walked over to grab his jacket.

"So, tonight?" she said and he looked over to her in confusion. "I assumed you were still filling in for Oliver and since I was on the team before we were us, I-"

"Right, of course." Bruce replied with a shake of his head. "I'll see you tonight." he turned for the door, but stopped and looked back to Felicity. "And I will probably make a call to Oliver to let him know that I should probably be headed back to Gotham." Felicity's eyes widened slightly, but gave a silent nod as she watched him turn and leave. The moment he was gone, her eyes looked around to the boxes that surrounded her and she once again felt the tears, and this time since she was all alone, she decides to not fight them.

Katie was a bit surprised when Ari asked if she would french braid her hair. Even though her young cousin had gotten over her anger, it was moments like this that Katie just didn't expect, but always welcomed. Ari sat in front of Katie in her room as Katie gently tugged and twisted the girl's hair into the braid.

"So uh, you and Bullet Magnet were out pretty late." Arianna said breaking the silence. She wanted to know if Oliver talked to her about staying in Blue Hill.

"Yeah, Oliver surprised me with a mini honeymoon on the other side of the beach." Katie replied. "You know we're probably going to be headed home soon, so you should start getting your things packed."

"Wait-" Ari pulled back and turned to the woman. "He talked to you." Katie looked down to her cousin and folded her arms. "He did, and you said no." Ari stood to her feet.

"Oliver told you he wanted us to stay here?"

"No, I figured it out," Ari turned back to her. "And thought it was a good idea."

"Why?"

"Because there are bad, dangerous people in that city." Ari slid a hand over her face, slightly shaking at the thought of Damien. "And if we're here, they can't ever hurt us again."

"Ari-" Katie took a step forward, but the girl backed away.

"No!" she snapped. "That monster hurt me, and I can't even go to sleep without seeing his face, or hearing that sick, twisted laugh of his."

"Ari, he's never going to hurt you again."

"You can't promise me that. He's there and as long as he is alive, nothing, not even jail will stop him. I want to stay here where it's quiet and boring and no one has seen that stupid drunken video of me." Ari looked over to Katie. "You can enroll me in school, and you could get a job as some local doctor, and Oliver can-" Ari turned her head trying to think of what the man could do. "He could run for mayor!" she turned back to Katie with hopeful eyes.

"Ari-"

"No! You owe me. Oliver owes me. That monster took me, and hurt me because he wanted to hurt you." Ari says her eyes pooling with tears. "Right now this is what I want. I want to stay here, I want to feel safe and I feel that here. I want to stay." Katie looked at the girl for a moment before giving a nod.

"Then we stay." a smile came to Ari's face that Katie's sure is relief. "But Ari, there's something you should know. Running from the bad things doesn't make the bad things go away. The only way to get over your fears is the face them head on." Katie took a step forward to stand in front of the girl. "It took me a very long time to learn this lesson, and I'm still learning it, but you should never let fear guide your life. Never give anything or anyone that type of power. So you want to stay, then we will stay here, but while we're here, you are going to learn that lesson. I want you to talk to someone about all these things you're feeling, all these fears you want to run from. I want you to get them all out until you see them for what they are." she placed a hand on Ari's shoulder. "You looked that monster in the face and you smiled. You didn't bend to him and you never made taking you easy. You need to see him for who he is, and that's just a man who did a bad thing and will pay for it." Katie gave the girl's shoulder a squeeze before walking around her out the door.

Jacob Robins was tired. A man his age should be retired, sitting in a nice house, without a care in the world. And one of those cares was a man. There was only one man Jacob Robins wanted and that was Damien Darhk. And the last place he wanted him was in some maximum security prison.

Jacob's eyes glanced up to the wall of monitors each playing a different news report of the capture of Damien Darhk, except for one. The man stood and walked over to the monitor with a smile at the sight of his daughter spinning around his granddaughter who couldn't stop the laughter if she wanted to. He heard the door to his office open, but for the life of him he couldn't turn away from the sight. He had yet to meet his granddaughter in person, to actually hold her in his arms. A throat clearing behind him pulled him from his staring and so he turned to see Martin standing there.

"Sir, sorry to interrupt." Martin glanced over to the video with a here and then gone smile before turning back to his boss. "I thought I would give you an update. Damien Darhk's pretrial was a bit shaky. The defense attorney isn't holding back any punches." Jacob rolled his eyes walking back over to sit behind his desk. "I know letting the justice system handle this wasn't your preference, but I think-"

"What do you think, Martin?" Jacob looked over to the man. "That our justice system is true and fair and that Damien will get what is due to him?"

"Sir-"

"Damien Darhk has evaded, he's schemed, he's lied, murdered-" Jacob shook his head. "That man has committed an astronomical amount of crimes and I find it hard to believe he's going to be locked up in some jail. He knows how his story ends-" Jacob turned back to Martin. "I know how his story ends, and it's with him no longer breathing. Is there any word on bringing him in our custody?"

"Well since Waller's departure in primping her Task Force X, Mrs. Diggle has been treading lightly with any big moves."

"So our interim director is playing it safe?"

"She sees Darhk is without any powers in confinement about to face justice. When I brought up the possibility of bringing him into custody she says she didn't see the point. His threat level has been significantly reduced and-"

"He's the only one we can get at to figure out what the hell he's been planning in Star City!" Jacob snapped angrily. "Oh Amanda picked a replacement with the same eye for seeing the big picture." Jacob shook his head. "I have no doubt Darhk is planning to escape if he can't wiggle his way out of this, and if we don't get ahead of this, it could be disastrous.

"I will attempt another conversation with our interim director. On another note, Ms. Lane is being released." Jacob looked over to the man. "Mr. Kent will be escorting her back to Metropolis, although she doesn't want to. She's adamant about staying and being here to make sure Darhk stays locked up."

"Does she remember anything about her time with him?"

"Nothing more than she's already told us. Her and Mr. Harper were caught while on his trail and then she was captured. Mr. Harper attempted to find her and some how got tangled up with the Calculator. She says she doesn't remember much, not even the message she passed along to your daughter." Jacob stood to his feet and walked back over to the satellite video feed that show his daughter and granddaughter staring out to the beautiful water of Blue Hill. "I have gotten confirmation that she and the children will remain in Blue Hill until Darhk and his HIVE are off the board." Jacob smiled at the video and just sighed.

"I will believe that when I see it."

It would seem crime in Star City had taken a break since Damien's arrest. The city was quiet which is why Bruce decided tonight would be the night he would tell the team about his decision to return back to Gotham. They'd just pulled in from a night a patrolling. Bruce hopped off of his bike and took in a deep breath as they headed inside.

"You're quiet." John spoke from beside the man.

"Am I usually talkative?" Bruce asked.

"No, but you're usually bringing in the humor." Thea added appearing on the other side of the man who turned to her with a quirked brow. "Well the serious, should I really laugh humor."

"Well I don't feel very humerus tonight, I guess." Bruce walked ahead, entering the bunker and pulling the cowl from his head. His eyes glanced over to Felicity, before turning away.

"How did it go out there tonight?" she asked.

"Quiet." Bruce replied, not even turning to her as he continued to the other side of the bunker. John and Thea glanced over to the man before turning to Felicity.

"Yeah. The City hasn't had a quiet night in 4 years." Thea replies pulling off her gloves.

"I can't believe HIVE is silent just because Damien Darhk is in jail." Diggle adds just as Laurel walks in.

"Not for long." Laurel sighs.

"What are you talking about?"

"The law's pesky need for evidence. The ghost who took William also took their cyanide escape plans."

"There's no one to testify against Darhk." Felicity asked.

"What about my brother?" John suggested.

"You mean the one that was declared legally dead 5 years ago? Oh... should be fun walking him into court."

" Uh, what about us?" Thea suggested as well.

"Yeah!" Felicity nodded turning back to Laurel. " Damien kidnapped us over the holiday. We're all witnesses." Laurel thought it over and gave a node.

"Actually that could work. The fiancee of everyone's favorite new Star City resident, it makes for a compelling story." they noticed the glum look the passed over Felicity's face. "What's wrong?"

"Bruce and I aren't engaged anymore, um, or living together or together together."

"Felicity." it was the tone in John's voice that made Felicity just shake her head.

"It's fine, which is universal code for "I don't want to talk about it." She looked at each one of them and they only nodded before turning and walking away.

"I'm going to go talk to Bruce." John says before walking off.

"Oh-" Thea turned back to Laurel. "Have you updated my brother on the case yet?"

"I did. He says he wants to be here for the trial." Laurel replied and Thea looked slightly confused.

"They're cutting the family-moon short? I assumed we wouldn't be seeing them for a while."

"So did I, but after I told him, he says he wanted to be here to do whatever was necessary to make sure Damien Darhk doesn't get out of this."

When John found Bruce, the man sat in front of the pieces left from Damien's totem, but he wasn't looking at them. He sat, hands under his chin in deep thought.

"Hey-" Bruce lifted his head, looking over to John. "How you holding up?" Bruce saw the look in John's eyes and just turned away.

"So she told you?"

"How are you holding up Bruce?" John asked again, knowing that Bruce Wayne was a man that could go to a dark place when he felt pushed into a corner.

"I'm leaving." Bruce replied looking back over to John. "Darhk's in custody, and without their head, the HIVE seems to be laying low. You, Thea, and Laurel will be fine without me."

"Maybe, but we'd be better if you stayed." John walked over, taking the seat beside him. "This is about you not being completely honest with her."

"This is about me not being completely honest with her to keep her safe, John." Bruce said with a shake of his head as he stood to his feet and pulled off his kevlar. "She wants me to tell her things that will put her life in danger, and I won't do that, ever."

"Would it be more dangerous than being on this team, and fighting crime?" John asked and Bruce glanced over to him. "We've all chosen the dangers that come with this life Bruce, so you're holding on to your secrets for another reason and rather than continue to justify them, you're going to run away."

"I'm not running away John. This-" Bruce glanced around the bunker with a shake of his head. "I didn't come to this city for this. I have a city of my own riddled with just as many criminals and-"

"Yet here you are. Bruce you might not have set out to be a part of this team, but you are. Look I don't want to get in the middle of what's happening between you and Felicity, but I will say is that walking away from that thing the two of you have would be a mistake. You don't find that kind of love often Bruce, and if you walk away, you may never find it again."

"Hey," Thea spoke walking over. "Lance just called. It's trouble."

"HIVE?"

"Said it was an old friend." Thea said still a bit confused. She glanced from John before turning to Bruce.

"I'll go." Bruce says with a nod, before grabbing his kevlar and heading out.

"I'm assuming he's not taking the breakup, well?" Thea asked.

"He's taking it as expected."

"Should we be worried."

"Not sure yet, but I'll keep an eye on him."

Katie was hiding from her husband. Granted, it wasn't a very good hiding spot, and in all honesty he knew exactly where she was. Oliver appeared at the door of the nursery where he found his wife asleep in the rocking chair near the window. Since their argument this morning, they hadn't spoken to each other. She pretty much avoided him and took every chance she could to exit any room he entered. Oliver walked inside, peering into the crib, a smile coming to his face at his daughter who was sound asleep. He placed a hand on her stomach and sighed. He doesn't know how he's going to do it. How he can just walk out of that door and leave this little girl. In his head, he tells himself that he has to ensure the city is safe enough for them, that he can't risk anyone else he cares about being hurt again. His heart is warring with logic right now, telling him to never leave them.

A breath escaped Katie's nose, and he looked over to watch as she awakens. The moment she sees him, she turns away and stands to her feet about to make a bee line for the door, but Oliver takes a step to block her.

"We need to talk." he whispers. Katie looks at him for a moment before giving a nod. She turns and heads out of the room and Oliver follows behind her.

On the beach, a good distance from the house is where they find themselves standing, staring at each other, waiting for someone to start speaking. Oliver, being the one who created the problem knew he'd have to begin.

"Twinkie, I'm sorry if you feel this is me trying to control our lives, when that's not what's happening. What happened to Ari and William proved to me that in the blink of an eye someone who dislikes me or wants to hurt me will use the people I love against me. Staying here, living quiet lives here-"

"We're staying Oliver." Katie interrupted the man. She didn't want his explanations because despite what he believed she knew his reasons. "I spoke to Ari, and she told me how you let it slip that we would be staying here."

"Twinkie I-"

"She's scared, and after what happened to her, fear is a normal reaction, so I get it. Running away from the things that scare us is...a normal reaction. I wanted to run the moment we returned to Star City, because I knew it was there. I knew that danger and that darkness that you're afraid of was there. But then you decided to be the hero in the day and the night. You became the Green Arrow and decided to run for Mayor and I just wanted to run as fast as I could." Oliver closed the distance between them, reaching out to her, but she backed away from his touch. "You wanted to fight, and as your Guardian I would be at your side to fight with you no matter how much I just wanted to leave. Then that monster took Arianna and he took William, and he—" Katie shook her head because no matter how much she tried she could never unsee the bruises Ari had gotten from the man. "He hurt her, intimidated her, took her sense of safety away."

"She feels safe here."

"I know, she told me that as well. I wanted to run Oliver, away from the things that scared me, but that need to run ended the moment that bastard took something from her. He doesn't get make us so scared that we run away. That's not the lesson I want her to take from this."

"Look, I just want to ensure things have quieted down enough, we just-" Katie growled in frustration before turning away. "Twinkie-"

"You're lying to yourself!" she snapped turning back to him. "In your head you believe that this is just precautionary. That once things have settled down, you'll return and we'll live happily ever after."

"That's exactly what will happen. I promise you—"

"Don't you dare promise me anything right now." Katie took a few steps to close the distance between them. "You're scared Oliver. Frightened that one day you'll be too late, or you'll mess up and end up losing us."

"Fine, you're right. My world doesn't spin without you or Robyn or Ari, and if anything takes you away-" Oliver shook his head unable to even think of losing them. "I won't be gone long. I will make sure everything is safe enough for the others to take over and I will come back. Please believe me when I say nothing will keep me from coming back."

"But I don't." Katie turned back to him, tears falling from her eyes. "Because the Oliver Queen I know and I am so deeply in love with has this big heart. So big that I don't think you could even truly turn your back on that city. You promised that city that you would fight for them, that you would stand up for them, and I know you take that promise very seriously. I don't know what you think will happen because of this, but I believe it won't work." she took a deep breath. "We're staying. I'm not happy about this, and I'm not going to pretend as if I am." she turned to head back to the house.

"Twinkie-" she stopped and looked back to him. "I'm doing the best I can to-" he walked over to stand in front of her. "just figure this all out." she let out another sigh, before placing a hand on his chest.

"I know. I just want you to also see the possibility that this may not turn out the way you think it will." she placed a hand to his cheek before turning and heading back into the house. And that was the last conversation they had on the subject. Everything was out in the open, and yet nothing was solved.

The morning Oliver had to leave, he stared down to the bag that he'd packed, and for the life of him, he couldn't just grab it and go. That warring inside of himself, his heart and head fighting over this decision was still going strong. He took a deep breath, and walked out of the bedroom and headed downstairs. He found Gloria and Ari laughing about something in the kitchen. Ari noticed him first, taking in the jacket he was wearing, and the smile on her face fell.

"You're leaving, now?" she asked. She was actually getting use to the life they were having here, and accepted that it only worked with the people here.

"Soon." he replied and he noticed that she looked a bit sad at the news. "Ari, I'm going to be back before you know it. You probably won't even notice I'm gone. You'll be too wrapped in school and your new friends to realize I'm even gone. You're going to be alright." he glanced around in search of Katie.

"She took Robyn for a walk." Gloria answered the unspoken question, and Oliver gave a nod before heading for the door.

"You're wrong." Ari suddenly said and Oliver stopped and looked back over to her. "We'll notice you being gone. This family, this crazy dysfunctional family we have here, you're apart of it, and it works. So, do whatever it is you have to do quick and then come back because I just have a feeling my cousin will be unbearable until you do." Oliver simply smiled before gave a nod before heading out the door. Ari looked at the door for a moment before looking down to the counter.

"You're safe, Ari." Gloria says and the girl looks up to meet her eyes. "Oliver leaving won't change that."

"I know that, I just-" Ari shook her head.

"We're going to talk." Gloria said standing from her seat.

"I don't want to-"

"I know, but you're going to because you need to get this all out of you." Gloria nudged her head and headed out of the room, and Ari let out a sigh but followed.

It didn't take Oliver long before finding his wife and daughter who were no longer walking, but sitting in the sand. Katie looked up from Robyn to Oliver, the smile on her face disappearing. He walked over taking a seat on the other side of her, which placed the baby between them.

"I thought you'd be gone by now." she says looking down to the baby instead of him.

"I have some time." he replied reaching out a placing a hand on Robyn's back and she looks over to him with a smile that will always consume the man. "Twinkie-"

"It won't help." she said looking up to meet his eyes. "I will never accept your reasoning for this, and you will never accept reasoning against it." she dropped her eyes to look back to her daughter who happily played in the sand. "I depend on you." she didn't look at him, knowing she was moments away from completely falling apart. "For more than you probably know, and it's gotten to the point that I don't know how to not depend on you." his hand took hers and she closed her eyes and sighed.

"Twinkie, you believe the pull of that city is strong enough to keep me from coming back, but do you want to know why that's not even possible?" he gave her hand a slight squeeze and she finally opened her eyes to look at him. "It's because nothing on this planet is strong enough to keep me from you. Nothing in this world could ever-" he picked Robyn up in his arms and placed a kiss on top of her head. "keep me away from this beautiful girl or that spirited teenager at the house." he looked up meeting her eyes and smiled. "I need you to believe that." Katie turned away from his eyes, and looked back out to the water before taking in a deep breath.

"This doesn't make me happy. Watching you walk away will never make me happy."

"Twinkie, I promise-"

"You're coming back." she said turning back to him. "I know you keep saying that, but I just can't shake the feeling it won't be that simple. With us nothing ever goes as planned." her eyes looked down to her daughter, and sighed. She really didn't want him to go. She couldn't do this by herself, with this thing inside of her and she couldn't figure out why he couldn't see that. "What if—"

"No." Oliver said, and Katie lifted her eyes to meet his. "Robyn and Ari will always be safe with you. Twinkie, I just need to make sure the Damien Darhk chapter in our life is closed and gone for good. We won't be looking over our shoulder, I refuse to let him steal any more happy moments from us." he placed a kiss to the top of his daughter's head and sighed.

"You should go." Katie said and he looked over to her. "I don't want you to leave, but this moment, this time before it actually happens is painful." she reached over and pulled Robyn into her arms before standing to her feet. "You feel you have to do this, and I understand why you feel that way. You want to save us, and you think this is how you do that. So you're going to go and you are going to finally close that chapter on our lives, but the waiting for you to go is just too much, so we're going to continue our walk." she glanced up to meet his eyes once more before turning and walking away.

"Twinkie?" he didn't want to leave it like this, he didn't want them to be in this place where she was unhappy. She didn't stop walking and he took a step forward. "Mrs. Queen-" and she stopped and he knew she hated that he knew she would. "I would very much like a kiss goodbye from my wife before I leave."

"But when Twinkie is not happy, there are no smooches." she said with a shrug and Oliver let out exasperated sigh before walking toward her. "What are you-" his arm snaked around her back, pulling her as close as he could with the baby still between them. She looked up meeting his eyes as he slowly dropped his head to meet her lips. "You're so annoying," she sighed just before his lips touched hers. The kiss was quick and over sooner than Oliver would've like. He opened his eyes when Katie broke the kiss and turned away from his eyes. She would always make walking away, no matter what the reason, difficult for him to do. He placed a kiss on top of Robyn's head before looking back up to his wife who simply glanced over to him for a second before turning and continuing their walk down the beach.

That doubt was now twisting in his gut right now. He hated that even now with Darhk behind bars, he was still this presence in their lives. Damien Darhk has taken so much from them, and he needed to ensure the monster finally got what he deserves. It's that reason alone, Oliver finds the strength inside of himself to turn around and walk away.

Katie holds the child in her arms tightly, refusing to look back to him. She knows if she does, if she sees him walk away, then that will be the thing that makes her fall apart. He didn't get how scared she is, how afraid of herself she is to be here alone with their kids. It's a horrible feeling, but at the moment she has no choice.

"Don't worry baby," she whispers placing a kiss to Robyn's head. "Mommy is going to do everything she has to, to make sure it doesn't come back."

Oliver has experienced some of the most intense pain in all his years, but that morning stepping off the plane in Star City, his family hundreds of miles away, was a pain that nearly took him off his feet. Taking that step in to his empty home, it was a bit much for him to handle, and so he dropped off his things, changed into his suit and headed over to the bunker.

As he rode the elevator down to the bunker, Oliver pulled his phone from his pocket making sure it was turned on and that he hadn't missed any calls. He had to keep reassuring himself that they were safe, and that no danger would get close to them. He let out a sigh, slipping the phone back into his pocket before taking a step off the elevator.

"Thought she was locked up in some ARGUS sub-basement." it was Felicity's voice he heard as he neared.

"Yeah. Not anymore. I just talked to Lyla. Turns out Waller was serious about prisoners like Cupid working their way off of Task Force X. She's out."

"What?" Oliver asked and they all stopped and turned back, surprised to see the man. "Cupid is no longer in ARGUS custody?" John shook his head.

"The things you miss when you sail off to happily ever after." Thea said and Oliver turned to her and it was the look on his face that let her know the joke may have cut a bit deep. "I'm sorry, I know coming back here sort of put a dent in the whole happily ever after for the Twiver family. I'm guessing Twinkie wasn't jumping for joy about coming back." Oliver let out a sigh before walking over and looking down to the file.

"Cutter's back in Star City?"

"Yeah, and no where to be found." John answered and Oliver sighed as he flipped through the file before glancing up and frowning a bit.

"Where's Bruce, is he on this?" Oliver asked looking over to the others and noticing a look passes over their face he doesn't understand. "What?" he turns to Felicity who avoids his gaze before looking over to John who just shakes his head. Oliver lets out a sigh before looking back down to the file. This was not why he was back, he needed to make sure the hole Darhk was thrown into was locked up tight.

"Has the CSU ID'd the victims?" John asked.

"They're running prints?" Lance replied, and Thea looked over to the man to see if he were serious.

"Wait, seriously?" she asked and they all looked over to her in confusion. "None of your crime tech guys read gossip websites?" Quentin chuckles a bit but shakes his head.

"Let's assume they don't." Thea looks around to her friends, seeing their confusion as well.

"If Twinkie were here she would have my back. I would show her all the ridiculousness about her and Ollie on this site." Thea shakes her head before pointing to the victims. "This is Blaine and this is Shannon." she looks up and no one seems to know who these people are. "Really? Come on. It's the second wedding of the decade." she chuckled looking over to her brother. "Second to the Twiver wedding of course."

"Why would Cupid want to ice Star City's most high profile couple?" Felicity asked.

"Well you figure that out, you figure out who her next victim will be." Oliver muttered.

"You think there's going to be a next victim?" Lance asked and Oliver gave a nod.

"I doubt Carrie Cutter has changed that much." Oliver looked back down to the case file. "There will definitely be more victims until you stop her."

"You?" Thea questioned and her brother turned to her. "You keep saying until you find her, you keep excluding your self as if you're not going to help find her." they all turned to Oliver who didn't immediately rebut the accusation. "I know you just got back, but you are helping aren't you?" Oliver looked up to the eyes on him and for the life of him just couldn't say it. "Ollie?"

"I'm here to make sure Damien Darhk doesn't weasel his way out of this. Look I was going wait to do this, I was hoping things were a bit quiet, but-"

"You're leaving the team?" Felicity asked, and Oliver looked over to her and she sighed. "Where are Twinkie and the kids?" Oliver turned away and Felicity dropped her head.

"Ollie, where are they?" Thea asked and Oliver looked over to her.

"They're safe. Right now this moment, they are safe, and I'm here to make sure Darhk doesn't threaten that safety at all. Once I have I'm going back to them." Thea looked at her brother for a moment with wide eyes before turning away from him. She shook her head before turning and stalking off. "Speedy, wait-" she didn't stop and he didn't go after her because it wouldn't change anything.

"Hey," Lance spoke and Oliver looked over to him. "We get it, but you have some experience with the whole Cupid thing and if you have some insight on how to stop her, we'd appreciate it." Oliver let his eyes look back to the case file and shook his head.

"Fine, since I'm here, I will help." he looked over to John and Felicity. "We stop Carrie Cutter, we make sure Darhk gets the justice he deserves and then I go back to my family." The pair silently nods and John glances down to his watch.

"We have to get to court." he says and Oliver nods.

"I will stay here and see if I can get anything on Cupid." Felicity says looking down to the case file as the guys head for the elevator. Oliver stops and looks back to her.

"Felicity-"

"How long?" Felicity asked looking back to him. "A couple of weeks, months? Will Robyn be a senior in high school when we see them again?" Oliver didn't say anything and the woman huffed. "They're our family too, and we deserved to at least to have gotten to say goodbye." Oliver sighed, turning and heading for the elevator where John and Lance waited.

"So, is Bruce in Gotham?" Oliver asked.

"No, he's helping on the Cutter case, just over at the ship yard." John replied and Oliver looked over to him. "We didn't get too many details, just Felicity couldn't take the secrets and Bruce couldn't give them up. He said it was to keep her safe." Oliver turned away completely understanding the logic, just hating the fact that his friend had to be hurt in the process. "He says this case is his last one before he does head back to Gotham." Oliver shook his head. Having Bruce here reassured him of his decision to leave. He knew Bruce could take the lead and keep this city safe. More doubt seemed to be stirring inside of Oliver.

The beach house was quiet the first morning of Oliver's absence. His missing presence seemed to be completely noticeable. Ari sat at the kitchen table watching as Gloria fed Robyn her cereal. The teenager kept glancing back, expecting to see Katie finally appear in the kitchen.

"He's not even going to be gone that long, and she acting like some love sick puppy." Ari suddenly said and Gloria looked over to her with a furrowed brow. "It's great here, she can at least pretend to accept that this is our life now." she met Gloria's judging eyes and shook her head. "Don't look at me like that."

"I'm afraid this is the only expression I have for you Ari." Gloria said with a shake of her head before glancing up at the sound of footsteps. Ari turned as well to see her cousin dressed in a tank top and work out pants. She was pulling her hair up into a pony tail on top of her head as she walked in the kitchen.

"Going for a run?" Gloria asked and Katie gave a nod before looking over to Ari.

"We're going for a run." Katie says and Ari looks over to her in confusion. "We're going to see if you can keep up with this love sick puppy, now go change."

"Seriously?" Ari whined and Katie just gave a nod. She watched the teenager groan as she stood to her feet and stomped to her room to change.

"How are you doing?" Gloria asked and Katie shrugged before walking over a placing a kiss to the top of Robyn's head.

"I'm adapting." she replied as she began stretching her arms. "I can't just fall apart because he isn't here. I have more important things to worry about, like teaching my cousin how not give monsters like Damien Darhk the power to control you."

"She's trying her best to hide it, but she's still really shaken up about the whole thing. I tried talking to her yesterday, but trying to get those feelings out of her was like trying to push water up a hill with a rake."

"Well I can relate. Which is why we're going for this run." Katie says giving one final kiss to her daughter's head. She looked over just as Ari reappeared now dressing in a pair of shorts and t-shirt, the expression on her face revealing just how much she doesn't want to do this, and it brings a smile to Katie's face. "Aw, don't you look excited." she laughed and headed for the door and Ari begrudgingly followed after her. They stopped on the back steps where Steve walked over.

"Going for a run Mrs. Queen?" he asked looking over to Ari as well. "A run wasn't on the schedule, but I can get a couple of guys changed and ready to-"

"That wont be necessary." Katie said with a shake of her head. "I want you and your guys to stay at the house." she looked back over to Ari. "You should be stretching."

"We're going alone?" Ari asked looking from Katie to Steve. "What's the point of having all of these suits around if not to protect us from crazies that might try to hurt us."

"Mrs. Queen, I have to insist. Your husband gave some very specific instructions before leaving and-"

"My husband is not here." Katie says turning back to the man. "I am and I'm telling you that we won't need an escort on this run. You and your men stay here, make sure no harm comes to my daughter, do you understand?"

"Yes ma'am." he replied and she turned away from him to Ari.

"If you don't stretch, you're going to hate it." Katie says bending her foot up behind her, stretching her leg.

John was the first witness to testify against Darhk, and the defense attorney totally turned the whole thing around. By then end, John's statement was seamlessly pointless in putting Darhk away. They'd only stepped out of the court room when Felicity called with a location on Cutter after her latest couple kidnapping.

"They're on the move, headed towards Pennytown." Felicity announced from the phone.

"Got it." John said before ending the call.

"I'd suit up with you, but- " Laurel said, and Oliver just shook his head.

"No. What you're doing here is more important." the woman simply gave a nod. "Get Darhk."

"Get Cupid." the man gave a nod before he, John and Thea headed for the door. They'd stepped onto the elevator, before Oliver turned to John.

"Call Bruce, let him know about the lead." Oliver said and John gave a nod. Oliver felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out to see a number that only made him nervous. "Steve, what's wrong?"

Ari's lungs were on fire as she tried and failed to keep up with Katie who didn't look out a breath at all. Katie looked over to her and chuckled.

"C'mon, you're a teenager, you should have all the energy in the world."

"Well we have that energy because we don't run." Ari said, deciding to finally stop. She tried catching her breath as she glanced around. They were in one of the neighborhoods just a few blocks from town. "How much further are we going?"

"We're going into town. Once we're there we'll take a break, now come on." Katie was jogging in place in front of the girl. "We got to keep moving, keep the blood flowing-" she turned about to continue when her phone began ringing. She pulled it out and looked down to the number before answering. "Hey, are you out of court already?"

" _Yeah, uh, something came up. Steve called, said you and Ari went for a run and refused any of his guys to go with you."_

"I can't believe he called you to rat me out. Yeah, I did. We don't need a security detail right now, we're fine. What came up that you had to leave the court case against Darhk. I thought that was the whole point of you going back."

" _It is, there's just-"_ he trailed off, not wanting to actually say the words, but Katie figured it out. She glanced over to Ari who was still trying to catch her breath.

"Of course." Katie sighed. "I knew once you got back-"

" _It's not like that. It's Carrie Cutter, she's back and killing again, and since I'm here-"_

"Right, whatever. Look we're going to get back to our run. Good luck with your Cupid problem." she said ending the call before slipping it back into her pocket.

"Cupid problem?" Ari asked and Katie looked over to her and shrugged.

"I'll tell you when you're older. Now move those feet!" Katie says before turning and jogging away. Ari groaned, before she ran to follow after her.

Oliver pulled the phone from his ear with groan, before turning and heading inside the bunker to get changed.

Katie and Ari had reached a park in town when Katie finally let the girl take a break.

"Finally!" Ari whined before dropping to the ground and lying flat on her back, trying to regain a normal breathing rhythm again. "What kind of person would do that for fun." she wheezed between breaths.

"People who are in shape." Katie says glancing down to the girl. "You have to control your breathing, put the exhaustion out of your mind."

"That's impossible."

"Well in certain situations it's a requirement." Ari turned her eyes to the woman. "In certain situations you may have to run, and you can't lose steam when you do. You have to know how to breathe when you run." Ari stood to her feet, and even though she was tired, she intended to get as far away from this conversation as possible.

"It won't go away, Ari!" Katie called after her. "It doesn't matter how many miles away you are, it will never go away." Ari turned back to the woman. "Trust me I know what it's like to be so afraid of something, that all you want to do is just to run as fast you can because you believe that distance will keep it away."

"That monster hurt me, so me wanting to be as far away from him as possible seems to be a plausible solution."

"It is very plausible. It's a normal reaction when someone hurts you. To not see their face, to not have to remember the details of the pain they caused."

"Then what is the point of this lesson you're trying to teach me?"

"He's not going to go away Ari. Sure Damien Darhk could be put into the deepest darkest prison man has made, but that fear you holding onto, he's tangled up in it. So where ever you go, he will be right there with you." Ari shook her head and turned running her fingers through her hair. "I-" Katie bit the corner of her lip finding that there was something she could say that may help. "I had an uncle. He was a very bad man." Ari turned back to her. "He did things to me. Not...not sexual or anything, but he hurt me, mentally and physically and one day I finally got away from him. I got as far away as I could, and I would've gone further."

"Why didn't you?"

"There was this guy from high school who wouldn't leave me alone, and was always trying to save me and long story short I ended up marrying him." Katie replied with a shrug as she walked over to her young cousin. "I stopped running, and everyday I was afraid that he would find me."

"Did he?"

"He did." Katie replied with a nod, sudden emotions pooling inside of her. "He found me and he was the same evil bastard he always was and when he did I wanted to run and I wanted Oliver to run with me."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I forgot something. I forgot that, that monster who was somehow related to me was just a man, and not this unbeatable monster I created in my head. And so I stopped running, because I refused to let that man have his hand over my life any longer. Sure things happened, and I thought he won, that he really was unbeatable, but then he lost." she only half believed that part. The presence of her uncle was still around, whether real or apart of her imagination, but he was there and somehow she had to beat him. Katie turned back to Ari and just shook her head. "Fear is normal, and given what happened to you it's expected, but what I want you to take from this is that despite what Damien Darhk can do or can't do, he is still a man, a man who no longer can hurt you."

"You don't know that. He had lots of men working for him, and I was helpless to it all, so how will me knowing how to properly run help me."

"Well knowing how to properly run is only step one my dear little cousin." Katie replied with a smile before turning and walking away.

"Step one!" Ari called after her. "There's more."

"Oh absolutely! But first I'll get you some fro-yo!"

Bruce had no idea what he was still doing here. With Oliver back in town he saw no reason he needed to be here just to help capture one woman. And yet the Batman sped down the street on his bat cycle behind the limousine that held their crazy Cupid lady and the couple she intended to kill. He held a good distance from the crazy woman hoping to capture her when she finally makes a stop.

He glances over spotting The Green Arrow on his bike, Speedy sitting behind him as they head toward the limo.

"Hey, intercepting right now could get bad real quick!" Batman spoke into the comlink.

" _Well she is intending to murder people, so I'm assuming it's already real bad."_ Felicity commented a bit snarky.

"If we don't stop her now, we may not get a chance later!" Oliver replied. The limo picked up speed, and Oliver and Thea were right on her tail. Batman increased his speed as well knowing this wasn't going to go as smoothly as they hoped. He watched as Oliver neared the back of the limo before Thea tossed herself onto the back of the limo.

"Yes, let's have Speedy try to hold onto the car driven by a crazy person, that won't blow up in our faces at all." Batman muttered before speeding up to the other side of the limo hoping to try to shoot out the tires. Cutter made a turn, bursting through a wall and sending Speedy flying to the ground. Batman growled in annoyance coming to stop beside Thea just as the Green Arrow stopped as well. He turned to see the van driven by the Spartan.

"I'm ok." Thea uttered sitting up off the ground.

"Stay with Speedy!" Batman orders looking over to the Green Arrow. "I'll go after Cupid!" without waiting for a rebuttal, he speeds off into the building.

" _Let them help you!"_ Felicity urges, and he can't take her voice right now and so he reaches up and takes the comlink from his ear and tosses it aside. " _He's tossed the comlink, he's-"_

"Spartan's got Speedy, I'll back up Batman." Green Arrow said with a shake of his head as he sped inside. He arrived just in time to see Cutter shoot an zip line arrow for a window and escaping. He glances over to Batman who looks up to the window with a shake of his head about to shoot his own zip line, but is stopped. "Batman!" he looks over to the Green Arrow who shakes his head. The Batman growls before climbing back on his bike and speeding away. "Cutter's gone, but we have the couple."

" _SCPD is in route._ " Felicity replies. " _And Batman?"_

The Green Arrow hops off his bike to see what looks like the sleeve to Cutter's leather jacket.

"Gone, but I'll handle that. Cutter lost a piece of her jacket, maybe there's a clue." The Green Arrow lifts his head at the sound of sirens before walking over and opening the back door of the limo to free the couple.

Oliver passed the sleeve off to John to take to the bunker for analysis, while he headed over to the ship yard to have a conversation that seemed long overdue.

When Oliver walked into Bruce's lair he didn't spot the man immediately, but he knew he was here.

"I get you were on vacation or whatever, but tonight was a disaster!" Bruce spoke, and Oliver turned spotting the man who came into view now changed out of his suit, and pulling on a t-shirt. "We could've followed her and then intercepted when she stopped. A high speed chase behind a crazy lady was definitely not a smart move."

"Strange, I think I've watched a couple of video sightings of Gotham's Batman speeding down the street after criminals."

"You probably also saw me try to immobilize the vehicle before actually engaging. C'mon, letting Thea on top of the car—" Bruce shook his head.

"And what about you leaving the team and going after Cutter without any back up. If you would've waited we could've stopped her together." Oliver pulled the mask from his face and sighed. "Look I know this whole thing with Felicity-"

"I don't think so." Bruce said with a shake of his head. "This has absolutely nothing to do with me and Felicity. Tonight was just sloppy and when you find her again, you're gonna need to make better choices." Bruce turned around and grabbed his jacket.

"You're leaving?" Oliver asked and Bruce stopped and looked back over to him. "Right now in the middle of a case."

"Your case Oliver, in your city. There is absolutely nothing holding me here anymore. Darhk, though I wish he was not breathing right now, will be rotting away in a nice cell."

"Or not." Oliver said walking over to him. "You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"Darhk's lawyer is good, and Laurel is having a hard time getting anything to stick. There's no actual evidence that can pin any of these crimes to him."

"You're joking, right?" Bruce asked with a shake of his head. "So after all of this, he's still just going to walk?"

"Laurel's doing everything she can."

"But that may not be enough." Bruce growled under his breath before slamming a fist into a nearby table. "Damien Darhk doesn't get to walk away from this." he turned back to Oliver and pointed over to him. "You know what will have to happen if they let him walk."

"Bruce-"

"Don't get all sanctimonious on me Oliver. That bastard has hurt people we care about, he kidnapped your son, Arianna, he doesn't just get to walk away from this. I don't care about your vow to not kill Oliver, but I'm telling you right here and right now that if they let him walk, I will end him."

"Bruce I want to erase that bastard from the face of the earth as much as you do, but if we stoop to his level-"

"Oliver if that judge finds him not guilty, then I think that proves only one level works!" Bruce snapped angrily before turning around and letting out a huff.

"Well I still have hope that it won't come to that. I believe Laurel will figure out a way to make sure Darhk doesn't walk out of that prison." Oliver looked over to the man's back and let out a sigh. "Bruce, you and Felicity-"

"Please, just don't."

"I'm sorry, but I have to. She's my friend, and I care about her, and I hate that this is happening with you two because I know it's not easy for either of you. Bruce I also know that, that love you find that doesn't compare to anything else in this world, can never be found again. I'm saying before you just give up and leave, you really think about what you're sacrificing and why." Oliver gave a nod before turning to leave.

"I hate that I know it." Bruce said suddenly and Oliver stopped and turned back to the man who still had his back turned. "I hate that Richard is so nosy, and smart, and found out the one thing I really just don't want to know." Bruce turned to Oliver and shook his head. "Oliver I know what I'm sacrificing. I'm sacrificing the woman I love, the woman I planned to marry and spend the rest of my life with. I'm sacrificing a life with kids who talk a mile a minute just like their mother. I'm sacrificing that adorable scowl she gives me when I call her Ms. Smoak. Oliver I know what I'm sacrificing because that woman is my life, and I will sacrifice my life to ensure she doesn't lose hers." Oliver looked at the man in confusion, but Bruce simply turned away. "You should leave Oliver."

"What is it?" Oliver asked and Bruce sighed. "What-"Bruce glances over to Oliver and just shakes his head. "Bruce?"

"I will stick around just to see how Darhk's case plays out." Bruce says with a nod. "I should step back on the Cutter case. I can't know it's over and look at her, or hear her voice and not be reminded by it all."

"What if I asked you not to step back on this case?" Oliver asked and Bruce looked at him with a shake of his head. "What if I asked you to separate those emotions, and put them to the side enough to help us find Cutter and stop her."

"You don't need my help Oliver. You've made that very clear since I've worked with you."

"You're right, I don't need your help Bruce, but I want it. Because despite what I would like, you're my friend too and I know you need this case. You need to focus on something that isn't about Felicity and isn't about Damien Darhk." Bruce turned away knowing a distraction wouldn't be a bad thing right now. "Cutter lost part of her jacket, and Felicity is running forensics on it in hopes we can trace places she's been."

"You want to hit the streets, see if there's any sign of her." Bruce said and Oliver gave a nod.

"That's exactly what I want to do." Oliver says before nudging his head. "Go suit up, I'll call John and Thea." Bruce grumbled but turned to change. "Bruce-" the man stopped and turned back to Oliver. "This secret..."

"It's a secret for a reason, and the less people who know the better and you're at the top of the list of people who can't know."

"Me, why?"

"Because your life is good, and it would mess everything up for you and that family of yours. I like you too much to do that to you." Bruce turned to get changed and Oliver stood there for a moment.

"But you don't like me!"

"You're right, I don't, but I'm still not telling you!"

Ari wasn't completely sure what she expected of step two of this crazy confidence building thing her cousin was doing, but she didn't really expect to be in the basement, blindfolded.

"This is stupid." Ari commented for what felt like the one hundredth time. She didn't get a response and she was about to remove the blind fold.

"Don't." Katie said and Ari dropped her hand back to her side. "You only think it's stupid because you're not getting it." her voice is moving, as if she walking around her. "Your eyes are one of your relied upon senses, you have to see it to know it's there, but the problem is we can't see everything. We can't see the stranger stalking behind us when we're walking, but we can hear his slow breaths, we can hear his heavy foot steps, or the sound the wind makes when he walks. He's trying to be silent because he thinks you can't hear him. He doesn't know it's you that will catch him off guard. Count to ten and point to me." Ari closed her eyes under the blind fold trying to distinguish the sounds of the room. There was a clock on the wall that was ticking, a loud drip from a faucet, and the distant sound of wind blowing from outside. But there was a slight sound, it was quick, but it sounded like it may have been a quick in take of breath, and on five, Ari lifted her finger with a smile before lifting the blindfold only to be disappointed to not see her cousin. "Nope, over here." Ari spun around to see Katie sitting on one of the steps that lead down to the basement. She gave Ari a smile and waved before standing to her feet. "You didn't hear the slight creak of the step when I sat down?"

"There was no creak." Ari replied folding her arms over her chest before tossing the blindfold down. "And this is stupid. Knowing how to run and how to listen would not have stopped that bastard from taking me and hurting me. It just happened, and it's not my fault I couldn't stop it."

"It was absolutely not your fault at all Ari, and that's not what this is about. This is about you finally feeling confident and comfortable enough to go back to that city and not be afraid of anyone trying to hurt you again."

"Why, if we're staying here?" Ari asked with a shrug. "We're not going back, so there is no point to all of this." and with that the girl turned and ran up the stairs. Katie stood there for a moment, letting out a deep breath before heading up the stairs as well. The beach house was quiet, a noticeable quiet she seemed to connect to her absent husband. The quiet reminded her that he wasn't here, and that she desperately missed him when he wasn't around. She shook her head before deciding to go outside for air.

She'd only taking a couple of steps along the beach before she realized she was being followed. She stopped and turned back to see the familiar face of her head security guard Steve.

"It's late, why are you still on duty?" she asked and the man shrugged.

"One of my guys called in sick and so I picked up the late shift." he glanced around for a moment before turning back to her. "Were you leaving the house?"

"I haven't decided yet." she replied folding her arms over her chest to look at the man.

"Well if you do decide to leave, I would advise an escort, for your safety."

"And I would refuse your advisement. I would also appreciate you not going back to my husband as if he's my dad."

"I apologize, but Mr. Queen requested that in his absence to be informed of every thing that seemed out of the norm for you and your family's routine. He also ordered us to never let you and your family out of our sight. I won't bore you with the colorful language he used to describe what he would do to us if any danger crossed your path, but I figure you could guess."

"I can."

"So are you leaving the house, Mrs. Queen?"

"I'm going to go for a walk, but I don't know how far I will veer from the house." she replied with a shrug. "But I do know you and none of your men will be escorting me. I want to be alone and you can report that to my husband if you want." Katie turned to walk away. "And if you follow me, I'll come up with my own colorful language for you."

Cutter was in the wind, but they knew she wouldn't be gone long. There would be more victims, they just had to find out who. They hoped she would've left a trail, but she was playing smart. That is until she lost a piece of her suit. Felicity had a lead, and so the team headed back to the bunker.

The elevator doors had slid open and everyone took a step off, everyone except Bruce who wasn't sure he could get the feeling back in his feet to actually move. It had become nerve wrecking even being in a room with Felicity. There was always so many emotions threatening just to spill out of him, which was strange because Bruce was usually a locked box. The emotions he felt never brought to the surface, but with a certain blonde, it was always harder. It was Oliver who stopped and glanced back to the man who still stood in the elevator.

"Bruce?"

"I think I should wait upstairs." Bruce said suddenly with a nod, taking a step back from the opening. "You can fill me in on the next move and then-"

"You know Bruce, I get it. My wife was not happy with me when I left her, and it's the worse feeling in the world to see that look in her eyes. To see that look directed at me, but I just looked right back and whether I was right or whether I was wrong. I wouldn't turn away. Going up stairs won't change the fact that she's upset, just like me coming to Star City won't change the fact that my wife is angry with me. But once this Damien Darhk situation is squared away, I'm going to go back, and I am going to look at my wife who isn't happy with me, and I'm going to make her happy."

"It's not that easy."

"No, it's not, it will probably be pretty difficult because I married a stubborn woman, but it doesn't mean I won't try. Bruce if you want to fix whatever is happening between you and Felicity, then you have to at least try. Show her you're not just going to walk away. Show her you care." Oliver took a step to the side and Bruce let out a deep sigh before finally stepping inside. He went ahead, and Oliver went to follow, only to stop at the sudden vibration of his phone. He quickly slipped the phone from the pocket inside his vest, glancing at the number before answering. "Steve, do you have a status report?" Carrie Cutter and Damien Darhk couldn't erase the anxiety Oliver had about being so far away from his family. The anxiety only settles with phone calls such as this one where Steve tells him that everything is quiet and everyone is fine. Tonight's glitch seemed to be his wife once again venturing off without anyone watching her back.

"How long ago did she leave?" Oliver asked.

 _"About five minutes sir."_ Steve replied. _"I completely understand your wife's reluctance to a life that's a little more restricted, and I've explained that it's all for the safety of her and her children, but she's-"_

"Stubborn, I'm very much aware. I will talk to her, and hopefully make your job a little more easier. Like I told you before I left, I shouldn't be gone long, I just need to make sure my family is safe while I'm gone."

" _Which I'm trying to do, but there are obstacles."_

"Right, well, I'll talk to her. Call me if anything changes." Oliver said before ending the call. He glanced over to the others as they listened to Felicity recount her findings. They didn't wait for him, which only verified the truth that stepping away from the Green Arrow wouldn't be as difficult as he believed. He turned, dialing Katie's number before bringing it to his ear and waited her answer.

" _He ratted me out again, didn't he?"_ she answered and Oliver sighed, a smile curling at the corners of his lips. He could practically see the annoyance etched into her face right now. " _And now you're calling to-_ "

"To say hello, to say I miss you and that I love you." silence followed the statement. "And to say that having one of the guards with you when you leave the house-"

" _I would hang up right now if I didn't miss you too."_ she huffed.

"Twinkie, I'm coming back." he felt the need to reiterate that, to make her believe that it was one promise he planned on keeping.

" _Not before catching Cupid._ " she sighed. " _Oh the irony."_

"Not really irony since the Cupid I'm looking for is killing innocent people. Plus me helping with this doesn't change the fact that I'm coming back to you." silence once again followed the words, and Oliver let a hand slide over his face. "How's everything going there?"

_"Didn't Steve fill you in? He's your little spy."_

"No, he's there to keep you and the kids safe and when you run off-"

" _I'm not arguing with you over the phone Oliver. I'm here in Blue Hill and I felt like I didn't get a choice in the matter, but I'm here and if I want to go for a damn walk alone, then that's what I'm going to do."_

"Twinkie-"

" _Like I said, I'm not arguing about this over the phone. We will talk when you're standing in front of me, but right now I don't want to talk to you."_

Oliver remembered his words to Bruce, knowing that fixing this was not going to be easy, but he definitely was not going to give up.

_"So goodbye, I miss you too, and I love you."_

"Wait!" Oliver said before she could end the call. Silence held the line, and Katie waited for Oliver to say something. The truth was he wasn't ready for the call to be over. He wasn't ready just yet to not hear the sound of her voice even if they were words of anger. "I just need one minute."

" _But I want more. More than a minute, more than a voice on the phone. I want you."_ Oliver glanced over to the team who looked as if they were preparing to leave again, and Oliver turned back to the elevator after already deciding that he couldn't stay in Star City any longer. " _I want to ask you to come back, but I'm not. You went back there because you want everything tied up in a nice bow before you turn your back, I don't believe you could do that, but you do, so finish it."_

"I'm coming back." Oliver once again declared, turning at the sight of his sister who walked over with a furrowed brow. "I have to go."

" _Right, minute's up I guess._ "

She hung up, and Oliver felt the twist of guilt and doubt as he let out a sigh before turning to his sister.

"Is everything alright?" Thea asked.

"Fine, did we get a lead on Cutter?"

"We did. Is everything alright with Twinkie and the kids?" Thea asked and Oliver sighed. "What, I can't ask about them now?"

"That's not—" Oliver looked over to his sister. "I'm sorry, I know all of this is sudden and I know it's not fair to you and the rest of the team, but this is something I needed to do to keep my family safe. That I won't apologize for." Oliver started to head over to see what the findings were, but Thea stopped him.

"Fine, but if you're doing this-" Oliver stopped and turned back to his sister. " If you're going be all in with a life for them, a nice, safe life away from this, then you better damn well stick to it. What happened in Coast City can't happen again. You can't dangle that life in front of them, only to tear it away when you realize it's not what you wanted."

"That won't happen."

"Oliver you were in a beautiful house, with the woman you loved and a baby on the way. You were living the dream, and yet me and Laurel were able to sway you back. In hindsight, I get it, you feel this obligation to help, but I'm saying at some point you're going to have to decide if you can give up that obligation you feel you have for this city, to fulfill the obligation you have to your family."

"Hey-" John walked over noticing the tension between the siblings. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah," Thea said looking over to John. "I was about to fill Oliver in. Felicity found some fibers on Cutter's sleeve that lead to a wedding dress storage facility. It was about two blocks from where she posed the first couple."

"We got an address?"

"Yep, 28th and Hamilton." John replied and Oliver gave a nod before turning and spotting Bruce and Felicity. Bruce said something to which the woman just turned and walked off. He tried to hide the effect it had, but Oliver saw a bit of sadness before the man picked up his cowl and headed over, moving passed them without a word before slipping onto the elevator.

Katie continued down the beach, her eyes glancing out to the water, and the reflection of the moon off of it. Her mind travels back to the night Oliver brought her out here, and that sadness stirs again inside of her. She lets out a sigh before crouching down in the sand, close enough to the water to let it wash up against her feet. She closed her eyes inhaling the salty sea breeze when a familiar chill creeps down her spine, and she quickly stands up to her feet.

"Constantine, how-" she turned not expecting to see the man with a woman beside him.

"Hello there luv, I know you probably have a lot of questions for me that I'll answer at some point, but right now I would like you to meet someone." Constantine turned to the woman on his right who kept her eyes on Katie, staring...studying. He glanced back over to Katie who seemed to be staring at the woman as well. "After I realized the darkness inside of you was actually manifesting itself as your uncle, I got to thinking that maybe it's rooted in your fear."

"What are you talking about?" Katie asked glancing over to Constantine before turning back to the woman. "What are—how are you even here? No one knows we're here."

"Well you weren't exactly hard to find." the woman said taking a step toward Katie, and Katie stood a bit straighter. "The energy coming from you right now can be felt from miles away." the woman stopped in front of Katie, seemingly studying her a bit closer before she held out her hand. Katie looked down to the woman's hand, that sudden instinctual feeling to not even touch her reared it's ugly head and so Katie looked over to Constantine.

"You better tell me what the hell you're doing here, and why you brought this-" she turned back to the woman in front of her and shook her head. "This-"

"Dormiatis dum castellum super nubes ascendat." the woman utters, and Katie's eyes meet hers for only a second, before darkness over takes her.

"That wasn't a good first impression Zee." Constantine says with a shake of his head as he walks over and looks down to the unconscious woman. "I was going to introduce you. Hey luv, this is a friend of mine Zatanna who I think can help with your little murderous evil living inside your body. She hugs and thanks me and then we help. But this-" he points down to Katie before turning back to Zatanna whose eyes are locked down to the woman. "She's not gonna like you after this."

"Well I don't care if she likes me John," Zatanna crouches down beside Katie looking her over. "I can feel the light inside of her, but I can also feel the darkness that is intertwining with it as well." she looked back up to the man. "We may already be too late."

"If we were too late she would've killed us the moment we appeared behind her. She's still in there, and I promised her I would do everything possible to save her." Constantine looked down to the woman. "I owe it to Min to do everything possible to save her daughter." he looks over to Zatanna. "And so do you." Zatanna stands up straight and looks over to the man with a shake of her head.

"This will either end very good, or very, very bad. Are you sure you want to try something that could possibly make matters even worse for her?"

"At this point we don't have a lot of options. There's this, so we do it."

"You're not thinking logically here John."

"When have I ever?" he asked with a cocky smile that made the woman roll her eyes. "I thought it was one of the reasons you're in love with me."

"No but it is one of the reasons why I plan your murder everyday." she says with a smile before nudging her head down to Katie. "If we're doing this, we have to get far away from here. We'll go to my place."

"Oh, you're inviting me to your home. That's got to be a sign right there." he chuckles before reaching down and hiking Katie into his arms. "You still want me Zee, and I get it, it was inevitable."

"You know if she doesn't kill you, I probably will." Zatanna replied before turning and with a wave of her hand created a door of bright light before stepping inside.

Constantine looked down to Katie in his arms and sighed.

"That husband of yours is going to have my hide once he finds out what we're doing. But he'll get over it once we finally fix this." Constantine takes a step forward, glancing around the beach before stepping through the door that simply disappears as if it and they were never there.


	23. Just watch

**Chapter 23**

**  
Just watch**

_"Life is a journey that must be traveled_

_no matter how bad the roads and accommodations."_

_-Oliver Goldsmith_

* * *

Oliver opened his eyes, the sun filtering through the window. He turned his head, the sight of the empty space beside him reminding him of the pit in his stomach. With a sigh he lifted himself from the bed and headed to the bathroom to start his day.

He took a quick shower, brushed his teeth, shaved, each menial detail blurred away by that ever present pit in his stomach reminding him that this house was empty. This big house that use to be filled with the laughter of his daughter, or the humming of his wife as she washed dishes.

Oliver stood in the empty kitchen, his eyes traveling the room with a shake of his head. He heard the sound of his front door opening, and he lifted his eyes to see the appearance of his sister.

"You didn't ring the bell." he said and Thea only shrugged before walking over to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"This is practically home now, so I figured-" she looked over to her brother who seemed to have zoned out as she was answering his question. "Ollie?"

"Hmm?" he turned back to her with a furrowed brow. "Did you say something?"

"Are you ok, you're-" she walked over with a slight shake of her head. "You seem weird."

"It's eight o'clock in the morning and this house is quiet. This house is never quiet this time of day." he pointed to the high chair near the table. "Twinkie would be there trying to feed Robyn the oatmeal she just hates." he chuckles. "And she tries until Robyn finally spits it all over her, followed by that tiny laugh that-" a smile pulled at his lips as the faint sound some how plays in his head.

"Ollie?" Thea places a hand on Oliver's arm, sitting down the mug and moving to stand in front of him. He takes a deep breath and looks down to meet her eyes. "When do you leave?"

"That depends on the verdict." Oliver replied folding his arms over his chest and leaning back, his eyes going back to that high chair. "Damien Darhk can't go free."

"He won't." Thea assured him. "After Captain Lance's testimony yesterday, there's no way in hell a jury won't see what a monster that man is." Oliver turned back to his sister with a nod. "Damien Darhk is going to spend the rest of his life in prison, and when the judge throws out this dismissal you're going to get your butt on that plane and you are going to go back to your family."

"That's the plan." Oliver sighs. "Have you spoken to Felicity?" Thea lets out a heavy sigh before picking up her mug and taking a sip of her coffee. The previous night was a success. Cutter was captured, but it came at a price. At the dress factory where Cutter was held up, the team discovered a wall the woman filled with articles of engagement and wedding announcements. Turns out there was a couple they knew personally on that wall. The upside was that the announcement of Bruce and Felicity's engagement would actually help them come up with a plan to trick and capture the Cupid. The downside would be that the couple who was still broken up, and still being ravaged with those emotions would have to put on act. They'd have to pretend to still be blissfully in love, and too anxious to get married. With a few leaked rumors to the press about a secret wedding, a plan was set. Cutter fell right into their trap. Her obsession with trying to destroy love would be her downfall.

"I tried calling her this morning, but I didn't get an answer. You talk to Bruce?" she asked and Oliver shook his head. "Do you think he went back to Gotham?"

"Not until he finds out what's happening with Darhk." Oliver replied, his eyes glancing over to that high chair once again. Thea follows his eyes and sigh.

"Have you talked to Twinkie?"

"She's officially not taking any of my calls." Oliver replied. "But once this is over, I'll go back and I'll fix it. This just has to be over."

Ari's toes dug into the sand, her eyes closed as she listens to the sound of the splashing waves. There's a bird chirping in the distance as it flies over head. She suddenly whips her head around, finger up, her eyes snapping open in time to see the annoying face of guard, Hank Jennings.

"Why are you pointing at me?" he asked and she smiled as she stood to her feet.

"Because I heard you. You're not a heavy walker, you always try to sneak up on me, but this time I heard you." she jumped up in excitement. "I have to tell her I did it." she moved around the man, and bolted toward the house. She ran inside where she spotted Gloria picking up Robyn from her high chair, the baby covered in something green and nasty looking. "She up?" Gloria glanced over to Ari with a shake of her head. "Look, I get it, she's in love and misses the dork. That granted her a day of isolation within her room, but today she is going to buck up and be the parent we need." Ari turned and stalked down the hall, ignoring Gloria's warning to just leave it alone. When Ari reached Katie's bedroom, she didn't knock or even pretend to care about boundaries before bursting into the room. "Alright, listen-" Ari had this whole tirade of guilt tripping she was about to do, but it all went out the window when she saw the room was empty. She walked further inside, peaking into the bathroom, only to find it empty as well. Ari stepped back into the room, her heart suddenly ramming in her chest.

" _Rules are made for a reason, so you break another, and I remind you why I'm the bad guy, and I show you some more of my tricks."_

Damien Darhk's voice floating into her head in that moment only made her even more anxious. She turned and bolted out of the room, down the stairs nearly running into Gloria who still had Robyn in her arms.

"Ari, what's wrong?"

"He has her." Ari says breathlessly. "Damien Darhk took her, and he's going to kill her and then he's going to come back and he's going to kill all of us because I broke the rules, I broke-" Gloria reached out a hand to comfort the girl who was obviously spinning out. "Don't!" Ari took a step back before glancing around the house. "Where's the phone?" she began furiously searching for a phone. It was this moment that she realized the house was without one. She vaguely remembers Oliver saying something about being safe here meant being cut off from the world for a while, and that meant no phones. But she saw him and Katie with cell phones. "Where-" she stood in the middle of the kitchen before looking up to the door, and bolting out. She stopped her eyes glancing around looking for the many guards she knows are out there. "Somebody!" she screams, her voice cracking, and her body now violently shaking. Soon guards are running toward her, and she once again spots Hank whose faster than the others, and appears in front of her first.

"Hey kid, what's wrong?" he sees the fear in her eyes, sees that look he hadn't seen in a while since she was returned after the kidnapping.

"He has her." Ari repeated. "Katie is gone, and Damien Darhk has her, you have to-" she turns sliding a hand through her hair, as the words she just spoke seem to sink in. "You have to-"

"Hey kid, why don't you take a seat." he touches her arm, but she jerks away and shakes her head.

"I need a phone, we have to call Oliver, or the police or-" she through her hands in the air. "The freaking Green Arrow and the Guardian. We have to find her!" Damien Darhk had stolen her sense of safety, made her afraid of everything, but what she would not do is let him take the only family she has left. "Give me your damn phone!"

Bruce sat in front of a wall of monitors all playing news footage of Darhk's trial. He'd been impatiently waiting for the verdict even though the trial had only started a few moments ago. He lifted his eyes and locked on to the tuxedo that was hanging on the wall across from him, and he couldn't help but see her. The moment she appeared in that white dress and all reason and rationale was swept away.

_Bruce had no idea why he was nervous. This wasn't real...and would never be real, but his palms were sweating and the bow tie around his neck felt like it was choking him._

_"Are you alright, Mr. Wayne?" Bruce glanced over to the minister who smiled lightly at the man. "Nervous?" she asked. Bruce just gave a nod before turning, his eyes going wide the moment Felicity appears. In that moment he's no longer nervous, no longer afraid of what this would do to them. In this moment a part of him seems to forget that this isn't real. She stops for a moment at the door, and their eyes meet and she pauses for a moment before walking over to stand in front of him. He's still silently staring and she turns away for a moment before turning back to him._

_"Everything ok?" Felicity asked, and Bruce's brain tells him to finally speak, and not keep staring at her like an idiot._

_"Yeah," he clears the sudden emotion from his throat. "You look perfect." no truer words would ever be spoken by the man, because as his eyes linger on her for a bit longer he does everything possible to soak up this image. The image he may never see again. She has to turn away again, her eyes looking over to the minister who smiles between the couple._

_"I'd like to assure you, I won't breathe a word of what goes on here to the press." the woman says and the couple simply nods. "Just thrilled to be a part of your day."_

_"Thank you." Felicity says, "But can we get this over with." she notices the confusion that passes over the minster's face, and she suddenly pulls a smile to her own. "I mean, I can't wait to be married to this guy." she turned back to Bruce and she could feel that knot twisting in her gut. That nagging desire to pull away and just sob because of the true sadness of this moment. The fact that it isn't real, and it will never be real because the man in front of her would rather hold on to a secret than spend the rest of their lives together._

_"In that case, I know you've written your own vows." she looks over to Felicity who looks in confusion between Bruce and the minister. No one said anything about vows in this plan. She'd actually written vows for the wedding that would never be. Memorized every word, and she couldn't even imagine saying them right now. " Felicity... The vows." Felicity smiled before turning back to Bruce who reached down taking her hands in his._

_"Yeah. OK, um..." she lightly chuckles because the words she has for the man standing in front of her were not ones you say at a wedding. They were angry words, hurtful words, sad, heartbreaking words that filled her up and was always threatening to spill out of her whenever they were in a room together. But right now they were working. This wedding wasn't real, so the words she said were inconsequential._

_"Bruce you are...nothing like I expected." she breathed, her throat seeming to be against her right now. "I thought I understood who you were, but you turned out to be someone totally different. And because of that-" she glanced over to the minister who still wore a smile on her face. Felicity turned back to Bruce, once again pulling that smile to her face. "I can't wait to move on to the next chapter." Bruce wanted to pretend that he didn't hear the truth behind her words, that he couldn't hear the sadness, and anger she hid perfectly. But this moment, this one moment would be Bruce's only shot to showing the woman just how much he loves her._

_"Bruce?" the minister says and the man nod, his eyes turn to Felicity._

_"Ms. Smoak-" she rolls her eyes and a smile comes to his lips. "You know I'm very much aware that you hate when I call you that. That roll of your eyes, or that frown you get when I say it, I think it's adorable. I think everything about you is completely beautiful which astounds me sometimes. You astound me, you challenge me, you inspire me." a smile pulled at his lips as he looked into the woman's eyes. "You're supposed to be impossible. After everything I've been through in my life, gaining you is supposed to be impossible. Having a future with you, I-" Bruce took in a deep breath. Felicity had to turn away, had to will the tears not fall, she had to remember that this wasn't real. That's what made it worse. That he was standing here saying these things to her, when this wasn't even real. She wanted to hit him. She forced her eyes back to his and swallowed the anger. "I probably don't deserve your kindness or your compassion, or your very big heart." the man shook his head. "Actually I know I don't deserve it. I probably don't deserve you, but what I know is that what ever has happened between us, what ever will happen between us, you Felicity Smoak have been the best part of me. You have been the light when I was surrounded by darkness. You're my always, and I really would like the chance to be yours." Felicity looked up to the man hating how much his words were entangling themselves around her heart. Hating that she inched a bit closer to him. She hated the fact that she nearly kissed him, and probably would've if they weren't interrupted by a crazy woman who shot an arrow right between them._

Felicity sat curled up on the couch, her eyes looking out the window as she gripped the mug of tea in her hands. She couldn't stop hearing his words in her head, couldn't stop seeing that look in his eyes when he said those vows. If at all possible, the fake wedding only made their situation worse, because despite his words, despite how they felt there were still secrets he refused to share with her. And that to her simply meant he didn't trust her.

"Honey," Donna walked into the loft, but Felicity didn't turn. She actually didn't hear her mother's voice as her mind continued to slowly implode. Donna took a seat beside her and placed a hand to her daughter's shoulder snapping Felicity from her thoughts. "Honey?" Felicity turned to her mother before sliding a hand through her hair. She'd been held up in this loft for the past couple of days, simply trying to decompress and release all the emotions that were pooling inside of her. She probably looked worse than how she felt as she sat in a large t-shirt and sweat pants and the fuzzy socks that always make her smile. Except for this time she figures. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just a bit tired from all the packing I guess." Felicity took a sip of her tea before turning to look back out the window.

"Aw baby, talk to me." Donna brought her arm around Felicity and laid her head on her shoulder. "I know this whole Bruce situation-"

"You promised you wouldn't even say he his name." Felicity said, placing the mug down and standing to her feet. Donna followed her daughter to the kitchen when she watched the woman pull a pint of ice cream from the freezer and begin eating. "I don't want to talk about him."

"Alright," Donna took the seat across from her. "Let's talk about something else. Uh, did you know Katherine was stepping down as CEO from her company?" Felicity looked over to her mother and sighed. "That paired with Oliver dropping out of the mayoral race, it's just strange. Is everything alright with them?"

"Mom, you sound like the reporters that have been constantly hassling me." Felicity said with a shake of her head. "What's going on with Katie and Oliver is their business. Their choices are their choices, so it doesn't matter what we think."

"Well I know that, I just, they were my second favorite power couple, and I was rooting for them." Donna watched as her daughter continued to eat her ice cream. "He's an idiot." Felicity looked back up to her. "He who shall not be named is a fucking idiot to let someone as perfect as you just slip away."

"I'm not perfect."

"In my eyes you are, baby."

Oliver was nervous. As he sat in that court room and waited for the verdict he prayed would happen. He knew what would happen if Darhk walked out of this courtroom a free man. He'd have to stick around just to make sure there was no blow back on his family and he hated the possibiliy of not getting back to his family. He turned his eyes to the judge as she spoke.

"The standard of proof for a preliminary hearing is much less severe than one for a trial. Even so, the evidence against the defendant is exceedingly thin. There is no forensic or circumstantial evidence that points to the defendant's guilt." Oliver felt like he knew where this was going and he was losing hope. "But I found Quentin Lance's testimony to be particularly compelling. His credibility is bolstered by his status as a police captain. But the fact that he was willing to incriminate himself to see justice done makes his testimony especially believable. On the strength of it, I am denying the defense's motion to dismiss and bounding the defendant over for trial. Mr. Darhk will be held without bail or possibility of release." the judge pound the gavel and Oliver feels an immediate release of tension. He glances over to Darhk who turns meeting his gaze and that cockiness he usually has just isn't there. Oliver lets out a deep breath as he watched the man stand to his feet and is taken away.

When they return back to the bunker, that sense of relief seems to be in the air.

"This is a win." Thea says with a big smile. "It's finally over."

"Yeah, finally." John sighs looking over to Oliver. "So is this it?" Oliver looked over to him before turning to his sister, Laurel, and Quentin who all await his answer. "Darhk's in jail but his HIVE is still out there, and Ruvè hasn't dropped out of the mayoral race. There's still a lot of fight out there and we'd be lying if we said we couldn't use your help."

"He's right, Oliver." Laurel added. "We get you want to protect your family, but leaving Star City won't change the dangers that are out there."

"And I know that. I just-" Oliver shook his head. "What happened to Ari and William opened my eyes to what this life would mean for my family. How the people who want to hurt me would hurt them and I can't let that happen again. My daughter doesn't know what evil is yet, she lives in this world right now that's blissfully ignorant to what's out there, and I would really like to prolong that feeling for as long as I can. I have complete faith that all of you will be able to protect this city. The truth is I wouldn't be able to consider leaving if I didn't believe that. Look this isn't goodbye, this is just a see you later."

"Well I'm going to miss you." Thea says walking over and bringing her arms around her brother. "And I'm going to miss Twinkie, and my little Robyn, and Ari so much. When you guys get settled I expect a call with your location because I plan on visiting." she pulled from the hug. "So you should already have a key made before I get there." Oliver chuckled before turning to John and holding out a hand. John let out a sigh before taking Oliver's hand and pulling him into a hug.

"We're going to miss you around here, man, but I get it." he pulled from the hug and gave Oliver a final nod. Oliver shook Lance's hand, and pulled the man into a hug as well.

"What you did on that stand-"

"Don't." Quentin pulled back from the hug to look to the man. "My only regret was getting tangled up in Darhk's mess in the first place. I'm glad I was able to be the one to finally get him locked away." he gave Oliver a pat on the shoulder. "You keep that family of yours safe and happy."

"I will." Oliver turned to Laurel who silently walked over and brought her arms around the man in hug. "Laurel, I'm so proud of you." they pulled from the hug, and Oliver looked down to her with a smile. "You did it."

"No, we did it." Laurel replied with a nod. "We expect lots of pictures and-" the woman's phone suddenly rang and she pulled it from her purse. "It's the office, I have to take this," she looked over to Oliver with one more smile before turning and walking away. Laurel's ringing phone suddenly reminded Oliver of his own phone.

"Shit." he muttered reaching inside the pocket of his blazer and pulling out the phone he forgot he powered off before going into the courtroom.

"What?" Thea asked.

"I forgot to power my phone on." Oliver said finally turning the phone on, and the moment it was on and he saw the number of missed calls, his heart dropped into his stomach. "No, no, no." he stepped away, playing the last voice mail that came to his phone. It was Ari and what he could make out though her hysterical crying was that Katie was missing.

"Ollie?" Oliver turned to his sister and the moment she saw his face, she knew something was wrong. "What's wrong?" Oliver glanced down to the phone before rushing toward the elevator. Thea glanced over to John and then Quentin before she turned and rushed after her brother. "Ollie!" she barely slipped onto the elevator behind him. "What's going on? Is it Twinkie? The kids?"

"She's missing." Oliver says before dialing Steve's number. "Twinkie is—" the moment the guard answered the phone, Oliver's anger came to the forefront of all of his emotions. "What the hell is going on? Where is my wife?"

" _Sir_ -"

"No, I want absolutely no excuses from you, I want answers. Now do you know where she is?" silence followed the question and Oliver pulled the phone from his ear and dropped his head. His mind seemed to go rampant with the many possibilities. What if Darhk's HIVE found them, what if this was one final attempt to hurt them. Then he began to fear that this wasn't Darhk at all, that "It" was back and his wife was gone.

" _Sir?_ "

"I want you to search every inch of that town, just...just find my wife!" Oliver ended the call just as the doors slid open and he rushed off.

"Hey, Ollie, just wait!" Thea rushed ahead of Oliver to stop him from walking. "You need to breathe right now, and just calm down."

"I can't calm down right now, my wife is missing and my kids are hundreds of miles away and-" he shook his head. "I shouldn't have left them. If I was there this wouldn't have happened."

"You don't know that Ollie? Just like you don't know what's really going on."

"Well I will." Oliver says attempting to walk around his sister, but she once again blocked him. "Thea, I need-" Thea could see the thin veil of clarity and strength her brother usually grasps for dear life was falling at the thought of his wife just being gone.

"I know Ollie, but right now you're scared and a scared Ollie is an irrational Ollie, so I'm coming with you. Twinkie doesn't just disappear without a fight. We're going to find her." There was no time to fight, and so Oliver gave a nod before he and sister rushed off.

Jacob Robins was tired. It was strange at first, because sure the man felt exhaustion, felt the need to sit and breathe, but he pushed through it and just kept moving. Recently that feeling seemed too blatant, like he was feeling it more than he ever did. At the moment Jacob found himself sitting, clenching and unclenching his fist after noticing a slight cramp earlier that he never felt before. There was a knock at the door, and the man pulled his hand back, placing it on his knee before looking up to see a couple he's sure can't wait to leave.

"Ms. Lane, Mr. Kent." Jacob stood to his feet with a small smile before pointing to the seats in front of his desk. "I was a bit surprised you requested a meeting with me. I assumed you'd be on the first plane to Metropolis."

"Our flight leaves in an hour, so we won't keep you long." Lois said taking a deep breath as she looked over to the man. "You-" her words were suddenly caught in her throat as she attempted to say the things she knows she needs to say. She looked up meeting his eyes. "You inducted me, on some grand mission to stop a mad man. You, former leader of the secret organization ARGUS, drafted a reporter and a former vigilante to bring in someone as powerful as Damien Darhk. You-" she shook her head. "I can't even explain the amount of hatred I have for you, because I lost so much. I never-" Clark reached over and took her hand in his. "We weren't soldiers and we weren't agents. We were just people and because of it Roy got tangled up with another mad man, and I had that monster poking around my head and for what? There had to have been hundreds of people who could've gone in our place and yet-"

"I chose you." Jacob says sitting back in his seat. "I apologize if you believe my selecting you was a bad judgment call, if you felt as if I was sending the sheep out to pasture, but the truth is Ms. Lane was before you and Mr. Harper took on this mission, we were always ten steps behind Darhk. Ms. Lane, star reporter for the Daily Planet, you are remarkable and that is why I asked for your help. Mr. Harper was equally remarkable in his own way and it's why I asked him as well. Ms. Lane, this mission was explained to you in great deal, and then you were asked if you wanted to help. You weren't forced, you weren't coerced, you were merely asked, and because you, Ms. Lane Star reporter for the Daily Planet was as curious as a cat wanted to see where the story took you, and you got it."

"Not one I can actually tell now can I? After everything that happened, I can't even tell my story."

"Not yet. That story is extremely dangerous, and with the amount of information you have it will make you a target."

"I'm not afraid. That bastard hurt me, and jail is not even a good enough punishment."

"I agree, but this isn't over for a long shot. Darhk still has allies, and with them he still has a hand to play. We don't know what that is yet, so until we do, it's best if you return home as if nothing has changed."

"You really expect us to do that?" that was Clark's question and Jacob turned with a sigh. "Jacob-"

"I know it will be hard, but I also know that the two of you have fought hard to get back to each other. Right now all I'm asking is for you two, to just focus on what's ahead and leave Darhk to me."

"What are you going to do?" Lois asked and Jacob simply stood to his feet and walked around his desk to hold out a hand toward the woman to shake.

"Ms. Lane I would you like to thank you for your service to your county." Lois looked at the man's hand for a moment before standing to her feet and simply turning away and heading for the door. Clark stood to his feet and Jacob turned to him.

"I don't think I will be able to forgive you for this Jacob, which hurts me because you-" Clark shook his head at the man. "You were one of the few people on this planet who saw and accepted me. You were like family, and now-"

"Clark-"

"You don't contact me, and you definitely don't come into contact with Lois at all." he turned to leave but stopped and turned back to the man. "That goes for Roy Harper as well. I can only imagine the damage you did to his life, so it would be best if you just left him alone." Clark turned to leave, but Jacob couldn't just let him go with out one last justification.

"One day you're going to understand." Jacob says and Clark stops but doesn't turn. "The safety of my daughter is worth the moon and stars to me. That means taking down Damien Darhk by any means necessary." Clark looked over his shoulder to the man.

"And when you gave her the moon and the stars, was she truly safe?" Clark asked and Jacob didn't have an answer and so Clark finally left.

Jacob fell back against his desk, reaching over and grabbing his arm at the sudden tightness in his chest. The door to his office opened, but Jacob didn't even notice.

"Sir, there's-" Martin didn't even finish the sentence before Jacob suddenly collapsed to the floor, gasping for air a hand on his chest. "Sir!" Martin rushed over, momentarily forgetting this news he was supposed to report upon entering.

It was late when Oliver and Thea arrived to Blue Hill. There was already a car waiting for them when they arrived. Thea sat looking out the window, her eyes looking out to the setting sun over the bay.

"I barely remember our vacations here." Thea muttered with a shake of her head before looking over to her brother. "We just stopped coming here for some reason."

"It was because I got into some trouble up here." Oliver says looking out the window as well, still trying to hold on to the hope that his wife was fine, that this is all just some kind of misunderstanding. "I got into a fight with the sheriff's son our last vacation here."

"Seriously? Why?"

"At the time I told myself I just didn't like the guy, that there was something about him that rubbed me the wrong way, and so I decided to beat his face in."

"Why didn't you like him?"

"Because at the time I didn't know I was in love with my best friend who he just happened to ask out on a date." Oliver shook his head.

"Hey," Thea reached over to take Oliver's hand. "Twinkie is fine. Whatever is happening she is fighting." Soon the car stopped in front of the beach house, and Oliver was the first one out of the car and hurrying toward the door. He rushed inside to find Gloria sitting in the living room beside Ari who was asleep on the couch. She stood to her feet the moment he walked in.

"Thank goodness you're here." the woman sighed with a shake of her head. "I was finally able to get her to sleep. She was inconsolable. Do you know what's happening, or where Mrs. Queen could've gone?"

"No yet, but I don't plan on resting until I do." Oliver says before lifting his head at the sudden cries from up the stairs. Gloria was about to check on the baby, but Oliver held up a hand. "I'll go." Oliver headed up the stairs, and turned into the nursery, scooping the baby in his arms and clutching her to his chest. "Hey there." he placed a kiss to the top of Robyn's head. "You're alright. I'm here." He placed another kiss to her head, needing this moment possibly more than her. He needed the comfort that came along with holding the girl in his arms, the calmness she seemed to bring to him. Oliver walked over and took a seat in the rocking chair. "I know you miss your mommy, but I am going to find her, I promise you." Oliver made that promise to his daughter, and there is nothing in this world that would stop him from keeping it.

As soon as Robyn had fallen asleep, Oliver gently laid her in her crib. He placed a hand on top her her belly before turning and heading out to find his wife. The moment he stepped back into the living room, he was suddenly engulfed in a tight hug by a now awake Ari.

"He has her," the girl said, her voice muffled. "I know he has her and he's going to come back for us."

"Hey, Ari-" Oliver pulled back and looked down to the girl. "Katie is fine. Damien Darhk is in a jail cell and he's not getting out."

"Then where is she? She wouldn't leave us alone, you know she wouldn't." Ari said with a shake of her head. "Something is wrong."

"Ari, I promise I'm going to find her. I need you to stay inside this house while I go out and look around." he looked over to Gloria who gave a nod before walking over and bringing and arm around the teenager. Oliver placed a kiss on top of Ari's head before stalking outside where he found his sister speaking with Steve. Both turned to the man.

"Sir, I don't know how this could've happened. Two days ago she says she was going for a walk and that she didn't need an escort."

"And did anyone see her come back?" Oliver asked, and the man silently shook his head. Oliver let out an angry growl, taking a step toward the man, but Thea quickly stepped in front of him. "My wife was missing for an entire day and no one thought it was strange. You report to me everyday and didn't think to mention that you didn't see her at all."

"Sir-"

"You should probably go." Thea says turning back to the man. "He's not listening to excuses right now. Go join the search party." Steve glanced over to Oliver once more before giving a nod and walking away. Thea turned back to her brother who shook his head as he turned, letting his eyes scan the area in hopes of seeing his wife. "Ollie, you need to calm down and think."

"Me stopping to think won't help anything right now Thea." Oliver said letting a hand slide across his face. "What if this is Darhk? One last stint to get back at me by getting to her." he turned back to his sister and shook his head. "Thea-"

"Hey, you and I both know Twinkie. That woman doesn't go down without a fight. Let's just trace her last steps." she pointed down the beach. "Steve said she headed in that direction the last time he saw her." Oliver turned with a nod before they both began walking.

Jacob was annoyed as he sat, stethoscope pressed to his chest letting out another deep breath.

"And another." the doctor said and the man once again took in another deep breath before letting it out.

"I told you I'm fine."

"You're not fine, you just had a heart attack!" Martin said at his place across the room looking down to his boss and the doctor.

"He's right sir. It was a mild one, but it was still serious. Has there been an increase in your stress levels lately?" the doctor asked and Jacob glared at the man before hopping from the bed and heading out of the room.

"Sir-" Martin followed after the man who was currently buttoning his shirt as he headed for the elevator. "You're an idiot if you don't let him finish checking you out."

"I guess I'm an idiot then." Jacob grumbled before stepping onto the elevator. "Why were you rushing into my office anyway?" Martin turned away and let out a deep breath. "Martin-" "

"Sir, given what just happened, I would urge you to let me handle this. I already have a team in route to Blue Hill-" the moment the words came out of Martin's mouth, Jacob turned his eyes to the man."Sir-"

"You have five seconds to tell me what's going on."

"Sir-"

"Five..."

"You just had a heart attack and you shouldn't-"

"Four..."

"I promise I am handling the situation and—"

"Three.."

"Sir your daughter is missing." Jacob stared for a moment before taking a step toward Martin who could only move back so far before his back was pressed against the wall. "Sir?"

"How long?"

"A little over twenty four hours." the doors to the elevator opened, but neither man moved. 

"I need a plane ready." Jacob growled. "In five minutes!" and with that he stalked off the elevator. "And Martin any news about my daughter will be told to me as soon as it happens!"

It was dark. And finding clues in the sand seemed impossible Oliver thought as he and Thea walked along the beach searching for anything that could tell them about what could've happened to Katie.

"Do you think she would've gone this far down the beach?" Thea asked, her eyes still scanning the area. "It's not that far from the house, but it's not really close either." her brother didn't answer, and so she glanced over to him to see him still looking around as if he didn't hear her. "Ollie?" he glanced over to her with a furrowed brow. "Would she come down this far?" Oliver glanced around and gave a nod before nudging his head further down the beach. Thea turned spotting what looked like a large tent.

"I brought her down here. It was supposed to be a surprise honeymoon. It was the last time we were-" Oliver shook his head. "She wasn't happy about us staying here, and she wasn't happy about me leaving, maybe-"

"Ollie, this isn't your fault, we still don't even know what's happening right now." Thea walked over to her brother who turned away, his eyes spotting something protruding from the sand. Thea followed his eyes, noticing it as well before he walked over to pick it up. "Is that-"

"It's Twinkie's cell phone." Oliver says pressing a button, surprised it still came on. "It's almost dead." he looked through the phone seeing a number of missed calls. "The last call she took was with me." he sighed because he knew that call wasn't a pleasant call and only made him fear it's why she's missing. "Maybe she-"

"Ollie, seriously!" Thea snapped and Oliver turned to her. "A bad call with you wouldn't pull that thing out of her again. This has to be something else." she turned searching a bit more. "Something we're just not seeing." she took a few steps, stopping at the sight of something in the sand. "What's this?" she pulled out her phone, and turned on it's flashlight. Oliver walked over to see his sister kneel down to shine the light on the sand. "Are you seeing this?" Oliver knelt down beside his sister, tilting his head in confusion as he looked down to the sand. There was a long section of sand that seemed to have solidified.

"Isn't that what happens when lightning strikes sand?" Oliver says as his sister reaches forward to slide her hand along the solid sand form. He turned at the sound of footsteps and saw the flashlights of the men who were searching coming their way. Oliver stood to his feet and went toward them. It wasn't until he was close enough did he realize these weren't his guards, but two Blue Hill officers. "Uh, hi, I'm Oliver Queen. I didn't know the cops were called."

"Well your wife is missing Mr. Queen, we should've been the first ones you called." One of the officers said and Oliver looked at him for a moment unsure why the man seemed familiar. "You shouldn't be out here. I have a couple of deputies searching the beach and you and your friend over there could be possibly disrupting any evidence that could be out here that could help lead us to the location of your wife."

"Friend?" Thea scoffed walked over. "No, I'm his sister, and the sister of the woman missing right now, and no offense, but there's no way we're not helping with this search." she looked over to her brother who was still staring at the officer in front of him.

"Adam?" Oliver said and the officer sighed. "Adam Holt."

"That's Sheriff Holt, Mr. Queen." the sheriff said, before turning back to Thea. "And yes, you and your brother are going to return back to your house while we continue this search." he turned back to Oliver. "Take your sister and go home. I'll have someone contact you if we find anything."

"When you find something." Thea said and Adam turned to her.

"Deputy Carver will escort you back to the house." Adam says taking a step to the side and waited for the pair to move passed him. Oliver glared at the man before taking a few steps only to stop.

"Has it rained anytime in the last couple of days?" Oliver asked turning back to the Sheriff who simply shook his head.

"I don't believe so." the man replied in confusion. He glanced over to his deputy who shook his head. "It's been a dry week, why do you ask?" he turned back to Oliver who shook his head.

"No reason." Oliver replied before turning and continuing toward the house.

"If there was no lightning, what happened to that sand?" Thea whispered over to her brother.

"No idea, but I know who I should ask." Oliver replied. "I don't think she's missing." he looked over to his sister who looked back in confusion. "I think an idiot wants me to hurt him."

They were all questioned. Even Thea and Oliver who couldn't give much information since they weren't there. Once the deputies finished their questions, they returned to help with the search, leaving the house in a solemn silence. Oliver stood near the window, while Ari sat beside Thea who had an arm around her. Gloria decided to sit in with Robyn in case she once again woke up.

"It's him." Ari mutters and Oliver looks over to her. The fear consuming her was obvious, and he hated it.

"Ari, it's not-" Oliver sighed, walking over and kneeling in front of the girl. "Ari, you know your cousin, you know how strong she is, how stubborn she is. So if this was Darhk's people, if he'd somehow orchestrated all of this, do you think she'd go down without a fight?" Ari looked at him for a moment, but shook her head. "That's right, where ever Katie is right now, you know she's fighting to get back to us. It's whoever has taken her who I'm scared for." he placed a hand on top of hers and gave a reassuring smile. "You need to get some sleep."

"I don't want—"

"You're exhausted and if Katie walked through this door right now she'd rant and rave to both of us and neither of us would want that." he saw the girl crack a smile.

"Well can you at least check out my room for like bad guys or something?" the girl asked and Oliver gave a nod.

"Absolutely." he stood to his feet and held out a hand to the girl who simply took it and walked with the man to her room. Thea sat there, watching the pair a slight smile on her face as she observed her brother taking on the role of a father so easily.

Oliver had done a sweep of the house when he returned, and that included Ari's room, but he would search once more to give the girl peace of mind. He'd searched the room before going over to the window to pull the curtains closed. When he looked over to the girl who was lying in bed, he could see that her eyes were already closing. He walked over and placed a kiss to the top of Ari's head before heading for the door.

"She's just one woman." Ari rasped and Oliver stopped and looked back to her. "She's just one woman, and if it's him-"

"She is just one woman, Ari, but she's one woman no one should ever underestimate and neither should you. Now sleep, I'll wake you if there's news." Oliver said and Ari gave a nod before closing her eyes to sleep.

Oliver closed the door behind him, and let out a deep sigh before stalking down the hall and down the stairs. The moment he arrived back in the living room, Thea stood to her feet and hurried over to him.

"So you have an idea of who is behind this?" she asked now that they were finally alone.

"Yeah." Oliver says taking out his cell phone and dialing a familiar number. "A dead man if I'm right." the call was answered on the second ring.

" _Oliver, hey mate, now's not a great time I'm a bit busy."_

"Well I just have one question for you Constantine, and you will make the time to answer it." he glanced over to his sister who stared at him in confusion. "Is my wife with you?"

 _"Oh, yeah, didn't I—shit, I was supposed to call you and tell you not to worry. Well don't worry, she's..."_ the man trailed off as if trying to find the right word. " _Well physically she's as healthy as a horse."_

"What the hell does that mean? What happening?"

 _"A plan mate! I think I might have figured how to get this darkness out once and for all. It's just taking a bit longer than anticipated._ " there was a pained moaned that sounded and Oliver's eyes widen. " _I really have to go mate, but-"_

"Where are you?!"

 _"I'm nowhere near anything right now. Seriously, I have to go."_ the call ended and Oliver let out a growl that startled his sister.

"I'm going to kill him the moment I see him."

"Wait, Katie is with Constantine? Why didn't she say anything? Why didn't he? She knows everyone would freak out if she just disappeared."

"She would which is why I don't think she had much of a choice in the matter." Oliver shook his head. "Twinkie wouldn't go anywhere with Constantine. The darkness inside of her dislikes him and so she's been blatant about how she doesn't want him around. But he says he has a plan to get it out her."

"How?"

"No idea, but I will ask him before I kill him." Oliver says taking out his phone to make another call. "Felicity, I know it's late, but I need your help. I need the location of the person that I just called." the blonde had questions and since Oliver hadn't filled in the rest of the team about what was happening he just knew she wouldn't be happy. "It's Constantine, I need to find him." of course she would ask why, and Oliver knew he had to tell her. "Because he's kidnapped my wife."

Constantine held an ice pack to the back of Zatanna's head as she held the towel to her bleeding nose. Their backs were pressed against the brick wall of the large basement. Their eyes both on the unconscious woman lying on the bed in the exact middle of the room surrounded by candles.

"The wall blocking her mind is still strong. At this point it should've weakened. If I don't get inside to even begin looking for this darkness, than all of this was for nothing."

"It's a protective reflex. Maybe it's her, or maybe it's the darkness, but the fact that it's working so hard to keep you out only proves that there's something in there it doesn't want us to see. Maybe I should try again?"

"Your heart stopped the last time she pushed you out." Zatanna says glancing up to the man. "I thought you were dead. You're not trying again." the woman turned back to Katie trying to find the solution to their problem. "I don't think I should either."

"We can't give up now." Constantine replied stepping around to face the woman. "We're close to something it doesn't want us to see. We can't stop now."

"We have to. It won't let us get inside, but maybe there's another way." Constantine looked at the woman with a furrowed brow as she lifted her eyes to him. Suddenly it hit him and he shook his head.

"Absolutely not. I'm almost one hundred percent positive he's going to hit me when he sees me. Plus we can't send him in there when we have no idea what we're sending him into."

"All of that is true, but if anyone can break down that barrier she has up, it's Oliver Queen. She's scared, or angry, probably a hundred other things, but she loves that man and will let him in, you know she will." Constantine turned his back to her with a shake of his head. He looked over to Katie who laid in the bed. Zatanna was right, as she usually was.

"We would have to go with him." Constantine replied turning back to the woman. "We could slip in when she lets down the barrier. Once inside we can find out what's feeding this darkness inside of her." Zatanna gave a nod before standing to her feet, and the man let out a heavy sigh. "You have to get him though. He's going to waste a lot of time trying to murder me if I show up there."

"Fine." Zatanna threw down the towel and walked across the basement to the door that led to the upstairs. She placed a hand above it, before chanting a quick spell and when she opened the door, it was filled with a bright, white light.

"Oh, maybe not mention the whole taking her against her will thing." Constantine called and Zatanna looked over to him with a quirked brow. "Trust me, it won't go over well. Just stick to the basics and end with the fact that we need his help to save his wife. Lay that on thick and then maybe he won't want to kill me."

"Yeah, like that would ever work." Zatanna muttered before stepping through the door of white light.

Oliver frowned at the news just spoken to him by Felicity. He turned to his sister awaiting the information as well.

"That's impossible. It can't be right."

 _"Oliver, what I'm looking at right now says the call came from the middle of the Arabian desert."_ Felicity replied. " _Maybe he bounced the calls from satellites somehow and in that case could be anywhere."_

Oliver closed his eyes and sighed, because those were not the words he wanted to hear. There was a sudden cracking in the air, as if there was a strike of lightening. Oliver and Thea both turned, having to lift their arm at the sudden bright light that appeared in front of them. When the light disappeared, both dropped their arms to now see the dark haired woman, who looked completely exhausted and worn in front of them.

"Felicity, I'm going to have to call you back." Oliver ended the call, never taking his eyes off the magically appearing woman.

"Mr. Queen," Zatanna greeted with a nod before turning to Thea. "Ms. Queen." she looked back to Oliver, the obvious distrust in his eyes. "My name is Zatanna, I am an...associate of John Constantine," at the mention of Constantine's name Oliver took a step forward.

"My wife, you know where she is?"

"I do, she is in my home that is very far from here." Zatanna replied taking a step toward the man. "John is adamant about helping your wife, and ridding her of the darkness that has twisted itself inside of her."

"So it is possible?" Thea asked looking to the woman. "You can help her?"

"We can try to help her, but we have come to the conclusion that we need help." Zatanna turned to Oliver. "For this to work we need to search your wife's consciousness, we believe the darkness that is within her is feeding off of something she seems to be holding to."

"Why can't you do it?" Thea asked.

"Because she won't let you." Oliver answered, and Zatanna gave a nod. "But she would let me." Thea turned to her brother with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry, what?" Thea turned slightly to face her brother. "Ollie, what are you doing?"

"We just need her to open up, and we believe you are the one who will be able to get through to her. You're the only one who will be able to get through to her."

"What exactly does he have to do?" Thea asked turning to the woman.

"Step inside his wife's consciousness, find her, stay with her, me and John will find the darkness." Zatanna glanced from Thea to Oliver who didn't have as many questions as his sister.

"Step inside her consciousness? Is that dangerous? Could he be hurt? Could this hurt her?"

"Will it work?" Oliver asked taking another step forward. "Will this finally get this thing out of her?" Zatanna looked at the man and decided to answer with the truth.

"Honestly Mr. Queen, there's a chance none of this will work, there's a very high possibility that we're too late. There's a chance all of this could make your wife's situation even worse." She noticed the hope leave the man's eyes and so she took a few steps to close the distance between them. "But there is a chance that yes, this could finally rid Katherine of this darkness." He looked at the woman, trying to think logically, trying to think with his head and not his heart. It was impossible because in the end this was his Twinkie. The love of his life and if there was even the slightest chance that he could help her, then there is never a question of if, only how.

"I will do it." he replied and Thea moved to step in front of him, forcing Zatanna to take a step back. "Thea-"

"Remember when I said a scared Ollie is an irrational Ollie, well case and point." Thea said with a shake of her head. "Oliver, this is crazy, we don't know this woman, or if anything she's saying is even true." She looked over her shoulder to the woman. "Why would you risk anything like this to help her?" a small smile came to Zatanna's face as she turned back to Oliver.

"Because you're like her, aren't you?" Oliver asked. "Homo Magi." the woman gave a nod.

"Me and your wife are connected in a way that is deeper than blood." Zatanna sighed as she slid a hand through her dark hair. "There aren't many of us out there. In this universe that is." she turned back to the pair in front of her. "She is family, and I will do whatever is necessary to try to help."

"Thea-" Thea turned to her brother. "I need you to stay here and look after Ari and Robyn."

"Of course, but Ollie-"

"A scared Ollie is an irrational Ollie, Thea. But he's also very much in love with that woman and so I will do anything to help her."

"Fine, but be careful, be smart, and bring her back." Thea said, and Oliver gave a nod before turning back to Zatanna. The woman simply turned and with a wave of her hand, the flash of light once again appeared and this time they were able to see that it was shaped like a door. Oliver walked forward, watching as Zatanna simply stepped inside of the bright white light. He stood there for a moment, hesitating, but then he ran his thumb across his wedding ring and knew there was no time for doubts, and so he stepped in as well.

The door of light vanished the moment Oliver stepped inside, and Thea stood there still a bit in shock at seeing it.

"Thea?" the woman startled actually slightly jumped before turning to see Ari who walked over, her eyes a bit wide as well. "Am I dreaming, or did I just see Oliver walk into the light?" Thea opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Oliver's body felt as if it were buzzing the moment his feet once again landed on a hard surface. He took only a single step only to sway slightly. It was strange. It felt as if he'd been put into a blender and shaken up.

"It's alright, mate." a hand grabbed Oliver's arm to steady him. "First time is always the worse. Feels like you're drunk without all the fun that goes along with it." Once Oliver was able to actually focus, he turned to Constantine and it was the look in his eyes that let the blonde Brit know he was likely about to be hurt. "Ok, so I expected that look." Constantine stepped away, and Oliver only followed. "You have to believe me, I did intend to tell you that she was with me, but time got away from me." Oliver growled his fist clenching at his side, but his eyes glanced up, now seeing the candles, that were circled around a bed that held Katie. He quickly walked over, only for his feet to suddenly stop just outside the circle. He strained trying to push and pull himself from the spot but it was impossible.

"You can't go in there, yet." Zatanna said and with a wave of her hand, Oliver turned around to face her. "You have to be protected first. Take off your shirt." Oliver looked at the woman in confusion before looking over to Constantine.

"Don't worry, mate, it'll be painless." Constantine says with a smile, but it doesn't reassure him at all.

Soon Oliver stands uncomfortably as Constantine draws something on his chest with some sort of ink on his finger as Zatanna chants while she moves around them.

"This has to work." Oliver mutters. Those words had been playing over and over in his head, he wasn't even aware that he spoke it out loud. Constantine looks up to the man's eyes and can see how much he needs those words to be true.

"I'm done." Constantine says before grabbing a towel to clean his hands. They both turn to Zatanna who continues chanting until she finally stops. She opens her eyes and looks at Oliver and gives him a nod. Oliver walks back to the bed, once again stopping outside of the circle of candles, only this time it's his choice. "Mate?"

"Zatanna said that this might not work, or something worse could happen. What's worse?"

"Will it matter?" she asked and Oliver stood there looking down to his wife, and he can't help but wish she were here to tell him what to do in this situation. His brain at this point doesn't seem to be thinking clearly, and it's always her who steps in to make the right decision.

"She'd know what to do right now." Oliver says a smile on his face as he stares down to his wife who simply looks as if she's sleeping.

"I think you know what to do right now as well, Oliver." Constantine says and Oliver glances over his shoulder to the man. "This is one option. If there are others, I will find it, or die trying. It's just this one is here, right now. It's your choice. Say the word and we'll wake her up and send you two back home." Oliver turned back to Katie.

For a moment, Constantine and Zatanna think he might decide not to go through with this, but then he crosses the barrier of candles and lies down beside Katie on the bed. Zatanna looks over to Constantine who lets out a deep sigh, but nods before the pair walks over and steps inside the circle as well, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Alright." Zatanna says letting out a deep breath. She turns to Constantine who gives that annoying smile as he holds out his hand to her. She just shakes her head, before slipping her hand in his. "Do your thing Oliver."

Oliver turns, bringing his arm around Katie's waist, before leaning in and placing a kiss to her cheek.

"Hey Twinkie, it's me." he whispers against her ear. "I'm right here, you're not alone. Let me in. Just let me-"

A familiar ringing bell made Oliver jump, and in a flash he found himself no longer in that dark basement, no longer in that bed beside his wife, but sitting in a class room filled with students.

"Alright class, I want you all to read chapters ten through thirteen. They will be included on your test." Oliver's eyes still looked to the front of the classroom at the teacher he hasn't seen in years.

"Mr. Crawford." he said out loud, and everyone in the room turned to him.

"Yes, Mr. Queen?" the teacher asked and for the life of him, Oliver didn't know what to say, and so he just shook his head. "Oh-kay." Mr. Crawford turned back to the rest of the class and gave a nod. "You're all dismissed." With those words the students all stood to their feet and rushed out of the class. Oliver seemed frozen at his desk, because he wasn't quite sure what was happening. He was sitting in Mr. Crawford's class, his eleventh grade History teacher, from high school. "Mr. Queen?" Oliver turned back to the gray haired teacher who was staring at him as if worried. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not really sure." Oliver answered honestly.

"Should I call the school nurse?" Oliver shook his head before standing to his feet.

"No, I'm fine." Oliver looked up to the teacher. "Thanks Mr. Crawford, it's uh-" Oliver paused for a moment, still not believing this was truly happening. "It's good to see you again. Your class was horrible, but you were a cool teacher." the teacher stared at Oliver in confusion.

"Thanks I guess. You should probably be heading to your next class."

"My next class?" Oliver asked out loud, and then his eyes widened, because he remembered. "I have Geometry with Twinkie!" Oliver rushed for the door.

"Mr. Queen!" Oliver stopped and looked back to Mr. Crawford. "You forgot your book bag." Oliver glanced back, spotting the gray book bag propped against his desk, and he quickly rushed over to snag it before hurrying out of the class. When Oliver stepped into the hallway, it was as if he'd taken a step back in time. Teenagers filed the halls, some faces familiar, some not. He spun around the hall, at this point unsure if any of this is even real.

"I'm dreaming." he muttered.

"No." a voice British spoke from behind him, and Oliver spun around to see Zatanna and Constantine standing in front of him both wearing the school's uniform. Both looked completely out of place, and could not be mistaken for teenagers at all seeing as they both looked like two adults trying to pose as kids. "This isn't your dream. It's not really a dream at all, really."

"What is this?" Oliver asked, looking around with a shake of his head. "Why are we in my high school?"

"Because it's apart of her." Zatanna replies glancing around as well. "she holds on to this place for some reason. You need to find her." Oliver turned back to the woman. "These are all her memories, somewhere deep down she knows exactly what this darkness is feeding on. We're going to search around a bit." Oliver gave a nod about to turn, but Constantine grabbed his arm.

"Hey, we can't be in here too long, because we're not meant to be here. We have an hour to find this thing before we have to leave." they all looked down to their watches on their wrists to synchronize their clocks. "We stay in here longer than that and it will get a lot tougher to get out." he looks back up to Oliver. "When that watch beeps, chant the spell and you'll wake up. Just remember that this place isn't real, some of the situations you see might not be accurate. Everything you see will be from her perspective. Just remember why you're here, ok." Oliver gave the man a nod before turning and heading down the hall.

Thea and Ari sat, neither sure how to even proceed with this conversation. Thea knew she was the one the teenager was looking to for answers, the only problem was, she wasn't completely sure of the answers herself.

"Um-" Thea spoke, finally getting a bit of courage to at least begin. There was a knock at the door, and the woman was relieved. "Oh thank God." Thea stood to her feet and hurried to the door figuring it was probably one of the guards or the cops coming to check in. The moment Thea pulled open the door, she was completely surprised it wasn't either. "Martin? What are you-" Thea glanced behind the man, now noticing that there was no one in sight. "What happened to the guards that are supposed to be out there?"

"I gave them a break." Martin says before glancing over his shoulder and muttering something into comlink in the sleeve of his jacket.

"What the hell is going on? What-" Thea's eyes widened at the sight of Jacob Robins who hurried up the steps and stopped in front of Thea. "Jacob, what-" Thea glanced over her shoulder to Ari who now stood glancing to the door trying to see who Thea was talking to. Thea turned back to Jacob with a shake of her head.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather continue this conversation-" Jacob slipped passed Thea stopping at the sight of his young niece. Martin stepped in and Thea quickly closed the door as they all turned to a clearly stunned Ari. "I thought you said she was sleeping."

"Well she was, obviously she woke up." Martin replied still watching the teenager. "I told you that I should've come alone."

"Will you two shut up." Thea snapped taking a step forward toward Ari who had yet to say a word as she still looked to her uncle. "Ari, are you ok?"

"I—I don't—uncle Jake?" the moment the name came out of her mouth, Ari's brain just couldn't take anymore and so it shut down, and the girl just passed out.

It was strange how comfortable Oliver felt roaming the familiar halls. Don't get him wrong, he still felt as if all of this was beyond bizarre, but it also represented a simpler time in his life. Here there were no villains or heroes to fight. Here his problems never veered beyond passing a class. Well that was a lie he admitted the moment he thought it. There was a problem he seemed to blatantly ignore. And that was the girl he'd somehow fell in love with, and just never had the courage to act on.

There was a bit of a crowd further down the hall, and he heard laughing. There was a twinge in his gut and the man quickened his pace, only to be halted by an arm suddenly tossed around his shoulder. Oliver was about to pull away, until he turned and his eyes went wide at the offender.

"Tommy?"

"And where the hell did you go? I thought we were ditching and-"

"Tommy, you're-" Oliver turned to his old friend fully, and he couldn't believe it. It had been years since he'd seen his best friend, years since he's thought about the night of his death and how it changed him. "You're alive." Tommy looked at Oliver with a quirked brow before laughing.

"Ha-ha, I wasn't that wasted last night. If I'm not mistaken you're the one who I had to stop from going skinny dipping down at the lake." Tommy laughed giving Oliver a nudge to the shoulder before nudging his head behind him. "Lets get out of here. School on Fridays should be outlawed." Tommy turned and began walking away, and Oliver for a split second almost fell back into that usual routine where Tommy appears with plan he probably should refuse but never does. Except this time. He heard more laughing from the crowd down the hall, and he suddenly remembered why he was here. "Hey-" Oliver turned back to Tommy. "You coming?" If this day was real, if this was many years ago, Oliver would've said yes and ignored that feeling in his gut. The problem was this day wasn't real, the Tommy in front of him isn't real, even though he wished he was. Oliver shook his head without a word before turning and running down the hall, shoving his way through the crowd to finally see the person he'd been searching for.

"Aw, Twink, Twink, my bad-" Oliver followed the voice, and he glared at the sight of a young Ralph Higgins as he stood over Katie who seemed to be furiously trying to gather her books and papers that were scattered on the floor. She reached for her book, and Ralph quickly dropped a foot on top of it and kicked it out of reach only gaining him more laughs from the crowd around. "I don't know what's wrong with me today, I'm just so clumsy." Katie didn't say anything, still trying to gather her things and stuff them into her back pack. She'd stuffed the last book into her back pack and jumped to her feet about to flee when Ralph suddenly moved to block her. "But it's really your fault. I said hi, and you ignored me, which is really rude." she tried to side step him, but he only continued to block her. "I was being a nice guy, and I was being nice to you, which I thought would at least garner those same cutesy looks you give to Oliver." Oliver had no idea why he hadn't jumped in, hadn't pushed Ralph, and punched him for a good measure. He wanted to, wanted to hurt the guy so badly, simply because of the look in Katie's eyes as she stood being berated and laughed at, but it was as if his feet wouldn't move. He strained trying to free himself, but it was no use. He looked up, forced to watch something he'd rather forget. He wasn't an idiot back then. He knew she was bullied, and often found himself in moments like this where he would just watch and want to do something about it, but never did. The difference was this time he didn't care about how others would react, he just wanted to help her.

"Hey Ralph!" Oliver's voice seemed to work even though his feet wouldn't, and Ralph looked over to him with a quirked brow. Katie looked over to him with the same expression, confused by Oliver's intervention. "Get away from her, or I'll-"

In the blink of an eye Oliver found himself no longer in that hallway, but standing in the middle of some desert town. He jumped at the sound of gunfire, and explosions around him. He spun around as men, women and children ran frantically, screaming, crying for safety. Unsure what to do, Oliver began moving. His eyes darted all around knowing Katie was here somewhere. This had to be Bosnia, which meant this was at the time of her Doctor's without Borders tour. Oliver suddenly ducked down beside an abandoned market stand when the gunfire seemed to be closer to him, but then he shook his head and stood to his feet.

"This isn't real." he muttered to himself as he continued his search. It had to be luck that he saw her. He'd only passed the hut as someone came running out, and when that door opened, he spotted her and didn't hesitate rush inside. He came to a stop the moment he came inside and saw her standing over a small child covered in blood, her hand pressed against a wound that was gushing blood.

"I'm right here." she said looking down to the boy. "I'm right here and you are going to stay with me." she lifted her head and craned her neck searching for the village nurses who were hopefully off trying to find gauze. "Hurry up!" the women rushed back in about to hand the gauze to Katie when the door suddenly burst open. Oliver turned seeing the two men, their faces covered, assault rifles in their hands.

"ARGUS." Oliver says, before taking a step to try to stop them, but it happens again. His feet are stuck, and he's unable to move. He lifts his head at the sound of yelling, and before he knows it the nurses are being dragged away, out of the door. He looks over to Katie, whose hand is still pressed against the bleeding wound of the child, ignoring the orders being yelled at her. One of the men step forward and grab her by the hair, jerking her back forcefully. She stumbles back, her eyes turning back to the child, and she watches his chest rise and fall once more before it just stops.

Oliver stands, unable to do anything but watch. He's heard about this moment, not in great detail, but as he stands here he finally understands why she wouldn't be able to recount this horrible event. His eyes look from the boy to his wife who stands covered in blood unable to turn her gaze from the boy. One of the armed men grab her arm to pull her with him, and in an instant she whips around and shoves her elbow to his gut.

"Wait, no-" Oliver watches as the man lifts his fist and punches her hard knocking her out. "No! No!"

A sudden wind pulled Oliver to a place he'd be happy to never see again. His eyes stared in shock at the familiar halls of Nanda Parbat.

He spun around, confused by the sudden change, but that confusion was pushed aside the moment the hall was filled with the pained screams of his wife. Oliver whipped his head around and bolted in the direction he'd heard the scream. The screaming only got louder and only intensified, and it seemed the further he got he never found her. He suddenly came upon the familiar throne room, and saw the distant flicker of candles. There was another scream that pushed the man back to running. The moment he saw her, his feet never stopped, not of there own will any way. Something had blocked him, some sort of invisible force that he tried to push through, but it didn't work. His eyes landed back to his wife who laid flat on her stomach, shaking violently, and whimpering. Her shirt was tattered, dirty, covered in blood.

"I hope you know I don't take pleasure in punishing you, my sweet Nura." Oliver's eyes lifted to the voice, struck with the sight of the demon who stood above her, a blade in his hand that's dripping blood. "But you know my rules, know what I expect from you, and if I expect death, then it is your obligation to give it to me." Oliver ferociously tried pushing though the barrier trying to get to his wife, to protect her, but it was no use. "You are no longer a doctor, no longer a socialite-" he slid the blade along her arm and she whimpered even more. "You are a child of the demon, and as such Nura you-"

"Get the hell away from her!" Oliver yelled and the demon lifted his eyes toward the man in amusement, and chuckled as he stood to his feet. "You will die for this! I will kill you for this!"

"Well until then, me and Nura were having a bit of private time, if you don't mind." Ra's taunted before turning dropping down to his knees beside the woman.

"No! Don't touch her, don't-" Oliver yelled shoving into the invisible barrier. It seemed useless until one shove sent him stumbling forward, and into another place all together.

Oliver whipped his head around searching down the empty hall of some sort of hospital. He simply picked a direction and walked, unsure where he was going, only stopping at a sign posted on the wall.

"Arkham Asylum?" he muttered, his head suddenly turning at the sound of coming from down the hall.

This was just way too much for Thea Queen. There were doors of light that a strange woman just pulled her brother through, and sure she had taken that well, her brain still securely functioning in her head, but now...now she's kind of at her wits end. Ari had not only witnessed Oliver stepping through the portal thingy, but also had the pleasure of seeing her dead uncle before passing out all together.

"Oliver is going to kill me." Thea said as she paced back and forth, her eyes glancing over in hopes of Ari finally waking up. "He hasn't even been gone a half hour and everything is already falling apart."

"Calm down Ms. Queen, this is my fault." Jacob said from his seat across from the young girl. "Martin suggested I wait until he surveyed the house, but I just didn't have the patience." he sighed as he looked back over to Thea. "I have a team out searching this island for my daughter, we will-"

"She's not in Blue Hill." Thea said looking over to the man who stood to his feet. "Apparently Constantine has some plan to help her, so he has her, with some woman who showed up here from a door way of light. She said Oliver was needed to help Katie, so he went with her through the strange door of light and Ari saw it." Thea glanced over to the girl still laying on the couch. "And I still have no idea how I'm going to explain it." she shook her head before looking over to the man. "Or you."

"So you're saying Constantine has my daughter?" Jacob asked and Thea looked at him in confusion because that was the only thing he took out of everything she just said.

"Yeah." Thea replied and Jacob turned away and let out a deep sigh. "Is that not good? He said he had a way to help her."

"He has a possible way to help her." Jacob says, suddenly feeling a tingling in his chest and he once again lowers himself back to his seat. "A way that could have major consequences if it doesn't work."

"That woman, uh-"

"Zatanna." Jacob said and Thea nodded. "I specifically told the both of them not to do this because the risks were too great."

"I knew this was a bad idea." Thea said with a shake of her head. "What do we do?" Jacob looked over to the young woman and for the first time didn't have an answer to that question.

"We do the only thing we can do...wait." Jacob stood to his feet once again, just as Martin reentered the house.

"Sir, so far the search has turned up nothing, but we will-"

"Stop the search." Jacob replied and Martin looked over to his boss in confusion. "The idiot took her."

"Constantine..." Martin trailed and Jacob simply nodded. "And locating him..."

"He's with Zatana."

"Probably in her impossible to locate home."

"Impossible to locate?" Thea asked looking over to Martin. "Oliver and Katie are there, and if this really is a bad idea, we're going to need to know where they are. Maybe Felicity could-"

"She can't." Jacob answered. "No one can. Her home is under some kind of spell. It moves."

"What do you mean it moves? Like a mobile home?" Thea asked and despite himself, Jacob chuckled.

"Not exactly." he replied when suddenly the sound of a slight groan sounded and they all turned to Ari whose eyes fluttered opened. The teenager turned her head, her eyes glancing from Thea to her uncle.

"It probably would've been a good idea if you actually left. At least then we could've played up the whole she was just dreaming angle." Thea muttered.

"Except she would never believe that." Jacob says looking down to the girl before walking over and crouching down in front of her. "Not my smart little Anna-banana."

"Uncle Jake." Ari sat up from the couch and continued to stare at the man. "You're alive. You're-" she glanced over to Thea who didn't look too shocked before turning back to her uncle. "What's going on?" She shifted her eyes back to Thea. "Where is Oliver?" she closed her eyes and shook her head. "Did I really see him walk into some sort of -" she opened her eyes and looked over to Thea. "Was that the TARDIS?" Thea looked at girl in confusion. Thea glanced over to Jacob who simply shrugged.

"No," Martin says taking a step forward and Ari turned her eyes to him, and they widened. "Oliver isn't the new Doctor and the TARDIS isn't real." Martin glanced over to the confused look of his boss. "It's Doctor Who." Jacob wasn't sure what that meant and Martin simply shook his head. "I'll get you the box set." he turned back to Ari.

"Look Ari, what you saw was-" Thea wasn't sure what to say next. She really wished she wasn't the one having to do this now. This is something Oliver or Katie would know how to handle. They were the parental figures and she was supposed to be the designated fun aunt. "What you saw..." Ari continued staring at Thea waiting for at least some of the answers to the questions swarming around her brain at the moment. "Honestly, I'm not completely sure." she glanced over to Jacob with a shake of her head. "We should just wait until Katie and Oliver come back and they will answer all of your questions." she turned back to Ari with a nod. "But for now, I think you should get back to bed."

"You really think me sleeping right now is the best thing for me to do?"

"Right now it's all I got." Thea said with a shrug. "Right now I don't know how much I should tell you because I'm not-" Thea shook her head. " Katie and Oliver aren't you parents, but they are your guardians and right now I think I'm going to let them talk to you about this. Now get back to bed." Ari scoffed before turning back to her uncle.

"Will you still be here?"

"I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Jacob replied and Thea saw the relief that passed over the girl's face before she threw her arms around the man in a hug. Jacob returned the hug, placing a kiss to the girl's cheek. "Now get to bed my little Anna-banana." Ari pulled out of the hug, glancing over to Thea before turning and heading back upstairs to her room.

"You really shouldn't be here." Thea said looking over to Jacob. "Oliver and Katie will blow a gasket when they find out you were here, so I really think-"

"Ms. Queen, there is a search of the entire bay for my daughter, by local law enforcement. My daughter's name is in a computer connecting her to this place. So that means if there are any loyal Damien Darhk allies out there, there's a chance they've identified that connection and are currently if not already on there way here. This place is no longer safe Ms. Queen, so no I'm not going anywhere. There's no way in hell I'm leaving my niece or my granddaughter here without protection."

"That's not your call to make, and we don't need your protection. I'm here, and there's a crap load bodyguards and police surrounding this place."

"And that's absolutely nothing Darhk's men wouldn't be able to penetrate if given the chance. The truth, Ms. Queen, is that it's not your call." Jacob glanced over to Martin. "I want ears to any chatter associated with Blue Hill. If anything is coming I want to know and I want my plane ready for a quick evacuation." Martin simply gave a nod before rushing out. There was a creak of the steps and Thea and Jacob turned and looked over to see the wide eyes of Gloria who glanced from Thea to Jacob.

"Gloria-" Thea started taking a few steps toward the nanny. Thea saw the way Gloria was staring and how the look seemed to be more of confusion and less of shock. Shock is usually the initial reaction when seeing a man one once thought was dead. That's when something clicked for Thea. "You already knew he was alive." Gloria turned to the woman with a quirked brow. "You're surprised to see him here though, but you know." she glanced back to Jacob. "Tell me you didn't do it again? Did you plant this nanny?" she turned back to Gloria who turned away from Thea's stare. "Do you work for Jacob?" Gloria didn't say anything and Thea growled taking a dangerous step closer to the woman. "You will definitely not like me if I have to ask you again." Gloria turned back to the dark look.

"Ms. Queen-" the sudden cries of Robyn from the baby monitor in Gloria's hand interrupted the line of questioning and Gloria sighed before nudging her head upstairs. "I should-"

"Like hell you are." Thea said reaching down to snag the baby monitor from the woman's hand. "You no longer go near that baby. You're fired. You should leave." Thea walked around the woman and continued up the stairs. "You will absolutely not like me if you're still here when I get back."

Oliver wasn't completely sure of anything right now. He'd been in this memory longer than the others. He'd arrived at a mental institution called Arkham Asylum, there to witness the reoccurring theme of all this. His wife was apparently being tortured. This time by some crazy doctors, one with a crazy scarecrow mask, and the other, a woman who actually found a heart and helped Katie escape. At the moment he was standing on a deserted dirt road, his eyes scanning the area, before looking down to Katie who sat there after being pulled from the car that brought her here. At the moment nothing was happening. She was just sitting here, alone and scared, and he was forced to just stand there and watch. He expected to be forced to the next memory, forced into his own form of torture.

"It stops here." Katie suddenly said, and Oliver looked down to her before looking out to find out who she was talking to. "The memories stop here." Oliver looked down to her to see her eyes on him as she stood to her feet. "I remember being here, and then I'm in a government hospital being told that my name was cleared and that I could go home. Two weeks later I'm stepping off an airplane in Starling." she shakes her head. "There's this gap, six months I think from being on this road, to being in that hospital, and I have no idea-"

"Twinkie?" Oliver took a step forward, only to suddenly be pushed into another memory, only it seems he was back in that classroom. Back where he started.

"Alright class, I want you all to read chapters ten through thirteen. They will be included on your test." Oliver's eyes looked to the front of the classroom to Mr. Crawford. Everyone in the room began gathering their things and heading out.

"Mr. Queen?" Oliver turned his eyes to the teacher. "Shouldn't you be headed to your next class?" Oliver stared for a moment before jumping to his feet and rushing out the door, ignoring the calls of the teacher about his backpack. Oliver ran down the hallway, bumping into people as he moved.

"Hey," suddenly Tommy was standing in front of him, forcing Oliver to stop. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" he shook his head and just tossed his arm around Oliver's shoulder. "Doesn't matter, c'mon, I feel like we haven't hung out in like forever. Life's too short to waste it here."

"Wait," Oliver pulled out of the man's grasp at the sound of distant laughter and he glanced down the hall to the crowd of kids.

"C'mon Ollie, let's just-"

"No!" Oliver pulled away from Tommy. "I'm sorry, but this isn't real." Oliver placed a hand on Tommy's arm, "Goodbye Tommy." Oliver turned around and rushed down the hall, pushing through the crowd, and this time his feet kept moving. Without hesitation, Oliver shoved Ralph into the lockers.

"Hey, man what's-"

"You don't talk!" Oliver grabbed the front of Ralph's jacket and slammed his back against the locker again. "I want you to listen to me and listen good, you will no longer speak to Katie, you will no longer taunt her, or bully her, when you see her, you turn around and walk in the opposite direction. Do you understand me?"

"I was just having some fun, what's the big deal?" Ralph said with that same cocky smirk, and Oliver clenched his fist.

"Liver!" the voice spoke from behind him and he turned to see Katie standing there, and he released the boy. "You can't protect me from this. It happened, and-" Katie lifted her head and turned her eyes to look over her shoulder down a now empty hall. Oliver's eyes widen, turning to see that Ralph too was gone. Oliver glanced down to his watch.

"Twinkie, we don't have much time. We have to get out of here. I think this is a sign that Constantine and Zatanna have found the darkness." Katie turned her eyes to him. "What?"

"They went looking for it?"

"Yeah, they said they may have a way to get rid of it. Twinkie, this could be it." Oliver said and Katie shook her head.

"Oliver, that darkness is securely locked away, and if they open that door then-" Katie heard what sounded like a distant whisper. She turned around and looked down to the other end of the hall. "It's too late." Oliver took a step forward, his eyes looks down to the end of the hall as well, a dark mist blowing toward them. "You need to leave." she glanced over to Oliver, grabbing his arm. "You need to get out of here, get home and take the kids as far away as possible."

"Twinkie, I'm not leaving you in here, I can-"

"Oliver, me letting you in here was never about me needing you to save me. You coming in here was me doing the one thing I could never do. Show you the things that eat away at me. The things this darkness is feeding off of and it's not even-" Katie glanced back down the hall and saw the mist getting closer and just shook her head before turning back to Oliver. "There's no time, you need to leave."

"I'm not leaving you." Oliver brought his arms around her waist. "I told you whatever this is, we will fight it together." Katie looked up meeting Oliver's eyes before bringing her lips to his in a kiss that couldn't last.

"Oliver, mate-" Oliver and Katie pulled apart and glanced back to see Constantine and Zatanna who both looked pretty beat up. "We need to leave."

"What? You said there was a plan to get rid of that thing, just-" Oliver turned as the sound of a strong wind got closer, and their eyes turned just as the dark mist appeared right in front of them, and it suddenly began to take on the form of an exact replica of Katie.

"You're all here." the darkness spoke, a smile tugging at her lips as she looks from Katie to Oliver and then over to Constantine and Zatanna. "Thanks for breaking that lock." it turned back to Katie. "Now I have some very important plans." Katie took a step forward.

"You have to leave Liver."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"You heard the big lug." it spoke taking a step forward, glancing over to Oliver, it's eyes changing to a cold black. Oliver stared trying not to show the array of emotions coursing through him at the sight of this thing taking the form of his wife. "We have a dedicated husband, don't we?"

"Get him out of here." Katie ordered and without a second thought she ran tackling the darkness to the floor. Oliver took a step forward to help, only to be grabbed by the arms by Constantine and Zatanna.

"No, let me go!" Oliver tried pulling free, but both seemed to have unnaturally strong grasps on his arms.

"I'm sorry mate." Constantine said, and Oliver glanced over to him. "We were wrong."

"What the hell you mean you were wrong?"

"It made us believe it was weak." Zatanna spoke, and Oliver glanced over to her. "It was emitting a low energy that made us believe it would be easy to defeat, but that's what it wanted us to believe. It was trick." the woman's eyes glanced over to the fight happening in front of them. "Your wife had that thing locked away and we just let it out." Oliver heard a pained yelp and turned back to the brutal fight of the two women, both looked exactly like his wife and at the moment he couldn't tell which one was which. "We have to leave now."

"I'm not leaving her here!" Oliver growled still trying to break free from their clutches. "I'm not-"

Oliver's eyes opened to the concrete ceiling of the basement. He sat up, his eyes glancing forward to see Constantine and Zatanna sitting up as well, their eyes on each other before they're both on their feet looking over to Katie. Oliver looked over to his wife, whose eyes were still closed.

"What's happening?" Oliver asked. "Why isn't she awake?" he looked over to the pair. "What's happening to my wife!" A gasp escaped Katie's mouth and they all turned to see her eyes snap open. "Twinkie?" Oliver took her hand, and she turned her eyes to meet his.

"Oliver, you should get out of the bed." Zatanna said, and Oliver looked over to her in confusion.

"What are you talking about, what-" he looked back down to his wife and smiled, placing a hand on her cheek. "We got out." he placed a kiss to her forehead. "Everything is alright now."

"Mate-" Oliver glanced over to Constantine. "Get out of the bed." Oliver shook his head before looking back down to Katie. "We unlocked that door, so right now we don't know who that is lying next to you." Katie closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "Out of the bed, now!"


	24. Two Sides of a Coin

**Chapter 24**

**  
Two Sides of a Coin**

_"Though lovers be lost, love shall not."_

-Dylan Thomas

* * *

Pressure, when handled without breaking, is what make the great ones great. At the moment Oliver seemed to be buried under the pressures of life. He felt stuck, with absolutely no idea where to turn. Right now as the water of the hot shower fell on his face, Oliver found himself mentally searching for a solution. It's how he spent all his free moments to himself lately. He needed to know what to do next, and for the life of him, he just couldn't figure out what that was. The cries of his daughter snapped him from his thoughts, and, Oliver's eyes glanced over to the baby monitor propped against the sink and he sighed before quickly stepping out.

Oliver quickly changed, before rushing into the nursery and pulling the baby into his arms.

"Oh, you're alright sweetie." Oliver cooed, placing a kiss to the top of the baby's head. He gently rocked her in his arms but her cries only got worse. He glanced around the room and sighed before hurrying out of the nursery and down to the kitchen. Oliver headed straight for the refrigerator, before maneuvering the baby in his arms so he could reach into the freezer to grab the teething ring. He slipped it into her mouth, and the baby's cries suddenly changed to a soft whimper. "That feel better, huh?" Oliver continued to rock Robyn in his arms, when he looked up to see Ari who stopped when she saw him. She just shook her head about to turn and leave but he called out to her. "Ari, wait!" she stopped and turned back to him. "I know you're upset about coming back to Star City-"

"You know that's just one thing on the long list of reasons I'm upset, along with my cousin who mysteriously disappeared."

"She didn't-"

"Oliver I'm fifteen, so I'm actually not stupid enough to believe my cousin had to leave town on some work emergency. Especially since her resignation from her company has been on the news for weeks. You're lying."

"Ari, I'm sorry, I just-" Oliver shook his head before looking down to the baby in his arms. "I'm doing my best here." he looked back up to the teenager. "I'm trying to do my best here."

"Then tell me the truth. Where is my cousin? Why did my uncle fake his death? What was that weird light you walked into? Why did we have to come back here?"

"Ari!" Oliver snapped unintentionally causing the girl to jump slightly. He glanced down to the baby who also flinched slightly at this tone and Oliver let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry," he looked over to Arianna. "I'm sorry Ari, I know you have a lot of questions, but right now, there's way too much happening. I promise once things have settled I will tell you everything." Ari shook her head before turning to leave. "Ari, tomorrow-"

"Is my first day of school at Star City prep, I remember." she said glancing over to him. "Oliver I'm going to hold you to your promise, and if you don't keep it, I'll never forgive you." Oliver looked at her for a moment before giving her a nod.

"Then I'll keep it." he says and Ari looks at him a moment longer before turning and heading back to her room.

Oliver dropped his eyes back to his daughter who seemed content with the cold teething ring currently soothing her sore gums.

"I'm going to keep my promise to you too. We're going to get through this, and I'm going to get mommy back." he placed a kiss to the top of the baby's head before heading back up to the nursery, hoping to get her back to sleep.

The next morning, Thea stepped inside the Queen residence, stopping the moment she did at the mess. It had been a week since she last saw her brother, a week since he appeared at the house in Blue Hill without his wife standing beside him. She would never forget that look of sadness and failure that was etched in his face. The expression quickly turned to anger the moment he saw Jacob Robins there.

At the moment Oliver was angry with his sister. She knows that anger is rooted in what's going on with his wife, but she also knows she had a place in it as well. It's why she's here. To once again apologize and hopefully pull him out of his funk. In the week since their return to Star City, Oliver hasn't returned to bunker at all. Everyone knew what had happened, but no one knew what the next step was. That's another reason Thea was here today. She heard voices coming from the kitchen, and so she headed inside.

"You keep saying that, but I don't believe you!" Ari snapped in frustration as she stood across from Oliver who stood with Robyn in his arms. Oliver looked down to the teenager before glancing over to his sister. "My cousin has disappeared and I know you know what is going on. Something is happening with her, isn't it?" Oliver looked back down to the girl and just sighs.

"Ari, right now Katie would not want you worrying about her. She would want you to focus on school and getting back to a sense of normalcy after everything that has happened."

"Well we wouldn't know what she wants because she isn't here, and she isn't answering her phone." Ari says with a shake of her head before looking over to Thea. "Look I know something is wrong, and both of you know what it is." she turned back to Oliver. "I am not a kid. Whatever it is, I can handle it."

"I know you can, but for right now I just need you to trust me and believe that I am handling it." The doorbell rang and Oliver lifted his head and sighed. "That's Hank. You should go get your things before you're late for school." Ari stood there a moment longer wanting to argue, but she knew he wasn't going to give her any answers. She was just going to have to get them herself. Ari turned storming out of the kitchen, before moments later leaving out of the front door letting it slam behind her.

Thea watched her brother as he stood there and she hated that he had to go through this.

"Ollie-"

"You shouldn't be here Thea." Oliver said turning and slipping Robyn into her highchair. "I told you-"

"I know what you told me, which is why I kept my distance. But you're here, alone, and you need help."

"I'm fine, I can-"

"Oliver, look at this place?" Thea replied, glancing around the kitchen which was also a mess. There were dishes in the sink, takeout containers on the counter. "You need help. I know what's happening with Twinkie-"

"You don't know anything!" Oliver said turning back to her, and the look in his eyes broke her heart. "They told me the risks, they told me that it might not work, and I didn't listen." Oliver shook his head, his eyes looking back to his daughter who happily ate the cheerios that were in front of her. Looking at her, and looking at Ari just made him feel even more guilty, because it was like he was the one who took her away from them.

"Ollie, this isn't your fault. We knew this thing inside of her was strong."

"I thought I was stronger." Oliver replied taking a seat at the table beside Robyn. "I thought I could save her. But I wasn't strong enough."

"Ollie, you sitting here in this pity party isn't going to bring Twinkie back. We need a plan. Has Constantine gotten back to you?" Oliver didn't say anything, because at the moment he didn't want to talk.

"Thea, you should leave." Oliver says, and Thea let out a sigh.

"Oliver, I told you I was sorry, but Jacob and Martin just showed up, and Ari had just seen you walk through that door of light, and then saw her now walking dead uncle and had passed out. I didn't know what to do." she shook her head and took a step toward him. "That night was beyond bizarre and I-"

"You let him in a room with my daughter. You let him hold her." Oliver says looking over to his sister. "All of our problems started with that man and-"

"He's her grandfather!" Thea replied trying to defend her decision. "Her only living grandparent. He's made bad choices, I get it, but he is still her grandfather, and whether you like it or not she should know him. I'm sorry that I made that decision without your permission, but at the time it just happened and I didn't stop it." he didn't respond, and Thea wasn't sure what else she should say. "Oliver you need help." he turned away from her words even though he knows she's right. "With the kids, with finding Katie, with all of it."

"I just-" Oliver shook his head, his eyes looking back to his daughter.

"I know, but that's why I'm here." Oliver turned to his sister just as she was sitting down her purse and pulling off her jacket.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going help you clean this place up." Thea replied glancing around the kitchen with a groan.

"Thea, you don't have to-"

"I don't, but I want to." she said with a smile. "I fired your nanny after all." Oliver just slid a hand over his eyes. "I can't believe he did it again. He actually planted a nanny spy here."

"I can." Oliver muttered, letting a hand slide across his tired eyes. "Jacob will never change, and I will never trust him." he looked back over to his sister. "Any interaction between him and my daughter will be approved by me, understand?" Thea gave a nod.

"What about Ari? She's seen him too, and you cutting her out on all of this isn't going to end well." Thea replied. Oliver turned away, once again knowing his sister was right. "Ollie, I think you may have to tell her." he looked back over to her. "I mean she deserves to know the whole truth about what's really going on around her."

"I can't have that talk without Twinkie.”

"Well your little teenager is stubborn like her cousin, and if you believe she's going to just let this go, then you have another thing coming. She is going to go looking for answers, and I believe it will be better if they came from you." Thea watched the warring emotions happening inside of her brother at the moment, and wished there was something she could do to help with them. At the moment the only thing she could do was start with was cleaning. "Look right now, you should go get some rest, and I will start cleaning down here."

"Thea, you really don't have to do that. I can clean up around here." Oliver said walking over and picking up Robyn in his arms. "I just have to give Robyn her bath, and get her changed first, and then I'll start cleaning, and-" Oliver turned away spotting the brown paper lunch bag on the counter. "Ari forgot her lunch, I should-"

"Ollie, stop and breathe, ok. You don't have to do this alone." Thea walked over and plucked the baby from his arms. "Go, get some rest, I will take care of everything else."

"Speedy—"

"Will you go already!" his sister urged, and Oliver knew a losing battle when he saw one and so he turned and headed upstairs.

Rest. Oliver doesn't think he could close his eyes and just sleep right now. He's probably only gotten a couple of hours of sleep since returning to the city. He stood in his room, looking down to his made bed as flashes of himself and Katie there, laughing, having petty arguments, making love. He couldn't see himself lying in that bed without her, and so his back fell rested on the door and he slid down to the floor. He kept his eyes on that bed, as the memories of that night came back to him.

" _Out of the bed, now!" Constantine ordered once again, and then she started laughing. Their eyes all turned to her, the woman still lying in that bed. She opened her eyes, and Oliver gasped jumping out of the bed at the sight of his wife’s coal black eyes._

" _Aww, you look like you've seen a ghost dear husband." she said sitting up from the bed, and glancing over to Constantine and Zatanna. "Well if it isn't my saviors! You two were pompous enough to believe that you could defeat me." she lifted her arms above her head, and moaned as she stretched. She stood to her feet, all three sets of eyes still silently watching her. "Well it has been fun, but-" she stopped when her feet stopped at the line of candles that surrounded her bed. She lifted her eyes to Constantine and Zatanna and she saw the hope in their eyes that maybe, just maybe she wouldn't be able to cross it. That she was still too weak to combat their little spells._

" _Twinkie!" Katie turned to Oliver who walked around, standing right in front of her, the candles separating them. "I know you're in there, I know you can fight this. This thing isn't stronger than you." it laughed again, this time louder, with a slight snort._

" _Oh, Oliver your wife can't hear you anymore. You see I've trapped her in the prison she placed me in, and I've double bolted the locks." she replied, and Oliver took a step back when she took a step toward him, crossing the spelled line that was supposed to keep her inside. "Your wife is dead, Oliver." she laughed turning back to Constantine and Zatanna. "And you lost. Now if you'll excuse me," the woman turned and headed for the door, but instead of just opening it, she placed a palm on it for a moment. When the door opened, they all saw what looked like swirling black and yellow lights. She glanced over her shoulder once more and winked over to Oliver before turning and stepping inside. The door slammed behind her, and Oliver pulled out of his shock to run after her, but the moment he opened the door, all he saw were stairs._

_In the moment, Oliver felt his heart race. His fist clenched at his side as the realization of what just happened sinks._

" _Hey mate—" for some reason, hearing Constantine's voice only angered Oliver even more. "We're not dead." Oliver turned to the man in confusion. "The biggest threat to that thing is the three people in this room, and it knows that, but she let us live."_

" _Or it wants us to witness what we caused." Zatanna replied before turning to Constantine. "We can no longer trap her, I believe what she says is true. If Katherine is locked away so deep inside-"_

" _Then we go back, find her and get her out." Oliver said looking between the two. "I have to save my wife from that thing."_

" _That's just it Oliver, there is nothing none of us can do any more. It's stronger now, and it now has the control. This only ends one way."_

" _No." Constantine shook his head, he turned away and began thinking. "This is not how this ends."_

" _Oliver, there is a blade-" Zatanna continued._

" _No!" Constantine snaps at the woman. "We have not gotten to that point, yet."_

" _But we will." the woman turned back to Oliver. "At this point we don't know what it will do, but I doubt it will be anything good."_

" _We have to find her." Oliver closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "She can't be gone. We just have to find a way to save her." he looked back to the pair across from him, and he wished he saw optimism on their faces. "Look we were all wrong. We did this to her, and we will fix it. I am getting my wife back."_

Oliver's phone vibrated, and he lifted his head to see the screen light up from it's spot on the bedside table. He stood to his feet. Whenever his phone made any kind of noise, he quickly went to it, in hopes that it was Katie or news from Constantine. Oliver stared down to his phone and and just sighed. It was Diggle. Oliver just shook his head before tossing the phone on the bed without even reading it before heading into the bathroom.

Thea dropped down on the couch with a huff. It took a couple of hours, but she was able to get the house cleaned. She glanced over to the play pen where Robyn was still asleep and Thea smiled. She figured now while the baby was still napping would be the perfect time to catch a few zzz's herself. And so the woman kicked off her shoes and spun around to lay down. She'd only closed her eyes before she felt her phone vibrating in her purse. She groaned before turning and reaching inside. She saw Diggle's name and quickly answered.

"Hey, what's up?" Thea asked and that's when John told her some very big news given from his brother. Thea glanced over to the baby, before glancing back toward the stairs. "And Oliver didn't answer the phone?" she sighed with a shake of her head. "I'm still here, I will talk to him." Thea ended the call before standing to her feet. She was about to head upstairs, but she was stopped by the sound of the doorbell. She paused for a moment. It was rare that the Queen household had many guests, at least none they didn't know were coming. Thea took a few steps into the hall, before turning at the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. She watched as her brother rushed down. "Are you expecting someone?"

"No." was his hurried reply. He pulled open the door, and the slight hope he had dwindled away at the sight of someone he didn't have the patience for. "Mr. Carroll, what are you doing here?" Micheal glanced behind Oliver, who only pulled the door a bit to minimize the man's view inside the house. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to Sweets." Michael said, his eyes glancing behind Oliver. "Sweets! I know you're in there, we need to talk!" the man attempted to push his way inside the house, but Oliver stepped forward and gave a hard push back.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Oliver asked, and at this moment a surge of anger struck him and all he wanted to do was hit something, and since Michael was here. Oliver took another step forward, but a hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder to pull him back.

"Not a good idea." Thea said moving around her brother, placing herself between the two men. "What do you want with Katie?"

"It's none of your business." Michael replied, turning his glare back to Oliver. "It's about the company."

"Which she is no longer apart of, so why are you here?!" Oliver snapped once again taking a step forward, but Thea pushed him back.

"Because this is her chance. Our stocks are plummeting, sales have gone down, and our public opinion rating are at an all time low, and they all happened the moment it was announced that she would be stepping down as the CEO. If I can get her in front of the board now, have her convince them that letting her back now is what is best for the company, I can get her back to where she belongs.

 _Where she belongs._ Oliver thought to himself. She belonged with him, home with their kids. Oliver turned away because the thought on brought emotions that he was trying his damnedest to hold inside.

"So I need to talk to her."

"She's not here." Oliver said turning back to the man who huffed.

"Well can you call her, because I've tried and she's not taking my calls."

"No, she's-" Oliver was tired of explaining this. Tired of saying the words out loud, reminding himself of how much of a failure he truly was.

"She's what?" Michael questioned as he looked over to the man and something about the way Oliver looked made him nervous. "where the hell is she?" the man turned to Thea in hopes for answers. Thea glanced over to her brother before turning to Michael and said the first thing that came to her mind.

"She's not in the country." Thea said and Michael's brows knitted in confusion. "She's...she signed up for another tour with Doctor's Without Borders." Michael stared for a moment, his eyes glancing over to Oliver and he just shook his head.

"Doctor's Without Borders?" Michael turned back to Thea who simply gave a nod. The sudden sound of Robyn's cries spilled outside and they all turned. Oliver simply turned, hurrying inside to check on his daughter. "Robins Incorporated just opened an internal child care facility." Thea turned back to the man with a quirked brow. "You see to get Sweets to finally come back to work, I brought up the idea of the facility figuring that being away from her daughter was the reason for her hesitation in coming back." Thea turned away slightly. "So I find it hard to believe, that my Sweets would go to another country, putting thousands of miles between her and her daughter." Thea turned back to meet his eyes. "Where the hell is she?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Carroll, but Katie isn't here right now, but I'll tell her you stopped by when I speak to her." Thea turned and headed back inside. She stopped at the door and glanced back to the man who hadn't moved from his spot. He glanced back inside the house and then turned back to Thea, taking a step forward, but stopping himself. Michael looked back to the woman and just gave a nod.

"Ok." he turned and headed back toward his car. Thea watched until he was gone before stepping back into the house with only one thought. She walked inside to find Oliver in the kitchen, cradling Robyn in his arms as she chewed on her teething ring.

Oliver glanced over to her.

"He's gone, but Ollie-" she sighed with a shake of her head. "I don't think he's dropping this. He may look deeper into this and if he finds out that it's a lie."

"Thea-" Oliver interrupted her. "Right now, this moment, I'm holding my daughter. She's teething, and it's very uncomfortable for her, so right now I'm just going to hold her, and let her know that I'm here. So what Michael does or doesn't do, isn't very important." the man began heading out of the kitchen toward the steps.

"John called!"

"I know."

"Yeah, he said you ignored his call, but Ollie it's about Darhk." Oliver stopped and turned back to his sister. "Malcolm approached Andy about some job to steal missiles. We think Malcolm is planning something, we're just not sure what."

"And you think this is about breaking Darhk out of jail?"

"I think that it's a very good possibility." Thea turned to her brother. "Right now we need your help. We need to figure out a way to stop this." Oliver's eyes looked down to his daughter in his arms and Thea saw that hesitation. "Ollie, I think the last thing that needs to happen is for Darhk to get out a prison, and find Katie in the state she's in right now." he looked back over to his sister and knew she was right. Before Oliver could open his mouth, the front door opened, and Thea took a step back to see Ari who walked inside, tossing her back pack on the floor before heading into the kitchen. Ari stopped, looking between Oliver and Thea and just knowing she interrupted something serious.

"What?" she asked, looking over to Oliver. "Is it Katie? Did she call?" Oliver saw the hope in her eyes and felt guilty.

"Um, no-" Oliver glanced over to his sister and sighed. "Ari, I have to leave for a little bit." he turned back to the confused teen. "I won't be gone long, there's just something I have to take care of."

"Let me guess, I don't get to know what this something is?" Oliver didn't say anything and Ari just shook her head.

"You know what, whatever." she turned about to head upstairs.

"Ari-" she stopped and turned back to the man. "Thea and I are both leaving, and we're not leaving you here alone." Oliver glanced over to Thea who thought for a moment before getting an idea.

"How about Donna?" Oliver looked unsure. "I mean I don't think she'd mind."

"I don't need a babysitter. I'm almost sixteen." Ari replied turning a glare to Oliver. "I can stay home alone. Just keep the suits outside and I'll be fine." Oliver looked at her for a moment before looking over to his sister.

"Call her." Oliver said before turning to the angry teenager. "I won't be gone long, just be on your best behavior." he looked over to his sister. "I'm going to pack up Robyn's things and then we can go." with that, Oliver turned and headed upstairs.

"You guys can't keep me in the dark for long." Ari said looking over to Thea. "My cousin wouldn't up and leave. She promised me that she would always be there for me and I refuse to believe that she would break that promise." Thea looked at her for a moment before nodded.

"You're right. She wouldn't. Ari, we can't tell you everything right now, but know that Katie is coming back. You should grab some stuff to take to Felicity's to keep you from getting bored." Ari simply shook her head before turning and heading over to grab her back pack. She glanced over to see Robyn's car seat, and the stuffed banana the baby just seemed obsessed with and suddenly she had an idea. Ari glanced over her shoulder to make sure the coast was clear before snagging the toy.

Lyla Michaels was nervous. She stood on the elevator, her hands fidgeting at her side dreading the moment the doors would open. Lyla wasn't supposed to be nervous. Waller didn't choose her to be her replacement because she got nervous. She was a strong minded, intelligent woman who should not be nervous right now, and yet the moment the doors pulled opened, her feet froze. She looked out, her eyes looking over to the men and woman who rushed about. She usually didn't come to this floor. She'd come to an agreement with Jacob Robins when Waller was gone, that she would allow him to continue his work as long as it didn't interfere with any ARGUS business. Right now ARGUS satellites were being used, and when she asked her techs why, none of them had an answer. Only that those satellites were currently being utilized by Agent Jacob Robins. Lyla took a deep breath, pushed her shoulders back and stalked off of that elevator. Any nervousness she felt now was pushed down internally and externally only annoyance showed. She stalked toward his office, just as Martin came rushing out. The moment he saw her he came to a stop.

"Oh, Ms. Michaels-"

"Director Michaels." Lyla corrected. "Tell me why I'm here Mr. Ellis?" the man sighed folding his arms over his chest.

"The satellites."

"Yes, the satellites. Any satellite use in this building must be approved by the director." she took a step toward the man. "Right now our facial recognition satellites that are linked to every government agency in the world is being used, and I didn't approve a damn thing."

"I'm sure you're aware, Mrs. Queen-"

"Katie is missing. I know, and I also know that there are a lot of people lookning for her, and if Jacob wants to use some of our resources than fine, but all of them throws up red flags. All of them draws attention to an agency that's not supposed to exist. Using all of them to find one woman is reckless, and Jacob knows that." Lyla moved around the man to go into the office, only for Martin to take a step to the side to block her. "You have five seconds to move out of the way before I hit you and then fire you Martin."

"Ok, we'll dial down on the satellites, and try not to draw too much attention. I will assure that happens, but you going in there right now is not a good idea." Lyla looked at the man for a moment and just shook her head.

"How far off the rails is he?"

"Close enough to still have a weapon, far enough that you should probably have one if you're in a room with him." Martin replied and Lyla glanced over to the door. "Right now his decision making skills aren't the best which is why I'm here."

"Jacob Robins has never gotten overly emotional with a case. I remember with Grace-" she looked back to Martin and shook her head. "We all thought it was strange how only after a few weeks he was back as if nothing had happened."

"Well we all wear masks, Director. It's just with our children, it's a lot more difficult." Lyla simply gave a nod before once again looking up to Jacob's door.

"Keep him on the rails, scale back on the satellites." she turned back to the man. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"Well there was something we could use. Waller has some journals that belonged to Grace Robins, I believe they're here somewhere. They may help us in our search." Martin replied.

"I'll check around for them, and if I find something I will send them down." Lyla said with a nod before turning and heading back over to step onto the elevator. Martin looked back to the door, and sighed before heading off as well.

_A blinding bright light appeared out of nowhere, filling the room causing everyone to turn away. After a few seconds the light was gone and they all turned to see Oliver standing there alone. It was Jacob who took a step forward, his eyes looking to Oliver and not his daughter who is supposed to be standing beside him._

" _No." Jacob muttered with a shake of his head. "Tell me it worked?!" Oliver looked over to the man in confusion not expecting to see him._

" _Ollie?" Thea rushed over to her brother, placing her hands on his arms. His eyes didn't look at her at first, and so she gave him a slight shake. "Ollie?" he looked down to her. "What happened? Where's Twinkie?" Oliver didn't answer. He lifted his eyes to Jacob once again, and an anger inside of him seemed to just burst out._

" _You kept secrets from her!" Oliver snapped attempting to walk over to the man, but Thea pushed him back. "You could've prevented all of this if you were just honest! You should've told us how dangerous it was for her to be near Darhk."_

" _I did." Jacob turned, his hand going to his chest, suddenly feeling it difficult to breathe. "I-" he stumbled back, falling to the couch behind him. "I tried, I-" he looked back over to Oliver. "It didn't work. She's-"_

" _Ollie, where is Twinkie?" Thea asked again and Oliver turned back to his sister and he suddenly felt the lump in his throat that stopped the words from coming out of his mouth. "Wait, is she-"_

" _No," Oliver shook his head. "She's-" he glanced over to Jacob once again and shook his head. "It has her now." he turned back to the shocked eyes of his sister, and he felt that pang of guilt once again._

" _I thought-" Thea shook her head, her eyes watering at the implication of his words. "This was supposed to be it." she looked back to her brother. "I thought-"_

" _It didn't work." Jacob muttered. "I should've known that British bastard wasn't going to give it up." he looked over to them. "And you let them do it." Oliver growled taking a step, but his sister once again pushed him back. Jacob stood to his feet with a shake of his head. "You don't get it, do you? We can't stop this thing. That's why it wasn't going to work. You, Constantine, Zatanna, going in there, trying to kill it, that was a long shot. A very slim chance of success." Jacob slid a hand over his eyes, hoping a next step would just materialize, but all he could think about was his daughter. His baby girl out there, with this dark thing inside of her, doing God knows what. He shook his head before stalking toward the door._

" _Wait! Where are you going?" Thea asked and the man stopped and looked back to her._

" _We have to find her, before it does something she can't come back from." and with that the man stalked out of the door._

Jacob ran his hand across the stubble along his chin as his eyes bore into the monitor in front of him, each showing a current facial recon search for his daughter. It had been weeks and there was no sign of her, but he knew she was out there. This thing inside of her was smart. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I don't know what to do, Grace. I promised I would keep her safe, I promised I'd keep her away from him, and now I don't know what to do." he opened his eyes and looked up to the ceiling, just as an unexpected breeze blew through the room. Jacob turned around noticing a picture on the shelf had been knocked down and so he walked over and picked it up. It was a picture of Grace holding a two year old Katie in her arms rocking her to sleep. Jacob remembers the memory so vividly. He'd just walked into the house, and when he found his wife and daughter, there was something about the sight that just made his heart swell with love. He quickly grabbed the camera, and took a picture wanting to be able to remember this moment in the future. Jacob smiled at the picture, before his eyes caught something he never noticed before. There below the rocking chair, next to Grace's foot looked like the spine of a book. Jacob lifted his head, because he recognized the book. It's a book Grace absolutely didn't want in the wrong hands, which is why she had it secretly delivered to an old friend back in Nanda Parbat. Jacob looked back down to the picture before pulling out his cell phone. "Yeah, I need a plane as soon as possible."

Oliver's eyes looked down to Damien Darhk's reassembled idol that was securely in cased at the bunker. John went over the story again that Andy had told him, about Malcolm coming to him about stealing missiles. He glanced down to the baby monitor, glad Robyn was still asleep.

"First, kidnapping, then stealing missiles." Laurel said with a shake of her head. "Merlyn's trying really hard to be friends with Darhk."

"Malcolm's convinced Darhk is on the winning side." Thea said looking over to her brother. "He's even trying to protect me from whatever he's planning."

"The only thing Darhk should be planning on is getting convicted at trial." Oliver replied, his eyes once again glancing down to the baby monitor. They'd all noticed his eyes looking down to it, and how much he didn't want to be dealing with this right now. Oliver's eyes looked back up to that idol, unable to not look at it.

"Why does that thing creep me out the way it does?" John asked noticing Oliver's lingering staring figuring that was his thoughts as well.

"Because it's creepy." Laurel said.

"There's something that I haven't told you guys." Oliver said suddenly and they all turned to him.

"Shocker." Thea muttered, but Oliver heard her and looked over to her making her feel instantly guilty. "Sorry."

"I've seen this idol before." he continued.

"What? Where?" Laurel asked and Oliver glanced over to her and sighed.

"Lian Yu."

"You really love not talking about that place, don't you?" Laurel commented and Oliver chose to ignore it.

"Thea mentioned security upgrades." Oliver said looking over to John. "How's that coming?"

"Everything's in place. We're good to go." John assured him.

"Because Merlyn knows the bunker's location. If he's working with Darhk- "

"Then that means we have to worry about him coming down here and stealing this creepy stone thingy." Thea said looking down to the idol as well.

"And what about his plan to hijack the missile shipment?" Laurel asked.

"Oliver, I think-" the sound of Robyn's cries came from the baby monitor, and Oliver looked down to it for a moment before turning and heading off to check on his daughter without a word.

"Should we be worried about him?" Laurel asked looking between Thea and John. "He just seems-"

"Like he's barely holding on, well that's because his is." Thea sighed. "The not knowing where Twinkie is, or what's happening with her is getting to him."

"Well it's making me nervous as well." Laurel replied. "The last time this thing inside of her was in the driver's seat, I ended up in the hospital."

"Has Felicity found anything?" Thea asked looking over to John.

"Wait, where is Felicity?" Laurel asked.

"I told her what John told me and about us meeting."

"And she decided not to come?" Laurel asked, just as the elevator doors opened and out walked Bruce. "Never mind."

"Sorry I'm late." Bruce said, glancing between them before glancing around the bunker.

"She's not here." John said and Bruce turned to him. "I told her you were coming and-" Bruce simply gave a nod.

"So you've been in Star City this whole time and none of us have seen you. What have you been up to?" Thea asked looking over to Bruce.

"I've been searching for Robins." Bruce replied. The moment he got the news of what had happened, Bruce couldn't believe it and yet a part of him expected the news at some point.

"Anything?" Laurel asked, and Bruce shook his head.

"Where ever she is, she's staying underground."

"I don't get it. The last time this thing had taken over, it's motives were very clear." Thea said with a shake of her head.

"Were they though?" John asked. "I mean we never gave her a chance to leave. Who knows what she would've done if she got out of here that day."

"I guess we're going to find out if we don't find her." Laurel muttered.

"So what is the plan with this whole Malcolm/Darhk situation?" Bruce asked looking over to John.

"Well we were getting to that part, but Oliver had to go check on the baby." John said and Bruce quirked a brow but nodded. "He's-"

"Yeah, I know. What do we know about these missiles Malcolm wants to steal?" Bruce asked.

"Not much, which is why I think we should let Andy stay right where he is." John said. "That way, we have someone on the inside."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Oliver asked and they turned to see the man standing behind John.

"Well, he's out from under the influence of Darhk. We can trust him." John explained.

"Trust is one thing." Bruce said. "Installing him as a double agent, that's another. That's a lot of pressure to put on someone, especially someone that is still in recovery."

"Bruce is right." Oliver said.

"Guys, Andy is a standup guy. He's got this." John said, just as Thea's phone vibrated. She pulled out her phone and frowned.

"What is it?" Oliver asked and Thea walked over to him to show him the notification that appeared on her phone and he sighed. It was a reminder about Ruvé's acceptance speech.

"You could blow that off. You don't owe Ruvé Darhk anything." Laurel said looking over to Oliver who she could tell didn't want to go.

"Tradition. Loser attends the winner's acceptance speech." Oliver replied. He had no intention of attending when they were in Blue Hill, but now that he was back and people knew he was back he knew not going would gain too much attention.

"You didn't lose. You pulled out of the race because of her husband." Laurel stated and Oliver glanced over to her. "You in front of the press right now when you're-" she sighed. "This thing with Twinkie is affecting you, and-"

"I'm fine." Oliver said looking down to the baby monitor. Thea watched the man and suddenly an idea struck her.

"Bruce can watch Robyn!" Thea suggested and they all turned to her. It was an unexpected suggestion which the woman seemed to be doing a lot of lately. She turned to Bruce who stared in surprise. "C'mon, he's watched her before."

"Yeah, with-" John was about to say with Felicity, but thought he probably shouldn't.

"Look at this point what other choice do we have. Me and Ollie, and the assistant D.A. have to be at this speech. John has to fill in his brother, so that leaves us with Bruce."

"Not exactly." Laurel said looking over to Thea who glared. "I mean never mind." Thea turned back to her brother.

"We won't be gone long, and he's right here." Thea said looking over to Bruce who just shook his head before turning to Oliver.

"I feel like I'm going to regret this, but sure I'll watch her until you get back." Bruce said, and Oliver looked unsure himself.

"Look, we'll just stay until the end of the speech and then we're coming right back."

"We'll be fine." Bruce said.

"Well you better." Oliver said seriously before nudging his head. "C'mon, there's a list of things you should know if my daughter's life is going to be in your hands."

"A list?" Bruce chuckled, but stopped when he saw the annoyance on Oliver's face. "You're serious?" Oliver simply quirked a brow and Bruce just shook his head before following after the man.

"Batman the babysitter." Laurel said in amusement before glancing over to Thea who was typing away on her cell phone. She and John walked over to see what she was doing and their eyes went wide. "Thea, what are you doing?"

"Taking a page out of Felicity's universal meddler book of meddling." Thea replied before sending the text. She looked up to Laurel and John who both just shook their head. "What?"

Ari sat on the patio of Felicity's apartment, staring down at the tablet in her lap.

"So I ordered pizza and it should be here soon." Donna says walking out and taking the seat across from the teenager. "Whew, it's chilly out here, you sure you don't want to go inside?"

"I'm fine, I like being outside." Ari says, her eyes glancing back down to her tablet. Donna looked at her for a moment and shook her head.

"You remind me of Felicity." Ari looked over to her with a quirked brow. "That girl was always staring at a monitor, doing something, decoding something." Donna shook her head. "I thought for sure she was going to be some kind of hermit because sometimes she wouldn't even come out of her room because she was glued to that thing. I'm so glad I was wrong. I mean there were some run ins with a couple of government agencies, but-" Donna noticed the surprise on Ari's face and realized maybe she was oversharing. "How about a movie?" Ari looked at her for a moment before glancing down to her tablet. She typed a few keys turning off the screen before looking back over to the woman.

"Sure." Ari said before they both walked back inside. "Do you guys have popcorn?"

"Absolutely, I'll get some popped, and you can choose the movie. Just nothing too gory alright. I can't take the blood and guts." Donna replied before heading off to the kitchen. Ari waited until the woman was out of sight before stuffing her tablet into her book bag before tossing it over her shoulder.

"I'm actually going to go to the bathroom!" Ari called.

"Ok!" Donna replied.

Ari grabbed her jacket as she quietly hurried toward the door. She cast one final glance to make sure the coast was clear before she carefully opened the door and slipped out without making a sound. Ari stood in front of the elevator nervously waiting for the doors to open. There were no guards outside the door, which meant they were probably doing their rounds. Ari was lucky, but that luck would run out if the elevator didn't open soon. She glanced down the hall hoping she wouldn't get caught when the doors finally opened and she quickly slipped inside. Once inside, Ari pulled on her jacket and pulled her tablet from her back pack. She turned on the screen and looked down to the aerial map of the city, her eyes locking on to the blinking red dot.

In all honesty, Bruce wasn't as nervous as he thought he would be when he was finally left alone with baby Robyn. She did stir awake, but he picked her up in his arms, rocked her a bit and she just drifted off back to sleep. He held her in his arms for a bit to truly ensure she was asleep. As he looked down to this child, Bruce couldn't help but feel the pain of loss. Sure there was no child to lose, but there was a possibility. A very strong possibility that after he married the love of his life, they would one day have a child. And now that possibility is gone, and it's all his fault.

Bruce's head lifted at the sound of footsteps. He snarled because he knew the team wasn't back that soon, and he also knew that there could be a possible attempt to steal the idol. Bruce carefully lowered the baby back to the bassinet before he quietly headed toward the door. He pulled opened the door slowly, hoping to make whoever was in the bunker believe there was no one here.

Bruce slipped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. He listened for the footsteps and they seemed to be getting near. He clenched his fists at his sides, and a took a step forward, only to freeze at the sight of someone he didn't expect.

"Felicity, what are you-" he hadn't seen the woman in weeks. The last time he saw her was that night of the fake wedding. A lot of emotions filled that night, and those emotions seemed to be just as strong in this moment as his eyes looked at her and couldn't fathom the idea of looking away. She stalked toward him with a glare on her face.

"What the hell was Oliver thinking of leaving you here with my god daughter?" Felicity asked angrily about to push him out the way to check on the girl when the sound of the elevator opening again made them pause. Bruce took a step forward in front of Felicity, once again going on the defensive.

"Felicity, go into that room and lock the door." Bruce ordered before taking a step only to once again stop at the sight of yet another face he didn't expect.

"What is-" Felicity stepped aside, her eyes going wide. "Ari?"

Arianna Locke wasn't sure what to expect when she walked into Oliver's old campaign office. When she walked inside, she didn't see anyone, but this was where her locator says they should be. Well where Robyn's stupid sombrero wearing banana stuffed animal should be which currently held her cell phone. The teenager walked around a bit before finding a hallway. She'd remember many times coming here, and Oliver walking off, always toward this hallway. She never thought much about it, it never really mattered. When she stepped into that hallway she looked around unsure of what she was actually looking for. She was about to turn around when suddenly the wall in front of her opened up, revealing a secret elevator. A short ride later, and now here she was, standing in front of display cases all holding the suits of Star City's heroes.

"Ari?" her name was called again, but she couldn't turn away from the suits. Her eyes currently looking to the suit of the Guardian. A hand touched her shoulder and she looked over to see Felicity.

"My cousin is the Guardian isn't she?" Ari asked, her eyes turning back to the suits. For some reason that seemed so obvious only at this very moment. Her eyes drifted to the suit beside it, and her eyes widened. "And Oliver is the freaking Green Arrow!" she turned back to Felicity who seemed stunned in silence, unsure what to say.

Oliver had to force himself not to roll his eyes as he watched Ruvé's speech. The press was in the crowd, probably waiting for him to be caught off guard. He suddenly remembered what Laurel said, about him not being in front of the press because the fact that his wife was missing and inhabited by an evil entity was affecting him. The truth was, it was affecting him, more than they knew, and yet he kept it hidden because he had to.

That woman standing on the stage was the wife of an evil man and for some reason him behind bars didn't scare her or make her nervous. Oliver couldn't help but feel as if there was something more going on that he just hadn't seen yet. Oliver saw the smile on her face and just shook his head. His eyes turned to her staff behind her, and they stopped on the man who'd visited his home earlier tonight. Michael stood behind Ruvé with a look of hidden annoyance. Oliver had read that after Katie stepped down, Robins Incorporated decided to back Adam's campaign which he's sure added to their downfall. Michael's eyes turned, spotting Oliver and the two men's gazes were locked on each other. Oliver turned away from the suspicious glare being sent in his direction.

"We worked hard to get to this moment, but now the real work begins to make this city great again." Ruvé smiled and waved. "Thank you." the woman stepped down from the podium, and was immediately questioned by the press.

Oliver turned to leave, but stopped at the sound of his name.

"Mr. Queen?!" A reporter stepped forward, recorder extended toward Oliver. "Have time to answer a few questions?"

"I'm not a candidate any more." Oliver replied with a polite smile. The last thing he wanted to do was answer any of the press' questions right now. "I'm just here to support the new mayor."

"So no comment on the write-in results?" the reporter asked

" Uh, what write-in results?" Thea asked.

"48% of the electorate wrote in your brother's name on their ballots. That's a historic showing for a candidate who pulled out of the race." Thea glanced over to her brother who looked surprised. The reporter turned noticing Ruvé headed in their direction. "I'll let you and your former opponent catch up."

"Well, thank you for coming out tonight, Mr. Queen." Ruvé said, a smile on her face. Always in front of the cameras, she thought as she held out a hand to Oliver. "It's a very gracious gesture." Oliver shook her hand despite his desire to just let her hand just hang there.

"I am always gonna have this city's best interests at heart." Oliver replied with his own smile.

"Well, let's hope the same can be said for your friends." Ruvé said before turning to Laurel. "Miss Lance, I am so pleased to meet you. I was very impressed by your handling of the Damien Darhk hearing." Laurel wanted to sneer at the woman's tone, but she wouldn't reveal her true feelings.

"I was just getting warmed up."

"Well, my hope is that you'll be too busy to handle the trial. District Attorney Remirez has taken on a new position as my deputy mayor, and I would like you to succeed him as D.A. Think about it. I think that we could do great things for this city if we worked together." Laurel seemed taken aback by the offer. "Think about it." Ruvé turned back to Oliver. "Oh, and give my best to your wife." the smile of Oliver's face fell, and Thea noticed the expression change and moved in closer to her brother. "She's been out of the spotlight since stepping down from the company, I hope-" There were sudden murmurs and they all turned as the press seemed to move toward the door, their cameras flashing as they all yell out questions. It didn't take long for them to realize what had caused the frenzy.

"Twinkie." Oliver whispered taking a step forward. Katie was right there, a bright smile on her face as she waved and laughed with the press. Her eyes turned to him and her smiled widened as she walked over to him, grabbing his jacket and pulling his lips to hers. Oliver wasn't sure what was happening, but he was sure of one thing, this wasn't his wife. Even while knowing that fact, Oliver returned the kiss, and even brought his arms around her as the cameras flashed.

Thea and Laurel shared a look of confusion before turning to the couple of who finally came up for air.

"I'm sorry I'm late, honey." Katie said reaching up to wipe Oliver's now stained lips. She looked over to Laurel and waved with a smile to which the woman stood a bit straighter. Katie glanced over to Ruvé who seemed to be watching her as everyone was. "Oh, Ms. Adams, I missed your speech, my apologies."

"No need." Ruvé replied a smile on her face, but she watched the woman warily. She remembered the last time she saw her, and the power the woman in front of her held. She held out her hand to Katie who looked down to it, and just shook her head, tossing her arms around the woman in a tight hug. The cameras once again lit up at the sight.

Thea nudged her brother who glanced over to her and just shook his head.

"Well I want you to know I wish you and your new role in this city the best." Katie pulled from the hug, not missing the slight suspicion on the woman's face. "Being the mayor is a big job and can be very dangerous." Katie sent one final smirk to the woman before turning back to Oliver. "My car or yours?" Oliver looked down to the woman before bringing his arm around her and pulling her toward the door, Thea and Laurel close behind.

"What's going on?" Laurel whispered over to Thea who looked over to the woman and shrugged.

"Hey, Sweets!" Michael stopped them before they could get into the car. He ran over to Katie and she turned a smile to him. "So I heard you were out of the country?"

"Who told you that?" Katie asked and Michael glanced over to Oliver and Katie followed his gaze and shook her head. "I mean, it's just not something I wanted to get out." she turned back to Michael. "It was a short stay, but now I'm back."

"Great, look I think right now is the perfect time to put you back in front of the board. They're now realizing that you were more than just a name on that building. I can set up a meeting and-"

"Michael," she placed a hand on his arm to stop him. "It's over. It's time for you to move on." Katie turned back to Oliver who pulled open the passenger side door to let her in. Michael stood there for a moment in confusion. He glanced over to Oliver before turning and stalking away. Oliver was about to head over to the driver's seat before turning to his sister and Laurel.

"Can you two find a way back to the bunker?" Oliver asked and Thea shook her head.

"Oliver, we're not leaving you alone with her. I know you want to try and save her, but that thing inside of her makes her very dangerous."

"I know that, but somewhere underneath all that darkness is my wife, and I'll fight til my last breath to find her." Oliver glanced over to Laurel. "I'll meet you back at the bunker." with that the man walked around the car before stepping inside, and speeding away.

Thea and Laurel stood there watching the car get further away before Thea's phone rang. Thea pulled out her phone, glancing down to the caller ID and groaning before bringing it to her ear.

"Hey Donna, what-" Donna's hysterical crying was incoherent, but what Thea could make out of it made her turn to Thea with wide eyes. "Don't worry, we'll look for her." Thea hung up the phone.

"What happened?" Laurel asked.

"Ari is missing." Thea replied and Laurel's eyes turned back in the direction that the car had sped of in. "The last time Ari went missing that thing inside of my sister went homicidal." Thea sighed before looking down to her phone. "I'm calling Felicity."

The drive was silent. Almost brutal. Oliver kept his eyes ahead, even though every fiber in his body wanted to turn to her, look at her, but he doesn't think he could do that. Look at this wife, and not see her staring back at him. Right now he knew this darkness was powerful and unpredictable, so he needed to play this smart.

"Why are you here?" Oliver finally asked.

"You're my husband." she chuckled glancing over to him, noticing the grip he had on the stirring wheel. "And here I was thinking you'd be happy to see me."

"I'll be happy when I see my wife." Oliver sneered glancing over to her, but only for a second before turning back to the road. "I'll be happy when you're finally gone." she laughed with a shake of her head.

"You still don't get it, do you?" she asked looking over to him. "You think I'm the product of some rose pedals slipped under a door." Oliver glanced over to her once again before looking back to the road ahead. "The truth is, I've always been here. I've been with your little Twinkie through all of the troubles that swallowed her up and spit her out. You only saw a peek of it when you were up in the ole noggin." they stopped at a light and Oliver took in a deep breath before turning back to the woman, now looking at her, seeing the lights shine on her, and it was painful. The woman sitting beside him looked the same, looked like his Twinkie, and yet it wasn't. "The only difference now is that I'm no longer suppressed, or buried deep inside of her any more. Now I'm free." she laughed before turning away from his eyes. She pointed ahead. "Light's green, Oliver."

When Laurel and Thea arrived, they spotted Felicity and Bruce standing in the middle of the bunker staring out to something. They walked over, and their eyes widened at the sight of Ari standing there looking up to their suits.

"How long has she just been standing over there?" Thea asked.

"Too long, I'm going to -" Bruce took a step to go over to the girl, but Felicity grabbed his arm to stop him.

"I don't think so. Right now she doesn't need to be scared or lied to which seems to be the only thing you can do. Plus this is a Twiver talk. Where's Oliver?"

"He's with Evil Twinkie." Thea said looking over to Ari.

"As in, the Devil stole my body, Twinkie?" Felicity asked and Laurel gave a nod. "She saw you and didn't try to kill you again?"

"No, she just said hi." Laurel replied with a shake of her head. "It was kind of unsettling."

"It was completely unsettling." Thea said. She looked over to Bruce who seemed to be deep in thought. "A penny for your thoughts." Bruce turned to her, and then to the eyes on him. He turned to Felicity who watched him as well and he just shook his head.

"I should probably go." Bruce said before turning.

"If you know something Bruce, you should tell us now!" Felicity called after him, and he stopped walking and turned back to her. "No more secrets, no more lies. Just tell us." the man looked at her for a moment, and even now was so tempted to just tell her the truth, and yet he knew the danger surrounding this secret was still there, still impending, and he would prolong that for as long as he could.

"If there's a plan to break Darhk out of that jail, we need to stop it before it happens. Call me when Oliver returns, and we can figure out how to come at this." and with that the man turned and stepped onto the elevator. Felicity's eyes stayed on that elevator for a moment before she turned back to Thea and Laurel.

"Should we be worried about Oliver?" Felicity asked. Both Laurel and Thea shared a look before turning back to Felicity with a shrug. "So I should probably track him." Felicity moved around the women to head over to her computers. "And someone should talk to Ari." Thea and Laurel shared another look.

"I tried and failed explaining any of this to her." Thea said as they turned their gaze to the teenager.

"We have to tell her something, and there is no telling when Oliver will be back." Laurel sighed. "She's standing right here in the middle of this. The truth is the only thing we can give her right now." Laurel began walking over and Thea just shook her head.

"Ollie is not going to like this at all."

When Oliver pulled the car to a stop, Katie glanced out the window and rolled her eyes.

"Is this quarry magic now?" she asked dropping her head back on the seat as she looked over to the man who turned his gaze to her fully now. "You think it will make me who you want me to be, but I'm sorry to break it to you Oliver, but it won't."

"Do you want to know what I realized?" Oliver asked and the woman looked over to him and awaited for him to answer his own question. Instead he turned and stepped out of the car, and she just laughed.

"Pathetic." she muttered glancing out the window, before stepping out as well. "Fine, I will bite. What did you realize?"

"That little trip into my wife's consciousness, I saw all the terrible things that happened to her." he turned back to the woman. "All the terrible things you've been feeding off of."

"Your point?"

"I didn't see any of the good things. That's how you can be here, isn't it." he took steps toward her. "You're pushing the bad things to the front, making her relive them, making her experience that pain over and over again. You're trying to make her forget the good things. Us, our daughter, Ari, the lives she's saved as a doctor, the people's she's helped running her company." His last step placed him right in front of her. "Twinkie, if you can hear me, I need you to know that all the bad that's happened to you does not have the ability to steal you away from me. The good in your life outweighs the bad, and you need to realize that and fight this." he looked at her for a moment as she stared back to him and he wondered if his words touched anything inside of her.

"I expected this. You were always going to be the toughest one to convince, but I think you should know Oliver, that I will convince you. Your wife is gone, I'm here now and I have a lot of work to do. I only came here to let you know that we're on the same side of this fight, we're just going to go about it differently. All I ask is that you don't get in my way and I won't get in yours." she turned to walk away.

"The night of the fireworks." Oliver said, but the woman just kept walking. "Before the police, and before all the crap that came after, you told me that you were glad that I was your friend." she didn't stop and Oliver began stalking after her. He needed his words to touch something inside of her. He needed to know his hope was warranted. "And I didn't say it out loud, but I wish I had. I wanted to tell you that being your friend was the highlight of my life." she kept walking, not turning back to him, and he continued to follow after her. "I woke up everyday to experience life with you." with those words she finally stopped. Oliver stopped as well, that spark of hope burning now. She didn't turn, and say anything back to him, but he knew something inside of her felt the truth of his words and it did something. "Twinkie?" she turned to him and shook her head.

"Nope, still just me." she replied with a half smile. "Oliver, I don't think you quite understand what I am. I am strong, so your words though she hears them, won't make a difference. I'm going to say this once again in hopes that you hear it." she took a step toward him. "Your wife is gone. You need to believe that and accept that because if you don't, if you waste your time trying to strike a nerve, in the end it's you that's going to be hurt." she turned to leave.

"You know I can't do that."

"You're right, I do." she glanced over to him. "You're not gonna stop until I rip your heart out of your chest. Which I will if I have to." Oliver saw the flicker of her eyes as they changed. "Like I said we're on the same side here, fighting the war that's headed this way. Right now that's what you need to be focused on, because that's the fight you have a chance at winning." with those words, she turned and walked away, and this time Oliver didn't follow after her. That spark of hope that burned inside of him had reduced to a flicker, but not completely burned out.

Returning back to the bunker, Oliver already knew the troubles of his day weren't over. He'd listened to numerous voice mails from his sister, and from Felicity, and the latest was from John. Oliver rode the elevator down, his eyes closed.

" _So is your head gonna be attached to my stomach for the foreseeable future?" Oliver didn't move an inch as he kept his ear pressed to the pregnant belly of his girlfriend. "You've felt her kick before. Is this about your bad dream." Oliver didn't say anything because he really didn't want to rehash the terrible nightmare of some of his past enemies somehow finding them in Coast City, bursting into their house and torturing them. He wasn't sure what spurred the thoughts, but the moment he woke up, he brought his arms around her, and dropped his head to her stomach, needing the reassurance that their daughter was alright. "Liver-" she lied back on the bed, and brought her hand to rest on the side his head. "We're alright. We're right here and we're not going anywhere." Oliver felt the kick in that moment and he let out a heavy sigh before lifting his head and placing a soft kiss right above her belly button. He moved so his face now hovered above her, his hands still wrapped around her. The room was still dark, the only light coming from the glow of the moon, but he saw those eyes. The eyes that would always be the controller of the air that flowed in and out of his lungs. She placed a hand on the side of his face._

" _I love you." he whispered the words that would never fully encompass the feelings he had for this woman. He dropped his lips to hers, making a silent promise to never let that dream come true. He was_ _going to protect her and his daughter until his very last breath._

The doors to the elevator opened, and so did Oliver's eyes as the memory faded. He took a deep breath before taking a step out. His eyes looked ahead where he saw Felicity behind her computer. His eyes glanced over to where he spotted Thea and Laurel standing in front of Ari, their eyes on suits he never intended for her to see.

"How did it go?" Felicity asked standing to her feet and walking over to the man. "I pinged your phone and saw that you went to the quarry. Any luck finding our Twinkie?"

"I'm not sure." Oliver says his eyes still on the three girls on the other side of the bunker. "But I'm not giving up."

"Well of course you're not." Felicity replied giving the man a slight nudge before following his eyes. "So how do you plan on handling this situation?"

"I thought Twinkie would be here. We'd do this together. I guess that's not possible now." he glanced over to Felicity who gave him a nod.

"Well, good luck. Little Robyn is still asleep, and for future reference, Bruce Wayne doesn't babysit her, call me and I will drop whatever, ok." Felicity said, and because Oliver knew right now she needed him to just agree, he did. He gave a nod, but not actually promising her anything. He knew this whole thing with Bruce was still a very sensitive subject and so he would appease her. "I should be getting home, I will see you tomorrow."

"Thanks Felicity." the woman simply gave a nod before glancing back over to the girls and loudly cleared her throat causing them all to turn. They all glanced over to Oliver who began walking over.

"I guess I should be headed home." Laurel looked over to Oliver and gave him a small smile. "See you tomorrow?" the man simply gave a nod before turning his eyes back to Ari who was now glaring at him.

"I guess I will go get Robyn all packed up to go home." Thea said before scurrying off as well. Soon it was just Ari and Oliver, and the tension that danced between them.

Oliver wasn't quite sure how to actually start this conversation. He thought he had more time before he revealed all of this to her. He wasn't actually sure he ever would honestly. This life, this part of his life was dangerous, and he didn't want Ari or Robyn in it at all. But it would seem that wasn't even possible. And so right now he would do the only thing he could do, and that was tell her the truth. He walked a bit closer, so he was standing beside her, his eyes looking up to their suits. Ari turned as well, her eyes looking to them, still finding it hard to believe what she was seeing.

"Arianna, I am the Green Arrow." Oliver finally said, and he glanced over to her.

"Why?" she turned to him shaking her head. "How?" She wasn't sure what she wanted to know first because the questions were now cluttered in her head wanting to get out.

"The hows and whys of this would take a long time to explain. I mean there's a yacht accident, and then a couple of years on an island fighting for my life, add in a shady government agency, and in the end you got me putting on that hood and trying to protect this city." Oliver said looking over to the girl. He knows it doesn't completely answer her question but it seems to be enough as she turns back to the suits.

"And my cousin. She-" Ari's eyes look up to the suit of the Guardian and she sighs. "Darhk had me and I called her and told her to find me and she-" the girl turned back to Oliver with a shake of her head. "I thought you guys had connections with the heroes in this city, but I didn't know you were the heroes. She came for me."

"She did. There was absolutely nothing that was going to stop her from coming for you." Oliver said with a smile, his eyes going to the suit as well.

"Where is she?" Ari asked finding now would be the best time to ask another question she needed answered. "She's not gone for work. She wouldn't-" Ari shook her head. "She wouldn't leave us."

"Ari, I-" Oliver really wished Katie was here. He wasn't ready for this, ready to completely destroy this girl's entire world with the knowledge of heroes and villains, along with Metahumans and the mystical world. "You're right, she wouldn't leave you. It's just...something has happened."

"What?" she turned her attention back to him. "Is she alright?" Oliver should lie. As the parental figure whose job it was to ensure this girl's mental and emotional wellness, he should tell her that everything was fine and that her cousin was fine. "Don't you dare lie to me." Oliver turned his eyes back to the girl and let out a deep breath.

"Come sit down." Oliver walked over to sit on the steps, and Ari watched for a moment before walking over to sit beside him. "What I'm about to tell you will be hard to believe, and I want you to know that I'm only telling you this because I trust you. I trust you with all of this because I know you know how important this secret is and how dangerous it could be for all of us if it ever got out." Ari looked at him, before glancing around the bunker and it hit her just in this moment exactly where she was and what all of this really meant. "Ari, your cousin she's..." Ari turned back to face him and the only road for him right now now was honesty. "She's not alright."

There was a small window that let in only the smallest glimmer of light. At the moment, that window was the closest Darhk would be to the outside world. At least for now. And so he laid on his uncomfortable cot, his focus completely centered on that window as a smile curls on his face at thoughts of this city's impending fate.

There was a sudden chill in the air, and Darhk became aware of his surroundings once again. He jumped to his feet and walked over to the bars of his cell, and glanced up noticing the flickering of the lights before they suddenly just shut completely off. He heard the yells of the other inmates, but he remained aware of the sudden presence he felt. He just didn't know who it was or where they were.

"So I like your digs." Darhk whipped around, the voice startling him coming from inside of his cell. His eyes searched the darkness, but he couldn't see anything. "It's small and quaint." That voice. He recognized that voice, and a smile once again curled on his lips.

"Oh Katherine." Damien said taking a step forward. "I see you're coming into those powers quite well now aren't you? You know I've been dying to see you again." he heard her laugh.

"Careful with your choice of words." she replied and the man spun around because it seemed as if the direction of her voice changed. "I'm here to give you a friendly warning. And by friendly, I mean the opposite." something touched his back and Damien whipped around still straining to make something out in the darkness.

"No you're here to finally figure out what that thing between us is." he said, that smile still on his face. "Did you get my message from Ms. Lane?"

"I did. Apparently I am yours." Katie replied in amusement. "What does that mean exactly?"

"Oh I would love to tell you. But this is definitely a wrong time and place kind of conversation. No, I think I'll save that for when I can really use it."

"Always playing games, even now. Even when your life is completely over. There are no more moves to make." Damien laughed.

"Oh, that's where you're wrong. As long as there is a breath in my body, there will always be moves to make and there-" he was in the middle of saying something witty and cunning, but the words died on his lips without his permission. It happened so suddenly, that he didn't even know what was happening at first. But what he was extremely aware of was the fact that his lungs were no longer filtering air in and out of his body.

"As long as there is a breath in your body huh?" she laughed as she listened to the unsuccessful gasps the man attempted. "Funny isn't it. One minute your body is working how it's supposed to, and the next it's just being a little bitch. Much like you did for Ari if I'm not mistaken." Damien's hand reached up and wrapped around his neck unsure what was actually happening to him. "You see I could end your life right here, right now. It's actually what you deserve, but I have the feeling that you dead won't stop whatever you've put in motion in this city. So unfortunately, you get to live another day, but I promise you won't get many. Once I find out what you're planning, once I find out exactly what part your wife plays into it, I'm going to end you. Both of you. But for now...breathe." the man coughed furiously as air came crashing back in to his lungs. "So here's that not so friendly warning. End whatever plans you have for this city because if you don't, I promise you, your death will be..." she laughed as she let the thought linger. "It will be the things nightmares are made of."

Suddenly the lights switched back on, and Damien's eyes darted around his cell, but he saw no one there.

The next morning, Oliver awakened from his place on the living room couch. His eyes snapped opened, a bit surprised at the fact that his normal alarm clock/ daughter hadn't woke him up. Oliver quickly jumped to his feet about to head up to check on her, when he stopped at the sound of something from the kitchen. Oliver narrowed his eyes, before cautiously proceeded toward the kitchen to check it out. He pushed opened the kitchen door surprised at the sight of his sister at the kitchen table where she was feeding Robyn.

"Hey, morning." she said with a smile before pointing over to the stove. "I made pop tarts and coffee if you're interested." he walked inside, heading over to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"You didn't go home?" Oliver asked walking over to sit beside his sister.

"Well this is home." Thea replied looking over to him. "And I told you, you don't have to do all of this alone."

"Thea-"

"If you're about to tell me that I don't have to, I know that. This isn't something I feel I have to do, but it's what I want to do. Despite what's actually happening right now, you're kind of a single dad and being the only parent to both a baby and a teenager seems to be very hard."

"Tell me about it." Oliver muttered before taking a sip of his coffee. He glanced over to the steps. "Anything from Ari this morning?"

"Not a peep. I was going to go check on her, but I wasn't sure. She seemed pretty quiet after your talk last night."

"I know, but telling her the truth was the right thing to do. She's old enough to understand what is happening around her right now."

"And you really trust her not to go blab all of this?" Thea asked and Oliver turned to her and shook his head.

"Ari is a good kid, and she knows how important this is. I just hate that she's being put in the middle of all this."

"Well she's apart of this family. It was bound to happen." Thea turned a smile to her niece. "At least this is practice for when you have to have the hero talk with this little cutey." Oliver turned to his daughter and smiled as she happily ate her cereal.

"That conversation is a long way away."

"So tonight. This missile transport, can we count on the Green Arrow to head up this mission?" Thea asked and Oliver turned back to his daughter. He actually hadn't dawned the suit since returning. Maybe he still had hope that he could help his wife and they could return to a nice, peaceful life as they had found in Blue Hill.

"I don't know. I feel like I should really be focusing on Katie right now. There's just something about last night. Her showing up to Ruvé's speech. Wanting to meet with me to tell me that we were on the same side." Oliver shook his head. "I'm not sure what to make of it, but I feel like there's something there."

"Have you talked to Constantine?"

"Yeah, I called last night. He says we shouldn't trust her, that he couldn't sense Katie at all when she woke up, which means this person walking around in her body is unpredictable. He and Zatanna are still looking for a way to bring Katie back." Thea noticed the look in his eyes, and she could see that hope he had dwindling.

"Ollie, what would Twinkie want you to be doing right now?" she asked and Oliver turned to her before looking to his daughter. He didn't say anything for a moment because he didn't like the answer and how obvious it was.

"She'd want me to ensure Damien Darhk got nowhere near our daughter." he looked back over to his sister and gave a nod. "Have Felicity send me the route the shipment is moving." Thea smiled with a nod before standing to her feet.

"Will do. Now, me and my little niece are going to take a bath." she picked the baby up in her arms before turning to her brother. "And maybe you can talk to Ari. See where her head is this morning." Oliver nodded before watching his sister and daughter as they headed out of the kitchen.

After talking with Ari the night before, and telling her about Katie, she didn't have as many questions as he thought she would have. Oliver wasn't completely sure what to make out of it, but he knows it's something the girl has been locked in her room thinking about.

Oliver stood outside Ari's room for a moment before lifting a fist to knock.

"Hey Ari, it's me. Can I come in?"

"Um..." the girl said, and Oliver heard rushed movement from the other side of the door. "Just one minute." he waited for a while before grabbing the door handle and finally walking inside, just in time to see the girl quickly close the storage trunk in front of her bed and sit on it. "I didn't say come in!" she said a bit breathy. Oliver glanced around the room before turning back to the girl who watched him as well. "What's up?" Oliver walked over to the girl and stared down to her and she just shook her head. "It's nothing. Just drop it." Oliver was taking a page out of his dad's play book at the moment and continued to stare at the girl hoping that same feeling twisted inside of her as it always did for him. "Ugh...fine." she stood to her feet and flipped open the trunk, and pulled out a bunch of papers, along with her laptop. "I was researching," Oliver looked over to the girl in confusion before taking the papers from her hand. He read over her notes and things she'd printed offline and they all seemed to be information about body possession. "I know what you're going to say."

"Ari-"

"You're going to tell me to not worry about this, that you're going to find a way to help my cousin."

"Ari-"

"And I would believe you if it hasn't been weeks and no one has a clue how to save her." Ari shook her head before taking the papers out of his hands. "She wouldn't have been on the beach if I hadn't snapped on her and left. She was trying to help me."

"Ari, what happened to Katie isn't your fault at all. Look this thing inside of her was there for a while and now it's stronger, and we're working on a way to undo it, but you shouldn't be worried about this." she looked over to him and scoffed before walking around and taking a seat on the edge of her bed. "Ari-"

"You can't tell me not to worry about her." Arianna said turning to him. "Despite what you would like right now, I am very much aware of how serious this is, and you can't coddle me, or double talk your way into making me believe otherwise."

"You're right." Oliver sighed before walking to stand in front of her. "It is serious and you worrying makes sense. I'm worried too. I just-" Oliver shook his head. "This problem is very big and dangerous and the last thing Twinkie or I want is for you to be tangled in it."

"Except I can't know all of this and pretend that I don't." Ari shrugged. "I want to help bring her back." Oliver turned away, knowing that telling her no would probably have the same outcome as it would with his stubborn wife. Oliver let out a sigh before turning back to the girl.

"Tonight I have to be the Green Arrow and at the moment since we no longer have Gloria you're going to have to come to the bunker with me." he saw the way her eyes lit up. "But you will listen to everything I tell you, ok?"

"Absolutely!" she agreed with a smile and Oliver can only assume she thinks this is something it really isn't.

"Ari, this isn't-"

"I should get ready for school." she said before rushing off to her bathroom. Oliver stood there for a moment and let out a heavy sigh.

"Twinkie is not gonna let me hear the end of this." he muttered before turning and heading off to check on Thea and Robyn.

Ari was anxious the moment school was out. Hank was waiting outside of her school, leaning beside the car as he always did. Today she actually hurried over to him, to which he looked over to her in confusion.

"There's something going on with you." he noted as he walked over to open the car door for her. "You're weirder than normal."

"Yeah, well you're weird all the time." Ari said, stopping before actually stepping inside the car and looking up to the man. "Oliver told you I'm not going home, right?"

"He did. I'm supposed to be taking you to his old campaign office. He didn't say why though. Maybe you would-"

"Don't be nosy Hank. Just drive." and with that the girl slipped into the car. The guard just shook his head before closing the door.

It was a sight the made John Diggle chuckle. He stood across the bunker watching as Oliver stood above Thea's shoulder going over the aerial map of the missile transport route. What made him chuckle was the fact that Oliver was completely focused, going every detail of the route and the plan while simultaneously rocking a fussy Robyn in his arms.

"What's so funny?" Laurel asked looking at the smirk on the man's face. She followed his eyes to Oliver who held the baby to his chest as she seemed to be chewing on the collar of his shirt and she couldn't help but smile as well. "Of all the sights I ever thought I would witness in this place." Oliver glanced over to them, finally noticing them staring and the looks on their faces.

"What?" he asked in confusion. Thea turned as well unsure what was happening.

"Do you remember that time, in the old hideout when I had to bring baby Sarah with me, and you totally freaked out about her being here, and how you wanted me to find somewhere else for her to go." Oliver looked down to his daughter and smiled. "New perspective now, huh?"

"You could say that." Oliver replied.

The moment the car came to a stop, Ari jumped out of the car and rushed toward the door.

"Hey!" Hank called and she came to a stop and turned back to him. "So not even a hint?" the guard glanced over to the building. "Is he like planning on stepping back into the mayoral race?"

"Stop being nosy!" she called before finally running inside, She continued running, almost sliding to a halt in front of the elevator where someone was already waiting. "Uh, hi, Mr. Wayne." Bruce chuckled as he glanced down to his phone once more before sliding it back into his pocket.

"You know you can call me Bruce, kid." the man said just as the elevator doors opened. He stepped aside to allow her to enter first. She gave him a polite smile before stepping onto the elevator. Bruce followed behind her. The ride was mostly silent, before Ari finally let another question slip though her lips.

"Which one are you?" she asked and Bruce turned to her with a furrowed brow. "Oliver is the Green Arrow, my cousin is the Guardian, uh I think Thea is Speedy, and Laurel is The Black Canary, John is Spartan, so that makes you..." Bruce chuckled as he turned back to the doors. "I won't tell. I know how important this secret is. I know-"

"Except you don't." Bruce said with a shake of his head before turning to the girl. "You can't. Not really. Arianna, I'm not sure what you think this is, but I'm positive you're wrong. You being here puts you in danger, and it puts us all in danger."

"But Oliver-"

"Oliver is an idiot, and he cares a lot about you and with everything that is happening right now, he's not making the best decisions lately." Ari turned away from him, thinking on his words, now suddenly a bit more aware of what exactly she was getting herself into. The moment the doors open, Bruce took a step to get off, but stopped when he noticed the teenager didn't move. He looked over to her, and noticed the dazed look on her face, and immediately felt guilty for what he had said. He opened his mouth to try to ease the situation, but he never got a chance.

"Ari?" Oliver walked over standing beside Bruce, Robyn latched in his arms. His eyes went from the man to the girl who stood in the elevator clearly upset about something. "What happened? What-" he noticed the look on Bruce's face, and sighed. "What did you say to her?"

"I didn't—I just-"

"I shouldn't be here." Ari said before reaching forward to press the button to close the elevator. Oliver quickly slipped inside before the doors closed.

"Ari, I don't—ow!" he looked down to Robyn who'd just bit his shoulder. He looked over to Ari who stared in confusion. "Ari I don't know what Bruce said-"

"He said me being here is dangerous. That I can be in danger and that you guys could be in danger too just by me being here. If I mess this up-"

"Do you want to know how your cousin ended up joining the team?" Oliver asked. "She'd returned to Starling, and she'd been the target of numerous attacks, and I was trying my hardest to protect her, but she made it so hard." Oliver turned away and smiled down to his daughter in his arms. "She refused to be scared into hiding. And when she found out about all of this, she wanted to join, and I refused."

"Seriously?" Ari asked and Oliver looked over to her. "You usually do whatever she wants. I thought that was something that happened all the time."

"Not when it came to keeping her safe." Oliver replied. "I didn't want her tangled in any of the vigilante stuff. I wanted at least one part of my life, one person safely untangled in whatever mission I thought I was on. She was-" Oliver sighed as he looked back down to his daughter again. "She was my Twinkie, and I just wanted to keep her safe."

"Why did you change your mind?"

"Well she was stubborn, but beyond that, it was totally out of my control. I loved her even though I didn't know it at the time, I knew that if this life, this mission was going to be apart of my life, and if I wanted her in my life, then I knew I couldn't fight the inevitable anymore." Oliver looked back over to the teen just as the elevator doors opened. "Ari, look I'm not going to lie to you, this is dangerous. Everyone here knows that and has accepted what that means for them and their family." the girl turned away. "I've accepted that and so did Katie, because we knew that we could do this and protect both you and Robyn. But right now you choose for you. If you want to step out of this elevator, and just go home I will absolutely understand, and also be very happy." Ari turned back to him. "I would love nothing more than for you and Robyn to be as far from all of this as well. I would love nothing more for you two to be two things in my life that are completely untainted by what I chose to do for my life. But like I realized all those years ago with Katie, some things are just out of my control and that includes this moment." Ari turned away from him, looking back into the hallway. She's sure that stepping off would make her life so much easier right now. She could try her hand at just being a normal teenager who did normal teenage things, but even she didn't believe that was possible at this point. Ari took a step back and Oliver let out a sigh.

"Ari-"

"I get it." the girl said turning to him. "Like I really get it. Thank you for making this my decision." Oliver gave a nod before taking a step back and watching the door close again. "My cousin would have never done that." Oliver looked over to her in confusion. "She's probably gonna kick your ass when we get her back and she finds out about all of this." Oliver turned away from her and shuttered a bit at the thought.

"There's no probably about it." Oliver muttered as the doors opened and the pair stepped out. It was Bruce who was the first to take a step toward them, and Oliver in turn took a few steps forward to step in front of Ari blocking the man from the girl.

"Oliver-"

"No." Oliver said seriously. "We will talk about this later, but right now you stay away from her, and you definitely do not talk to her. Do you understand?" Bruce saw just how serious the man was and knew there was only one answer he should give.

"Yep." he replied before turning and heading back over to the computer to look over the route.

"Ok." Ari said taking a step forward. "Now that, that is all taken care of, what's happening tonight." Oliver turned to her and she could tell from the look he was giving her that she probably wasn't going to like it. "It has to do with Darhk. But he's in jail. Wait, he's not-"

"No, he's still in jail. We think some of his associates might be trying to help him escape." he noticed the hitched breath and he bent down to meet her eyes. "But we are not going to let that happen." Ari saw just how certain those words passed his lips, and she couldn't help but believe him. She gave him a nod before watching him walk back up to his sister. Ari stood there for a moment, unsure what she should be doing. She didn't want to get in the way. Not with something so important. She suddenly felt very small compared to the others in this room. She was currently in a room filled with heroes who all have probably saved hundreds of lives.

"And you're sure you want me and Thea to stay behind on this?" Laurel asked and Oliver gave a nod.

"Yeah, right now there needs to be someone here in case someone comes for Darhk's idol." Oliver glanced down to his daughter in his arms and placed a kiss on top of her head. "And I also would feel better with the both of you here with Robyn and Ari." Laurel simply nodded in understanding before looking back to Ari who seemed planted in the same spot since she walked in. Oliver followed her eyes and sighed. "Was this a bad idea? Bringing her into this?"

"We don't know that yet." Laurel said giving the man a nudge. "You made a parenting choice, and you have to give it time to see if it was a good one."

"Well it better be a good one, because if it's not Twinkie is going to kill me." Oliver said and Laurel turned to him at the mention of his wife. She could see the way he seemed to deflate as he remembered that Katie wasn't here right now.

"Oliver, we're going to get her back." Oliver looked over to the woman. "I'm not sure how at the moment, but I'm sure we will." Oliver gave the woman a smile before he felt the sharp prick of his daughter's teeth once again.

"Ow!" he dropped his eyes back down to his daughter.

"Did she just bite you?"

"Yeah, she's been doing that a lot lately." Oliver said before holding the child up a bit so they were eye to eye. "Someone is liking their new teeth, huh?" the baby seemed to laugh at her father, who couldn't help the smile that came to his face at the sound. He placed a kiss to her cheek before finally walking over to Ari, only to stop when someone else decided to check on her.

Ari lifted her eyes to John and sighed.

"You're not moving." he said.

"Yeah, I don't want to be in anyone's way."

"Want to know a secret?" Ari just gave a nod. "This place is huge, but at some point, someone is always in someone else way. We just keep going though."

"Are you going to tell me that I shouldn't be here either?"

"Is that what Bruce told you."

"More or less."

"Well Bruce has been working alone for a very long time. He thinks it's the only way to do this job. Not a lot of us feel that way."

"What if I don't belong here?"

"You won't know until you know." John replied before placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Don't just stand in this spot. Move around and if you get in someone's way, apologize and keep going." and with that the man turned and headed back over to the command center where Bruce was looking over the map.

"What exactly should I be doing?" Ari called after him.

"Homework!" Oliver answered her instead and she turned to him. "The first thing you will always do when you come here is homework. There is a table over there for you to work on." Ari glanced across the bunker to the table that seemed to be away from anything that looked remotely interesting. She quirked a brow before turning back to the man. "And don't forget I went to Star City Prep back when they were just Starling Prep. I know the amount of homework they give and I also know you'll be occupied for a while."

Ari shook her head before hiking her back pack on her shoulder and heading over.

"I guess I should find my own Twinkie to do my homework like you did." she muttered.

"What was that?!" he called after her and she just turned with a sweet smile as she shook her head.

"Nothing." she replied before continuing to the table.

Oliver was right, this school did give a lot of homework, but Ari was the weird kid who actually liked doing homework. Pair that with the fact the Havenwood was ridiculously more advanced than SC Prep, much of her current homework wasn't even all that tough. Ari was so focused on her homework, that she jumped at the hand that touched her shoulder. She glanced over her shoulder, her eyes going wide at the sight of Oliver now dawning his Green Arrow suit.

"I don't think I will ever get used to seeing you like this." she said before glancing over to see John who also had on his Spartan suit. It's the third masked figured that made Ari nearly fall out of her chair.

"That's-" she pointed across the room and Oliver followed her eyes. "That's-" the girl stood to her feet, eyes still locked on the man across the bunker. "That's-"

"That's Batman." Oliver said still unsure why the girl was being strange. He knew seeing everyone in their gear might be a bit surprising, but at the moment the girl seemed a bit star struck.

"That's Bruce, and Bruce is-" the girl seemed to smile with a shake of her head. "Bruce is Batman. How—" she turned back to Oliver. "How is Bruce Batman? He's so annoying and the Batman is so-" her eyes drifted back to the masked vigilante and Oliver soon realized what he was witnessing and suddenly felt the need to stop it and so he quickly took a step in front of Ari to block her view of the man.

"Right, well we were about to leave, so you're going to be staying with Thea and Laurel." Oliver said before pulling out the baby monitor and passing it to her. "And you're also on Robyn duty. She's asleep in the back room, so make sure you pay attention to the monitor."

"Wait, so I'm babysitting? Of all the things I can be doing in a super secret hero cave, I'm babysitting."

"And doing homework. Make sure you finish all of your homework." Oliver was backing away as he grabbed his bow and quiver of arrows before glancing over to Thea and Laurel before turning back to Ari. "And you are not leave the bunker for any reason at all."

"Wouldn't dream of it." she said watching as the guys left. Once they were gone, Thea and Laurel looked over to Ari who stared back to them in confusion. "I'm going to go back to finish my homework." and with that the girl turned and headed back over to her table.

Oliver was getting impatient. He and John sat staked out in the van waiting for the transport to begin. Bruce was on top of the building across the street being the eyes from up above.

"So how are you doing?" John asked, breaking the silence. Oliver glanced over to him. "You saw your wife yesterday, and she wasn't quite your wife." Oliver let out a sigh before turning away. "How was that conversation?"

"I'm not sure." Oliver replied. "You know after everything Constantine said would happen to her if this darkness ever took over-" Oliver shook his head. "It's just not what I expected."

"She's not as homicidal as the last time this thing was in the driver's seat." John said.

"No, it's like it's-" Oliver looked over to his friend. "It's planning something. It told me that we were on the same side and that I shouldn't get into it's way."

"So after we prevent Darhk from escaping, we should probably focus more on what she has been doing."

"It." Oliver corrected turning back to look out the window. "That thing isn't my wife. It's not a person, it's just a parasite and I will figure out a way to get it out of her." John looked over to his friend and could see how certain he was of those words. The thing is John wasn't so sure, but he'd never say the words out loud. Oliver glanced down to the clock and sighed. "It's past 11:30."

"It's the U.S. Army, man. Late means on time." John replied and Oliver looks over to John knowing vocalizing his thoughts on Andy's loyalties could end badly. Although he knows that in any other situation, it would be John who'd tell him the truths he didn't want to hear.

 _"Are we sure this is happening?"_ Bruce asked through the comlink.

"We're going to give it a little more time." Oliver replied.

" _Oliver, about Ari-"_

"We're not having this conversation right now." Oliver let out a huff before bring the binoculars back to his eyes. "What if we're staking out the wrong place."

"If Andy says this is where it's gonna be, this is where it's gonna be." Oliver saw the certainty in John's eyes and how the only thing that could convince him right now would be seeing it for himself.

Thea let out another huff as she looks down to the monitor. Laurel stood beside her, intently watching for any movement.

 _"How's Ari doing?"_ Oliver asked through the comlink. Thea glanced over to where the girl was earlier only to notice that she wasn't there.

"Um, she's..." Thea began looking around the bunker for the girl. She noticed the door to the back room where Robyn was now open. "Checking on Robyn."

Ari hummed as she rocked the baby in her arms. She heard the light whines of the baby earlier and came to check on her. After a quick diaper change, she paced around the room rocking the child in her arms.

"You probably miss her too, huh?" Ari said looking down to the girl in her arms. It was strange how over the course of a few months, this little girl kind of felt like a little sister to her. "I miss her too. I mean sure she was annoying sometimes. Always wanting to talk and telling stupid jokes, but she was..." Ari closed her eyes and sighed. "She was ours. And now she's...I think she's lost and no one knows how to find her." Ari looked down to the girl whose eyes were once again closed and she cracked a smile before walking over and laying the baby back in the crib. "I think your dad is going to find her though. At least I hope he does."

Something suddenly crashed from outside of the room, and Ari whipped her head toward the door. She glanced back down to the baby before easing toward the door where she heard what sounded like fight with clanking and grunts. When Ari stepped from the room, the last thing she expected to see was Laurel engaged in a fight with two men dressed strangely. There was another crash from the other side of the bunker, and that's where she saw Thea fighting as well. Thea got the drop on the man, getting him on his back, and trapping his neck underneath her swords. The man she was fighting looked oddly familiar. Ari took a step forward, for some reason unable to turn away. She noticed how Thea hesitated, and that hesitation was enough for the man to push her off to the side. He stopped the moment he sees Ari standing there staring. He looks surprised to see her, but it only lasts a second before he turns and grabs something she hadn't noticed when she walked in here. The man grabs the idol and the moment it's in his hands, Ari turns, running back into the room, locking it behind her. She quickly scoops Robyn into her arms before running into the closet, and sliding the door closed. Ari slid down on the floor, clutching the baby to her chest, her eyes closed, shaking uncontrollably.

Soon she heard the distant sound of someone knocking at the door, but she didn't move. She continued holding the baby in her arms. The knocking got louder and more frantic, but Ari couldn't find it in herself to move.

Thea dropped her head against the door, a hand pressed against her sore arm.

"Should we just break it down?" Laurel asked and Thea shook her head.

"I don't want to scare her even more than she probably already is." Thea sighed lifting her head. "Ari, everything is ok, you can come out!" they listened for a response, but didn't get one. "This is not good." Thea looked over to Laurel who looked just as exhausted as she.

Moments later, they heard the sound of the elevator opening, and watched as Oliver stalked off, bow up at the ready. John came in from the other side of the bunker in case any other league members were still here.

"You two can stand down." Laurel says taking a step forward. "He's gone." Oliver noticed them standing in front of the room and quickly ran over.

"Where are Robyn and Ari?" Oliver asked.

"Ari locked them inside of the room." Thea said looking up to her brother. "After seeing the attack." Oliver's eyes darkened before grabbing the door knob and turning. "She's not answering and-" Oliver jerked his shoulder into the door, popping it open. He eased into the room, his heart racing when he didn't see the girls. His eyes glanced over to the closet and sighed before turning back to his sister and signaling for her to stay back. Oliver walked over to the closet and slowly pulled it open and he let out a sigh of relief when he saw them.

"No!" Ari scoots as far away as she could, and Oliver quickly crouched down in front of her.

"Hey Ari, it's me." Oliver said, and Ari looked up, seeing the man and quickly jumping into the man's arms. "Everything's fine, they're gone." Oliver closed his eyes, letting out another sigh unable to not think about how bad this could've gone. "I'm taking you two home. Right now. I'm going to change, and I want you to get your and Robyn's things packed up and then we're out of here." she nodded before walking over and placing the baby back in the crib before going about packing the baby's bag. Oliver stood there for a moment watching her, noticing how nervous she seemed even though he was standing right there. He let out a huff before turning and stalking out of the room. He went walking over to get his clothes when his sister rushed over.

"Are they alright?" Thea asked.

"Ari’s scared to death, but other than that."

"Oliver I'm so sorry." Laurel said walking over as well and Oliver just shook his head.

"It's not your fault. It's not either of your fault. This was Malcolm. Malcolm brought danger near my kids."

"I'm going to hit the streets." Thea announced about to turn away.

"Thea no one is going to give up Merlyn." Oliver said and Thea just shook her head.

"Well then I'm going to hit people!" she snapped angrily. "There were children here and he just-" she growled. "I can't just sit around here." she turned and stalked off to change into her gear.

"I'll check with Andy, see if he can get a 20 on Merlyn." John suggested figuring his brother could have insight they could use. Oliver turned to him, a bit hesitant about the idea.

"Uh, John. Andy has already risked a lot. I don't want to put him in a compromised position." Oliver replied not saying what he really thought in fear of offending John. But there was something about this night that just didn't feel right. The missile shipment seemed too easy and was looking more and more like a distraction. Oliver felt like they were being played, he just didn't know how to tell John he thinks it's his brother who is behind it.

"Oliver, he's already in a compromised position. There's a direct line between him and the man we are looking for." John couldn't see the dots that were aligning. Oliver didn't expect him to and at the moment he had no proof either ways and so he wouldn't push. "Let's use that."

"Yeah." Oliver gave a nod. John glanced up to the door of the back room. "I'm taking them home and I will talk to Ari."

"Alright, call me if anything else happens tonight. And I'll call Bruce, see if he picked up anything on Malcolm's trail." John replied before turning and leaving.

Laurel had known Oliver long enough to know that certain expressions on his face spoke volumes and right now he was wearing one.

"Talk to me." Laurel spoke and Oliver turned to her and sighed. 

"This missile job was too easy. It was like Merlyn's men weren't even trying." Oliver shook his head before glancing back to the door behind him. "Meanwhile, it pulled our focus, Merlyn was able to come down here and get exactly what he wanted. He took the idol and brought a sword fight to my kids."

"You think Merlyn played Andy?" Laurel asked and Oliver shook his head.

"What if Andy is playing us?" he asked and the thought made Laurel pause and really think about the implications behind that accusation.

"Look. I'm not saying it's not possible, but this is John's brother we're talking about. I mean, he's done so much for us. He—he saved Lyla."

"Should I just trust him outright?" Oliver asked. They'd given Andy so much access to them, he was a possible threat.

"No, but you better be sure before making an accusation that you and John can't recover from." Laurel replied before he cell phone rang. "It's my dad. I have to take this."

Quentin needed to meet with Laurel and soon she was gone as well. After Oliver changed he headed to the girls to get them home when the sound of the elevator opening caught his attention. It was the high heeled feet he heard first and so he began walking toward the sound. He stopped the moment he saw her. It was strange. He'd seen her only yesterday, but for some reason seeing her here was unexpected.

"Twinkie, what-" she glanced up to him before turning and walking over to the case that used to hold Damien's idol. She looked at the empty space and let out a sneer. "Malcolm-"

"I know." she interrupted before turning back to face him. "I mean I didn't want to know. I thought that buzzing I felt was just a figment of my imagination, but then I realized I recognized it. It's not strong because it's missing a piece, but there's still an energy emitting from it. So that's the plan. Malcolm gives Darhk his idol and Darhk breaks out of jail." Oliver didn't say anything as he just stared. "I can find it you know. I'm drawn to the power, it's weak, but I could do it. It could lead me right to it and Malcolm. I could probably end our Malcolm problem once and for all. I've been dying to have that man's blood coat my fingers, and hear him scream again."

"Then why haven't you?" he asked taking a step toward her. "Why come here? Why not go directly to Malcolm, kill him and take the idol back?"

"You think I won't?"

"I don't think you can." Oliver said a smirk now on his face. "I think that hold you think you have over my wife is not as strong as you think it is. She's fighting you."

"She's not fighting Oliver. I've already told you, she's dead." Oliver knew that wasn't true. He knows he would feel it if it was true and right now he doesn't feel it. That doesn't mean he likes hearing those words come out of her mouth. "No I'm here because-"

"Katie?" they both turned their heads to see Ari standing there. She'd just finished packing their things when she heard the familiar voice. The last thing she expected was to walk out and see her cousin. A smile came to her face and she practically ran over to Katie, but Oliver was quick, grabbing her and pulling her to stand behind him. "Oliver, what are you doing?" Oliver simply watched the woman standing across from him. Her eyes going from the teenager, the man currently acting as a barrier. The sounds of distant cries carried into the space around and she whipped her head at the sound. She took a step back.

"They were here when Malcolm—" she met Oliver's eyes and he saw the way her eyes flashed to a cold black and in that moment he knew the thing standing across from him was not something to be in the same room as Ari.

"Ari, go back into the room, lock the door and don't open it until I knock."

"But-"

"Ari now!" he heard her groan but heard her feet start moving. The girl stopped and looked back to her cousin who stood just a few feet away. She didn't understand what was happening, why her cousin was standing there and not looking at her. She remembered the story Oliver told her about this mystical evil thing now over taking her body but in this moment she just didn't see it.

"I know you're in there!" Ari said suddenly, but her cousin didn't meet her eyes.

"Ari!

"And I know whatever this thing inside of you is strong and you feel like you can't beat it, but you once told me that you can't run away from the things you're afraid of. I know that thing is scary, but you can't run from it. You have to fight it."

"Ari go!" Oliver once again urged. Ari only stood there for a moment longer before turning and locking herself inside the room, as best she could anyway since Oliver broke the lock earlier. Oliver looked to the woman wondering if her cousin's words had touched something inside of her. "Twin-" the words died on his lips as he felt a suddenly pain in his chest. A pain so excruciating that it brought him to his knees.

"Look I get it. You're stressed out. Damien Darhk is trying to escape from jail, Malcolm Merlyn is causing mayhem and to top it off-" she walked toward him, the sight of him in pain on his knees not bothering her at all. "Your wife is dead. And I get that is a lot for one man to handle and things can slip, but what will never slip is you keeping those children safe." she bent forward towards him, her eyes become black as coal. "If anything ever happens to them, I will kill you. That is a promise." and with those words she turned around, the pain was suddenly gone. Oliver quickly jumped to his feet, placing a hand on his chest above his heart that only seconds earlier felt like it was being squeeze. He watched as she stepped back onto the elevator. "And get better security for this place!" Oliver stood there, clenching his teeth before turning to get the girls.

Later that night, Oliver peeked into Ari's room, finding her finally asleep. She had questions as expected. He hadn't expected the thing inside of his wife to show up tonight, he didn't expect Ari to see her and give her some false sense of hope. Getting his wife back was not going to be easy. He could accept that. He could look into that things cold dead eyes and still hold on to the hope that one day he was going to get his wife back, but what he didn't want was for Ari to see her. To have the memory of her cousin tarnished by this thing. He wanted to protect her from that. Oliver reached forward and pulled the door closed before heading down the hall to peek into Robyn's room to find the girl wide awake and staring up to the mobile above her.

"You can't sleep either?" he asked before scooping her into his arms and heading over to sit in the rocking chair. "Well neither can I." he placed a kiss on top of her head before gently rocking the chair back and forth. "Your dad is kind of a mess right now. He really misses your mommy, and—ow!" he looked down to the baby who'd just bit his arm. "Ok, I'll stop referencing myself in the third person." he chuckled before sitting her up in his lap so her eyes could look into his. "We gotta stop the biting sweetie." she simply laughed and he only smiled. Her laughter seemed to morph into baby gibberish, but there was something that came out of her mouth that he understood clear as day.

"Dauh, dah." his eyes widened. At this moment he wasn't even completely sure he'd just heard her say that. He needed to hear her say it again, just so he knows he's not going crazy.

"What was that? Did you just say dah dah?" a smile broke out on his face as he lifted her up into the air. "Can you say it again. Can you say dah dah?" she only laughed at him and he shook his head. "C'mon, say dah dah. Say-" the sound of the doorbell interrupted him and he sighed before turning back to her. "We're so not finished here." he placed a kiss to her cheek before standing up and placing her back in her crib.

Oliver came down the stairs just as the door bell once again rang and he hurried to pull it open.

"I said text when you got here." Oliver said in annoyance.

"I did, and you didn't answer and so I was forced to ring the door bell."

"Well just be glad you didn't wake anyone up who wasn't already awake." he replied before taking a step to the side to let the man in. "We need to talk. Where's Jacob?"

"That is the million dollar question isn't it?" Martin sighed walking inside and glancing around the place.

"What?"

"Nothing." Martin says turning back to the man. "What can I help you with?"

"Malcolm broke into the bunker and took Darhk's idol." Oliver said and Martin let out a groan as he slid a hand over his face. "And from that sound I'm assuming you don't know where he is."

"Jacob has most of the men under his order out searching for his daughter. There are eyes on you and the kids, but I wasn't informed about any of this." Martin shook his head before taking out his cell phone. "I hate these dumbass newbies who can't follow simple orders like report when assassins come near the bosses niece and granddaughter. Don't worry I'll get another detail, someone with half a brain." Martin started to head for the door.

"That's not why I called you." Oliver said and Martin stopped and turned back to him. "It showed up too." Martin was confused for a moment before he realized who he was talking about. "After the attack, It came to the bunker, It knew the idol was gone."

"What did she say?"

"It said It could find the idol. That It could find Malcolm and kill him if It wanted to." Oliver said and Martin turned away in thought. "If that were true why would It-"

"She's taunting you." Martin replied. "Forcing you to look at her and not see your wife. Forcing you to listen to the evil thing she says and not hear your wife."

"It," Oliver corrected. "That thing is not my wife, it's not a woman, not a person, it's a thing."

"Well It came to you tonight because It wanted you to know It's plans before It does them."

"You think It's going after Malcolm and the idol?" Oliver asked. "I still don't understand why It needed to tell me this before. I swear It was trying to convince me of the type of evil things It could do."

"It needs you to believe it. It needs you to believe your wife is gone so you will stop fighting, which I hope you know means you can't stop."

"Absolutely, but why do I get the feeling that if It kills Malcolm, me trying to get my wife back will be that much harder.

This city and it's abundance of ominous abandoned warehouses was disturbing. Malcolm Merlyn and a couple of his assassins had set up shelter in an abandoned factory. Hours earlier they stole Darhk's idol from Oliver's bunker and he couldn't believe how easy it was. He couldn't stop thinking about that fight with his daughter. She had him. Thea had that sword to his throat and could've ended this entire thing once and for all. But she didn't, and the fact that she didn't had created a pit in his stomach he was refusing to acknowledge. That pit didn't erase his mission. Oliver Queen stole his ring, took the power of the demon away from him and Malcolm vowed to make him pay.

Malcolm's eyes stared at the idol deep in thought. He thought today would be the day. He took the idol to Darhk, but apparently there was a piece missing. That was a job for Mr. Andy Diggle to figure out. Now he just had to wait. There was a sudden chill and Malcolm lifted his eyes to the ceiling. There was someone there. He eased toward his sword, grabbing it quickly as he kept his eyes searching the shadows. But then he felt the presence behind him and he slowly turned, his sword up and ready. He didn't expect to see her.

"Katherine-"

"I'm sorry Malcolm, but Katherine isn't here at the moment, but if you leave a detailed message she promises to give you a call back at a later time." she chuckled as she turned and looked down to the idol. Malcolm tried to move to stop her, but his limbs seemed to be against him at the moment. Nothing would move. Not his hands or feet. He was just stuck. "You know I never pegged you as a follower Malcolm. You're the type of guy who likes to run the show. So how'd you end up on Darhk's coat tails?"

"I knew there was something about you." Malcolm grit through his teeth, still straining to move. But nothing would, not even his eye lids would blink. "Something special, but I didn't expect this."

"Do you remember those stupid magic tricks you'd do when you'd have dinner at the Robins' residence all those years ago. Back when you and Jacob pretended to like each other. I know you noticed the way Grace rolled her eyes whenever you did them. You assumed it was because she thought your tricks where childish, but in truth she found them offensive. The world is full of frauds who call themselves magicians because they have quick hands, and the people give their ooh's and aah's when in reality they'd fear the things that can not be.

"Grace, she-"

"She was foolish. Pretending to be something she was not when she should've accepted who she was and fought the monster who threatened the life of her family." She walked around and stood in front of the idol, her eyes looking down to it. "He stole this you know." she looked back up to Malcolm seeing the watering of his eyes as the need to blink seemed to be overtaking him. "The power it possesses never belonged to him, and now he wants it back. The greedy bastard. He doesn't know how lucky he was to have had this thing taken away."

"And why is that?"

"Because now he's human, and humans aren't very fun to kill. But if he gets this back-" a smile curled up on her lips. "I may actually get a crack at him." She placed her hand on top of the idol and Malcolm noticed the light that illuminated from her hand as she muttered something he couldn't quite discern. Suddenly she stopped and a smile broke out across her face before she looked back up to him. "It's your lucky day Malcolm, because I'm not going to kill you today. You're a cog I need to spin to get the outcome I desire." She walked around and stood in front of him, hearing the groan escape his lips figuring at this point his eyes were probably in pain. "You broke into the bunker tonight. A visit that erupted into a sword fight I believe." She looked at the sword he gripped in his hands but couldn't move. "There were children in that bunker Malcolm." she placed a hand on his cheek, the smile falling from her face.

"I didn't know they were there." That was the truth, even though he's also sure it wouldn’t have affected his decision either way.

"Oh, you didn't know." she snatched the sword from his hand and placed it against his jugular, and he was forced to do nothing but stand there. His Adam's apple bumped the blade and he felt the slight cut . "You don't know a lot Malcolm. You think you do. You think hurting Oliver and ruining his life will somehow fix the total fuck up you are, but it won't. It won't bring back Rebecca, or Tommy-"

"Stop talking!"

"It won't bring that ring back or the hand you wore it on. This is all pointless because Damien Darhk is going to lose, because I'm going to kill him." she shrugged. "I mean the whole patricide of it all is kind of cliché but that bastard needs to be stopped and as it turns out I'm the only one who can do it." she slid the blade of the sword against his throat. "Now you make sure when you get that last piece you deliver that idol to Darhk. Make sure he soaks up as much power out of it as possible." she tossed the sword to the ground before moving around the man. "Oh, and you should fire your lackeys. They're supposed to be keeping watch, not sleeping on the job." the last thing Malcolm heard was the cackle of her laughter as she left. The moment she was gone, it was as if all motor function returned to him. He began rubbing his eyes, before rushing over and grabbing a bottle of water and pouring it over his face, his breaths now rough and jagged. He whipped around making sure she was truly gone, before he realized her words.

"Patricide." he said before his eyes turned back to the idol in front of him. "Darhk is her father?"


	25. The Illusionist

**Chapter 25**

**  
The Illusionist**

_"Life and death are illusions._

_We are in a constant state of transformation."_

_-Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu_

* * *

There was an alarm blaring relentlessly as she walked down the halls of the prison whistling the tune of a song she's been trying to figure out the name of all day. The doors of all the cells were opened, and she had to step over the bodies of prison guards who looked as if they'd been stabbed. There was no time to verify if they were dead or not and frankly at the moment, she didn't care. They didn't matter. Only one thing mattered. Damien Darhk was going to die today. She knew it the moment she felt the energy of the idol moving. It ended up here. She was walking toward it at this very moment actually, still whistling that damn song and it was annoying her that she couldn't figure out the name.

There was commotion from up ahead. Someone was fighting. Suddenly two prisoners came running down the hall in her direction. She didn't stop, but they did. For some reason they thought seeing the woman all alone was a sign of good luck for them. They began walking toward her, one of them attempted to grab her, but instead his buddy suddenly grabbed him by the neck and twisted it in one swoop. He looked down to the dead man unsure why he would do such a thing. His eyes looked back up to the woman who continued walking as if she didn't just witness him murder his friend in front of her. It was then that he knew there was something not right about the woman and he wasn't going to try to figure it out. He went running to figure out a way out of there.

She felt the power of the idol getting stronger, and a smile broke out on her face. She thought for sure Malcolm would've warned the man. Maybe he did, and Darhk didn't think anything of it. She turned, stepping inside a room in time to see Darhk standing in front of the Black Canary an arrow in his hand.

"Oh, yeah. I want you to give your father a message from me." Darhk spoke as the Green Arrow, Speedy and Spartan stood unable to move to stop him. "I want you to tell him-" he pulled back the arrow about to stab her and for some reason beyond reality, the arrow wouldn't move. He tried to jerk it forward, to stab her, but it didn't work. He looked over to the arrow before looking around the room and that's when he saw her and he began to laugh. "Katherine, are you doing this?" at the mention of his wife's name, the Green Arrow tried to turn, but Darhk's magic was too strong.

"What? Wow. Fancy see you all here. I just thought I'd go for a stroll inside the jail. Small world running into all of you here." she walked forward, placing herself beside Oliver, bumping his arm, and releasing him from Darhk's magic. Oliver quickly picked up his bow and prepared to shoot, but he didn't expect for her to move to block him.

"Remember what I said. You don't get in my way and I won't get in yours. Get you and your people out of here. You've had your chance to stop him, now it's my turn."

"I'm not leaving you here!" he snapped angrily and for the first time this moment seemed familiar. It felt like something his wife would do, and he would love to stop and take that in, but right now there was no time. "I'm not-"

It happened too quickly. He wasn't paying attention, but he should've been paying attention. But she appeared and as always his attention was focused on her, when it should've been focused on the man behind her. Darhk used the distraction to his advantage as he tore himself from the spell, and jerked the arrow through Katie's back and out her chest. Oliver's eyes widen as he looked at the arrow pertruding from It's...her...his wife's chest. She glanced down to look to the arrow before looking up to meet Oliver's wide eyes as blood spilled out of her mouth.

"No." Oliver's voice cracked as he watched Katie fall down to her knees. He ran, this time not able to catch her before she hit to floor. He did grab her the moment she was close to him cradling her in his arms. "Hey, you're going to be ok." Damien stood above the couple staring down to the woman now bleeding from her mouth and chest with a tilted head. He expected this moment to feel different. He expected to feel different. He smiled and glanced back to his idol figuring those foolish feelings that tied him to the woman in front of him were no more.

"Make sure Jacob knows I smiled when I did it." Darhk says before he and his men, Andy included grabbed the idol and went running out of there.

The moment they were gone, Laurel, Thea and John were freed from Damien's spell and rushed over to see Oliver still cradling his wife in his arms.

"Katie!" Thea knelt down beside them, taking the woman's hand. "No, no, no! You can't leave!" Oliver dropped his forehead to hers.

"We have to get her to a hospital." Laurel said, looking down to Oliver who didn't move right away.

"It's pointless." Oliver lifted his head because the words came from the woman cradled in his arms. "I told you not to get in my way. I told you-" she began coughing and only more blood spilled from her mouth. It was too much blood. She turned back to Oliver who shook his head. "I told you your wife is dead. I guess now you get to see it for yourself."

"No," Oliver said before sliding his arms underneath and lifting her up as he stands. "You don't die like this." he was about to rush out of there to find anyone who could help.

"Ollie!" he didn't turn at the call of his name because right now only one thing mattered. He rushed out of there, and his friends were right behind him. The alarms still blared around them. It's why they didn't hear the distant sound of whistling.

One week later it rained. It was fitting for the day. Oliver stood staring at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a black suit he thinks he may burn before this day is over with. He knows he won't be able to look at it after today because he knows it will only remind him of this day. This day was possibly the worst day of his life because today was the day he would have to finally say goodbye to the woman that breathed air into his lungs, who made his world spin.

_He didn't change out of his gear as he burst through the doors of Glade's Memorial Hospital carrying the limp body of his wife inside. Ethan stood waiting for him at the nursing station with a gurney. He cleared everyone out with some lie about the area being contaminated with some sort of possible airborne contagion. Thea had called him and told him they were coming, and even though she told him about Katie, seeing her bloody form in Oliver's arms was a sight he just didn't expect. He allowed himself only a second to pause and accept this moment before he began moving._

" _Oliver you have lay her down on the gurney." Ethan ordered, but Oliver didn't move. He didn't even seem like he heard Ethan's order. "Oliver!" Oliver lifted his head at the sound of the voice. "Put her down and let me save her." that's all Oliver needed to hear before he gently laid the woman onto the gurney. The moment she was down, Ethan rushed her away, and they all followed. "Hey Kit, can you hear me?" Ethan pushed her into a room, and looked down to see the woman never opened her eyes. "When did she lose consciousness?" he glanced back to the eyes on him and no one said a word. "When?!"_

" _Uh, maybe like ten minutes ago." Laurel said. "Her eyes were open on the drive here, but then-" they all turned back to the woman lying on the bed. "Oh god."_

" _Nope." Ethan said with a shake of his head. "Not yet. Look I'm going to help her, but I'm going to need the rest of my staff, and that means you all have to leave and come back less masks and leather." Ethan turned slipping on a pair of gloves before pulling open her shirt to examine the wound. It was still bleeding. He looked back to see that no one had moved. "Guys, I know the last thing you want to do is leave her, but trust me, I have her, ok." he turned to Oliver who he was sure was probably completely out of it right now. "Oliver, you have to go. No one can see you guys like this." Oliver lifted his eyes from his wife and looked up to Ethan._

" _Ethan, you have to-" words were failing Oliver in this moment._

" _I got her." Ethan once again assured him. It was John who tugged Thea with him because it didn't look like she was going to move either. Laurel took Oliver's hand and tried to pull him with her. Oliver's eyes looked to his wife before he walked over and took her hand. He leaned down to her ear._

" _You promised you wouldn't leave me. You can't leave me." he placed a soft kiss to her cheek, wanting so bad for her to open her so he can breathe again. "Please don't go." Laurel stepped forward, and pulled him back from his wife, leaving his tears on her cheek._

There was a knock at the door, but Oliver didn't hear it. The door to his room opened, but he didn't hear that either.

"Ollie?" it was Laurel who stepped inside. She placed a hand on Oliver's arm and he turned to her as if only now realizing she was in the room. "It's time." he silently nodded. "Thea is getting Robyn ready and Arianna still hasn't come out of her room. John and Felicity are trying to get her to open up, but it's not working." Oliver only nodded before turning away. Laurel started to believe he only nodded because he's not actually hearing her, but hoped a nod wouldn't gain him more questions. "Hey, how are you doing?" she didn't get an answer, because he didn't listen to the question. To him the question didn't matter. Laurel sighed unsure how she could help and so she turned and headed back down the hall where she found Felicity and John still outside of Ari's room. "Any luck?"

"No." Felicity replied with a shake of her head. "You?" Laurel just shook her head. Felicity turned back to Ari's door and knocked once again. "Ari, we have to go, the car's waiting for us." still not a peep from the other side and Felicity sighed with a shake of her head. "I can't really blame her. I wish I was locked in a room right now." Felicity dropped her head at the feel of a tear the streamed down her cheek. She actually believed there were no more tears left in her to cry, but she guessed she was wrong.

"Hey, why don't you go check on Oliver-" John said before turning to Laurel. "You can check on Thea. She's been in Robyn's room for a while, and I'll keep at it with Ari." they all nodded before the two women went on their way. John turned back to Ari's door and gave a knock.

"You know I hate funerals too. They're way too sad, but they serve a purpose. This is your shot Ari to celebrate the life of your cousin. You will only get this moment once, and if you miss it, you'll regret it. Trust me." he still didn't get a response and the man sighed before hearing footsteps. He turned to see Lyla walking over to him.

"Hey, the car's waiting outside." she said.

"Yeah, we know, but no one seems to be moving right now." John says knocking on Ari's door once again. "Ari?" the door suddenly pulled open and John and Lyla took a step back to see the girl already in her black dress. "Hey-" she didn't want to hear anything, and so she walked past them and went downstairs. John turned to Lyla and sighed.

"Well one down, two to go." Lyla said placing a hand to her husband's cheek.

Laurel held her arms around Thea who was once again sobbing. Thea had come in the room with the full intention to get Robyn ready to go, and then her eyes trailed to a picture of Katie holding the little girl in her arms and it hit her once again. Katie was gone. Her sister was just gone and no matter how many times she said the words they never seemed real.

"She's not...she's not going to even remember her mother." Thea cried on Laurel's shoulder. "Twinkie loved that little girl with all of her heart and now she's just gone. After all the good's she's done in the world, she dies and Damien Darhk lives. How is that fair?"

"It's not. Death isn't fair." Laurel said swallowing her own emotions right now. She'd cried her share of tears for Katie the night before because she wanted to be strong this day for everyone else. "Thea we have to go. We're going to be late to the ceremony if we don't leave soon." Thea simply nodded before lifting her head from Laurel's shoulder

"Ok, I'm going to-"

"Dah dah!" both women turned at the tiny voice with wide eyes. They walked over to see Robyn sitting up in her crib, her eyes looking back up to them.

"Did she just say-"

"Dah dah!" Robyn once again called and Thea smiled.

"I'm going to get Oliver." Laurel said before rushing out off the room. She hurried down the hall and walked into Oliver’s room where she found Felicity standing beside him, in the same spot in front of the mirror. "Hey Ollie, there's someone asking for you." she walked over and placed a hand on his arm. "I think your daughter needs you right now." the words seemed to click inside of him. His daughter needed him. He stood up straight and turned to Laurel and gave a nod.

"Ok." he spoke before walking around the woman to get to his daughter. The moment he stepped into the nursery, he heard the words again.

"Dah dah! Dah dah!" the words seemed stir life back into the man. His feet moved quickly and he scooped the girl into his arms and she squealed in excitement to finally see the man. He wasn't proud to admit that he'd actually been avoiding her. Because seeing her, looking down to her eyes only reminded him of the promise he didn't keep to her. He promised this beautiful baby girl that he'd bring her mother home, but didn't. He failed her. He failed Ari, and he failed his Twinkie. He was supposed to protect her, and he couldn't now he didn't have her anymore. Oliver hugged Robyn to his chest, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Hey." John's voice spoke from the door. "We really have to get moving if we're going be on time." Oliver placed another kiss to his daughter's head before he turned to John and gave a nod.

"Ok, we should go. Twinkie wouldn't want us dragging this out." Oliver said.

"She'd probably make some stupid joke about you never being on time for anything." Thea added with a small smile as she looked over to her brother.

"And I'd remind her that she-" memories of her now stole his words. Stole the strength of his voice. He didn't know if he could do this. "I'd remind her that she was usually the reason I was late." he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. "We gotta go."

_If he weren't overcome with worry Oliver might wonder how he even put his pants on correctly before coming back to the hospital. He left and changed out of his gear, but now he was back and needed Ethan to tell him that his wife was fine. He rushed in to find Felicity and Bruce standing outside of her room._

" _Hey-" Felicity and Bruce turned to him and he didn't like the looks on their faces. "No-" he pushed passed them into Katie's room. When he walked inside he'd never been more relieved in his whole life to see her lying there, her chest still moving up and down. He went to her side, taking her hand in his, hoping the contact reached something inside of her to wake her up._

" _Oliver?" Felicity spoke from behind him. Her tone held implications he wasn't ready to accept. "Ethan says she lost a lot of blood. And he says there's no-" she dropped her head as tears threatened to fall. She lifted her head back to Oliver who hadn't turned his eyes from his wife. "He says there's no brain activity." saying those words opened the flood gates and tears just flowed out of her in that moment. "Oliver she's—she's—she's gone." Oliver tuned out words that were impossible. Katie was not gone, she was right here, she was alive and breathing. She just needed to open her eyes._

" _Hey Twinkie, I'm right here, ok. You're safe now, you can open your eyes."_

" _Oliver-" Felicity tried, but he wasn't listening. She turned when Ethan walked into the room and he looked over to her and she just shook her head. He gave her a nod before walking to the other side of Katie's bed._

" _Hey Oliver. Can you hear me?" Oliver didn't even acknowledge words were spoken to him. Ethan took a deep breath. "I know you can hear me. I know you don't want to hear me, but you do. I tried really hard, I-" Ethan slid a hand across his face before his eyes fell to the woman lying in the bed. "She lost too much blood, and I was able to keep her heart beating , but the monitor shows zero brain activity. Do you know what that means?" Oliver didn't say anything. He gripped his wife's hand and leaned down to place a kiss to her lips. "Oliver, your wife is gone," Ethan pulled a clip board from behind him and sighed. "Kit and I saw patients like this Oliver. Saw how their families refused to see the truth of what was right in front of their eyes. She wouldn't want this. Mostly because she wouldn't want you standing here waiting for something that will never happen." Felicity's cries became too much and she had to leave the room. "Oliver do you understand?" The answer to that question was no. He didn't understand this at all, because a world without Twinkie in it just didn't make sense to him. "Oliver, you're her next of kin which means this is your decision." Ethan placed the clip board on the table in front of the bed. "I'm going to give you some time." Ethan left, and Oliver's eyes didn't stray from his wife's face._

_Oliver took a seat in the chair beside her bed, never relinquishing the grasp on her hand. For a few moments, the only sound in the room came from the monitors and the whooshing of the respirator. Oliver placed a kiss to her hands, not able to imagine not being able to no longer touch her._

" _I don't know what to do." he whispered closing his eyes and laying his head on her stomach. "Twinkie, you can't be gone."_

In the back of the limo sat Oliver, Thea, Ari and Robyn. The moment it stopped, no one made a move to get out of the car. Ari glanced out the window to see the crowd of people filing into the cemetery.

"I'm not getting out of the car." she said and Oliver and Thea looked over to her.

"Ari-" Thea said, but Oliver interrupted.

"Ok." he replied and Thea looked over to him confused. "Look, stay in the car as long as want, but there will be a seat for you waiting when you're ready." Oliver looked over to Thea. "I'm going to get the stroller out of the trunk." Thea gave a nod before watching as Oliver stepped out of the car. Thea looked over to the teenager who just stared out the window.

"He's going to need you." Thea said, but Ari didn't turn to her. "He's going to need all of us." there was a knock on the door and Thea sighed. "Don't sit in here too long. It won't change what's happening out there." the door opened and Thea unclasped the baby from her car seat and handed her to Oliver before stepping out of the car as well, leaving Ari alone.

Oliver's eyes were glued to the large picture of his wife. He refused to turn to the casket that sat just beside it. No, his eyes were fine looking upon the picture of the woman who will probably always haunt his dreams with the smile she’s wearing on that picture. A smile came to his face because he remembered that she actually hated that picture. It was a photo she'd taken for the RI website. He was actually with her when she took it and he remembers the annoyed faces she'd make when someone would walk over to her and put more make up on her and fiddle with one of the curls in her hair. He laughed at her, and that laughter always got her glare.

"We would now invite anyone up who would like to say any remarks about Katherine to come up now." Pastor Troy stood in front of the crowd and soon, it was Felicity who decided to go first. The woman stood there for a moment, her eyes completely red and puffy at this point.

"I-I've been friends with Katie for a very long time, or it feels like I have. She-" Felicity dropped her eyes and soon Bruce walked over, bringing an arm around her and handing her a handkerchief. "She was like the sister I never had you know. She got me, and not a lot of people get me, but she did. I was her Smoaks and she was Twinkie and one day we were going to figure out a way to take over the world." Felicity glanced back to the casket and placed her palm to it. "She left a large hole in a lot of peoples’ hearts, one I'm not sure could ever be filled." Felicity had no more words, none she could get out that is because, more tears only poured from her, and so she went back to her seat. Bruce stayed up there. He dropped his eyes to the grass for a moment before looking back up to the many eyes on him.

"It's hard to believe that one woman could've touched the lives of all the people here, but Robins-" Bruce shook his head. "I know her last name was Queen, but she would always be Robins to me. After my parents died, I thought I had no family. I thought I would be alone with just me and my butler." Bruce glanced over to Alfred who was amongst the crowd. "But these people, the Robins they were there, and they pulled me into their family and they made sure I never felt alone. Me and Robins, we didn't have the conventional type of friendship. We have been through some fires and floods that we've fought our way to get to the other side and we did it." Bruce glanced over to the picture of the woman, and he shook his head because this wasn't supposed to happen. No one told him about Darhk's escape attempt when they knew it was happening. He could've been there, he could've helped. Maybe he could've prevented this from happening, but they never even gave him the opportunity. "Goodbye Robins." Bruce glanced at the picture for a moment longer before walking over to his seat.

Martin stood outside the office of his boss. Jacob gave specific instructions not to be interrupted right now. Jacob sat in his dark office at his desk. The only light coming from a desk lamp and the glow of the monitors. He looked up to a monitor currently playing the video feed of his daughter's funeral. He flipped through the old book searching for answers he expects to be in it's pages. But he'd read the book backwards and forward and there was nothing. Jacob angrily grabbed the book and tossed it across the room. He slid his fingers through his hair that wasn't as neat as it usually was.

"Katie was my sister." Jacob turned to see Thea now speaking. "Blood never mattered, because it changed nothing. She has been there for me since I was kid. She was the one who always encouraged me to always be myself, she hung out with the annoying little sister of a boy who then wasn't that great of a friend. She was there when I wanted to give up to tell me to keep fighting. I don't know how-" Thea covered her eyes with her hand as tears escaped her eyes."I don't know how we're going to do this without her.” Thea dropped her hand and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't-" Thea just walked back to her seat unable to say the words that only broke her heart even more.

Jacob reach forward, grabbing the remote before muting the volume before he tossed the remote and stood to his feet. He reached up grabbing his arm at the sudden numbness, but he ignored it. He kept telling himself that she was gone. That his baby girl was dead. He didn't want to, but he had to. He needed this to actually feel real, once that happened he could proceed with the next step. Damien Darhk was going to die. There were no question of if it would happen, only when. Jacob stopped when he realized he was pacing. He let out a heavy sigh as he slid his hands over his face.

"Oh Grace, I tried." he lifted his eyes to the ceiling. "I really tried. I thought I did everything right, then I realized I didn't do everything right. But she was great." a smile pulled at his lips. "I got her in that office heading that company, and even though I know she probably hated it, she was incredible just as I knew she would." he took a seat on the edge of his desk. "And she was a fighter. Well you saw that. She fought for as long and as hard until her last breath, and I can't-" Jacob shook his head, emotion suddenly growing in his chest and swelling in his throat. "Our little girl is gone. She's-" tears crept out of his eyes against his will. "I couldn't protect her. He took her." anger started to stir inside of him and he once again stood to his feet. "He took my baby girl!" he looked up to the ceiling. "Grace, I know you thought staying away from him was the answer, but right now I'm going after him with everything I got." Jacob turned, and the first thing he saw was the coffee mug on his desk and without thinking he grabbed the mug and threw it across the room causing it to instantly shatter to pieces on impact with the door.

A breeze seemed to brush up against his back, and Jacob turned in confusion. The lamp on his desk flicked off bringing the room into complete darkness so he couldn't see anything, but instincts told him someone was in the room.

"Who's there?" there were footsteps moving from somewhere, but he couldn't make anyone out. "Who-" someone was standing behind him. Jacob slowly turned to the darkness behind him, only to have a hand suddenly wrapped around his throat.

Martin stood outside the door sighing at the sound of the crash from the other side, but he wouldn't dare step inside. He reached into his pocket, groaning at the fact there was still no updates on the search for Damien Darhk. He heard the sound of the elevator and looked up. This floor was cleared, and everyone who valued their life wouldn't dare go against a direct order. The moment the man stepped from the elevator, Martin just shook his head.

"You shouldn't be here Colonel Flag." Rick continued to walk toward Jacob's office, but Martin took a step to block him. "You're not going in there." Rick angrily grabbed Martin by his jacket and slammed him against the wall.

"Katherine is dead!" Rick snapped angrily.

"Unfortunately, I'm very much aware of that!" Martin pushed the man off of him. "Why are you here?!"

"I want to know how the hell this happened?! Jacob has had eyes on her, so how does someone just stab her and kill her without him stopping it."

"A question I'm sure is tormenting him right now as he watches his daughter's funeral from a monitor. Look a lot has changed since you were last here, a lot of unforeseen circumstances we couldn't anticipate."

"What kind of unforeseen circumstances?"

"The kind that you're not cleared to know. This isn't your mission. You answer to Waller and you babysit your suicide squad. This situation is being handled, now go." Rick shook his head, before turning his back to the man. "Colonel-"

"Damien Darhk." Rick said turning back to Martin. "He's the one who did this? He killed her?"

"Yes, but-" Martin didn't even get his sentence out before Rick had turned and stalked back into the elevator leaving Martin with the feeling that he was not going to like the kind of trouble Rick Flag was going to bring.

Ari's eyes were glued out the window impatiently waiting for this stupid funeral to finally be over. She turned at the sound of the door opening and she sighed the moment she saw John slip inside.

"So you're really just going to stay in the car." she turned away from him to look out the window. "Well I hate funerals too." John glanced out the window and just shook his head. "I think I will hate this one the most." he glanced over to the girl who didn't budge. "They're doing remarks now from the family and friends. I did mine before coming over here to check on you." the man looked down to his lap as he remembers the words. "The first time I met your cousin, she was skulking on the lawn of the Queen Mansion. I thought she was a reporter and so I grabbed her and then she stepped on my foot and ran." Ari glanced over to him with a quirked brow.

"Is that why you complain about your foot when it rains?" Ari asked and John lightly chuckled. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Well we were asked to share some of our fondest memories of her, and I think you should hear them too." Ari rolled her eyes before turning away. "I didn't trust her when we first met. There were a lot of questions marks hanging over her head and she didn't seem to be wanting to share any of the answers. But over time some of those question marks were slowly unexpectedly answered. I saw what a good heart that woman had, I saw her pulled and thrown and somehow found a way to keep herself together and make jokes that weren't funny." Ari smiled, but she kept her eyes to the window so John didn't see it. "And she loved Robyn, and she loved you and she would do anything for you girls."

"Not anything." Ari said turning back to John. "She gave up and she let that thing take over her body and she let Damien Darhk get close enough to stab her. Here I was thinking she was too smart to let something so-" Ari shook her head. "She turned her back to him. The one person you never turn your back to, why would she do that? It was like she was begging him to hurt her." Ari huffed and turned back to look out the window, unknowingly stirring thoughts John didn't even think to have. Thoughts that made him question a lot.

Oliver got lost in the picture. Lost in that smile that seemed to be staring back to him and he couldn't help but smile.

Laurel stood in front of the crowd of people and let out a deep breath. Her father stood beside her, holding on to her hand.

"Um, I-" she glanced over to Oliver who didn't seem to be paying attention to her, his eyes staring at the picture of his wife. "I went to high school with Katie." she turned back to the crowd. "Twinkie as she was called, but hated." Laurel lightly smiled. "I never really knew her back then. I mean I seen her in passing and I heard stories. Actually her name came up quite a lot." Laurel looked back over to Oliver, and she felt her heart break for him. "You see I'm one of the few people who unknowingly got to witness the blossoming relationship between Oliver and Katie. At first I think I tried to ignore it because like everyone else I thought it made no sense. But overtime I saw those two together, and I couldn't ignore it anymore. I saw love that I think stemmed from years of friendship, years of taunting, years of pranking." Laurel smiled with a shake of her head. "I think I was jealous of their love. Their love was beautiful. Anyone in the same room with those two couldn't help but see it. It was always all over their faces, in the air around them." Laurel dropped her head swallowing the lump in her throat. "Katie was a good person." she looked back up to the crowd. "A really good person who didn't deserve to die. She-"Laurel dropped her head to her father's shoulder no longer able to speak. Quentin placed a kiss to his daughter's head before looking to the eyes on them.

"I'm not the best with speeches, so I'll keep this short and sweet. Dr. Katherine Queen was a good woman. I've witnessed her pull off the impossible time and time again. I've seen her save lives without any regard to her own. My daughter-" Quentin looked down to Laurel who cried against his shoulder. "My daughter is alive because the doc-" Quentin glanced over to the picture of Katie. "She was just her. Big heart, big brain, and horrible sense of humor. We weren't related by blood, but it didn't seem to matter. I cared for her as if she were one of my daughters. She was family. And it's hard to believe that she is truly gone." he placed another kiss to Laurel's head before walking back to their seats.

No one walked back up to the front. Their eyes looking over to the one person left who was expected to say a few words. The problem was Oliver wasn't completely in this moment. He couldn't be. Not really, because he knows he hasn't completely felt all the emotions that he was supposed to feel, because if he did, he wouldn't be sitting here quietly. He'd be on a rampage on the streets of Star City hunting Damien Darhk down.

"Oliver?" Thea nudged her brother's shoulder, but he didn't move. His eyes were glued to the picture of his wife, where they'd been for the length of the ceremony so far. She stood to her feet and moved to stand in front of her brother, blocking his view of the picture. It was a move that finally made his eyes move. The slight smile on his face dropped as he lifted them to his sister. "It's your turn to tell these people who Twinkie was."

Oliver wanted to yell. He wanted to throw things and break shit that no longer mattered because she wasn't here. He continued to stare at his sister trying to accept her words while simultaneously keeping the emotions burning his insides from finally spilling out. He was still trying to come to grips with the fact that he was sitting at the funeral of his wife. Trying to accept that she was dead. He didn't even want to be here right now. The Oliver from a couple of years back probably wouldn't have even come. He'd hide out somewhere much like he'd done the day of his mother's funeral. But there was something different about this time. He couldn't feel it. He couldn't feel she was gone, and yet everything he saw and heard told him otherwise. He came here to make this real because it just didn't feel like it was.

"Ollie?" Thea said once again. She was worried. She knew out of all of them, he was taking this much harder even if he didn't say the words out loud. She placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to bring him back to this moment. "Oll-"

"Hello." Thea stopped and turned, her eyes going wide at the sight of Ruvé Adams standing in front of Katie's casket. She heard a growl escape her brother and when she turned she watched as he stood to his feet.

"Ollie, no." she placed her hands on his chest to keep him from going toward the woman.

"As the Mayor of this city I felt obligated to come here and share my deepest condolences to the friends and family of Dr. Katherine Queen." Ruvé turned to where Oliver stood, seeing the glare and she so wanted to smile, but instead she kept the sad frown on her face as she turned to the people in the crowd. "The Robins name is ingrained in this city, in it's infrastructure, in the hearts of it's people, and the fact that she's no longer with us only proves one thing. Mrs. Queen was at Iron Heights along with the vigilantes of this city who claim they protect this city. She was stabbed with an arrow, a weapon widely known to be associated with one of those vigilantes. No one has come forward to put our minds at ease to finally tell us what happened to our local hero Katherine, and I can only assume it is because they were the ones behind this. So on this day, as I stand in front of the casket of a woman who did not deserve this fate, I'm announcing that I've asked district attorney Wallace to issue arrest warrants for these so-called vigilantes. I give you my word until justice is served. Thank you." and with that Ruvé walked back into the crowd. Oliver moved out of Thea's grasp, and she thought for sure he was going after Ruvé but instead he moved to stand in front of the closed casket. He placed a hand on it for a moment, before turning to the crowd of eyes silently focused on him.

"My wife-" his throat suddenly was against him as emotions were trying to steal his words. He dropped his eyes for a moment, looking down to the ring on his finger. "It hasn't even been a year." he muttered those words because they were just a thought to himself in that moment. His eyes looked back over to that picture of her, still smiling, still taunting him. "This doesn't seem real. I keep trying to make this seem real, but it's just not. You promised-" he let out a ragged breath, and a tear escaped his eyes that he wiped away with his hand. "You vowed to me that we were going to grow old together, and I believed it. I-" Oliver's eyes looked up and caught the sight of someone he didn't expect to see standing further across the cemetery. Their eyes locked for a moment before he turned back to the crowd of eyes. "There are no words to describe this woman who will forever hold my heart. A part of me died the day she took her last breath. The part of me that only existed with her. I-" he couldn't do this. These words were impossible and painful to say. They were too final even though they were supposed to be. His eyes looked back to that coffin, and it hit him right there. His wife was lying inside, and in moments would be lowering into a hole in the ground. That thought forced more tears out of him, made his hands start to shake at his sides. Thea quickly ran over to her brother, bringing her arms around him in a hug he had no will power to return. After a moment, she pulled him back to his seat.

Constantine sucked on the last remnants of tobacco from the cigarette in his mouth as he looked down to the crowd of people in mourning. Only moments earlier, Oliver met his gaze and so he knew there was no turning back.

"This is a bad idea." Zatanna spoke from beside him. "You can't do this." she looked over to him and he didn't say anything. John, you can't-"

"Katherine Queen is not dead." Constantine stated as fact and Zatanna looked at him with a shake of her head.

"You have absolutely no proof of that. You weren't there, and you can't go to Oliver with this false hope that his wife is still alive. John, we tried, we really did, but it's over. We should leave and let these people mourn in peace."

"I just don't understand why she would do it." Constantine mused as if he didn't even hear the woman's words. "Fake her death. Why does she want everyone to thinks she's dead?"

"John-"

"Maybe she's planning something."

"She's not planning anything, because she's dead!" Zatanna moved to stand in front of the man, and his eyes looked to her. "I know you don't want to accept this because you felt obligated to help her. So did I. She was-" Zatanna shook her head. "She was my family, but we can't change what's happened. She is dead and she's not coming back." Constantine lifted his eyes to watch as people began filing out of the cemetery. Zatanna followed his eyes and sighed. "It's over."

At the moment, Oliver only existed because of the little girl in his arms. She was the glue that kept him from completely falling apart. He sat in the rocking chair in her nursery as she began to drift asleep. He lifted his eyes to Ari who laid on the small couch across from them. She was wide awake, but kept quiet, liking the silence of the room. They were currently hiding out from the people downstairs all eating and drinking at the funeral reception. She couldn't stand for another person to come up to her and try to hug her or tell her how great her cousin was.

"I hate her." Ari said, breaking the silence. She glanced over to Oliver who looked back over to her. "How could she just die? How could she just leave us like that? I just hate her so much!"

Oliver stood to his feet and gently lowered Robyn into her crib, before he walked over and took the seat on the edge of the couch beside Ari.

"It's ok to hate her." Oliver said, turning to the girl whose frown seemed to be fighting not to let tears fall. "It's ok to be angry with her, because I know I am. I'm angry with myself mostly, but I'm angry with her too. She was supposed to fight what was happening, and she just-" Oliver shook his head and before he knew it, Ari had sat up and brought her arms around him, dropping her head to his chest. He listened to her sobs and he felt his own emotions stirring inside of him wanting so badly to just come out. But he couldn't. Not in this moment. In this moment he had two kids who needed him to be strong for them, and that's what he was going to do.

After a while her cries turned to soft snoring, and Oliver glanced down to see that the girl had cried herself to sleep. There was a light knock on the door of the nursery, and Oliver looked up as Felicity walked in. Oliver placed a finger to his lips, signaling for her not to say anything before he gently stood up, making sure not to wake her. He grabbed the blanket on the back of the couch and brought it over the girl before placing a kiss on top of her head before he and Felicity walked out of the nursery.

"Thea decided to cut the reception short." Felicity said following Oliver down the hall. "Seeing as you and the kids didn't seem up to it, we just cleared everyone out."

"Thanks Felicity." Oliver muttered about to walk into his room, but he stopped and turned back to her. "I need a favor. I have to leave for a while. Do you think you could watch Ari and Robyn?"

"Of course, but where are you going?" Felicity asked. "You're not going to try to go after Darhk, I thought we agreed that with his powers he-"

"I'm not going after Darhk. I saw Constantine at the funeral. He's in the city and I need to see him. With Darhk's powers back, we need to find a way to stop him, so I'm going to find Constantine and hopefully he has an idea."

"Ok, just be careful." Felicity said before watching the man go into his bedroom and shut the door behind him.

Oliver thought setting up the meeting with Constantine would be tough, but he sent the text and the man immediately responded with a location. Oliver currently stood at the bridge that overlook Star City's bay. The rain had stopped, but the cracking of lightening above only warned of more to come.

_Oliver hadn't known how long he was lying there, until there was knock at the door. He lifted his head and glanced back to see Ethan once again._

" _I just came to see if you've made a decision." Oliver turned from the doctor, back to his wife whose eyes he wanted so badly to open in this moment. "Oliver, I understand-"_

" _But you don't." Oliver spoke, as he reached forward to brush the hair from her face. "You're asking me to say goodbye to the love of my life and I'm not sure I can do that." Ethan didn't say anything for a moment, before he grabbed the stool and rolled it over to the other side of Katie's bed where he took a seat._

" _You know I remember the first patient I ever saw Kit treat. It was her first day at GMH and there was this car accident. We had some trauma patients coming in, so we waited down in the emergency bay, and I looked over to her. I expected this little rich girl to look nervous, worried, but what I saw was a woman who looked anything but. There was this look in her eyes, this look of determination, this fire and I couldn't believe it. I knew then and there she was beyond this place." Ethan looked over to the man who continued to stare at his wife. "Oliver this woman without that fire in her eyes is just an empty shell. We owe it to her, to finally give her peace. She wouldn't want to live like this." Oliver heard the man's words and he knew they were true, but it didn't make it any easier. His entire body tensed up, and shook as tears fell from his eyes. He looked up to his wife before standing to his feet and pressing his lips to every inch of her face. He dropped his forehead against hers, and inhaled deeply._

" _Ok." he said before lifting his head and looking over to Ethan. Ethan gave a nod before grabbing the clip board and holding it out to Oliver who took the pen and hesitated for a moment. He looked back over to Katie wanting some sort of sign from her that this was the right choice. Nothing happened, and so he turned back to the form in his hand and quickly scribbled his signature before handing it back to Ethan._

" _Alright Oliver, I am going to turn off the ventilator, and after that it will more than likely not take long before she's gone." Ethan watched Oliver who gave a nod. "Did you want to stay?"_

" _Yeah." Oliver replied as the tears continued to fall. "I promised her I'd be with her every step of the way, so I'm not going anywhere." he once again took her hand and sat on the edge of the bed beside her. Ethan took a deep breath before walking over to the ventilator, and with a press of a few buttons it went off. Soon the heart monitor began beeping quickly until the room filled with excruciating sound of the beep telling them that she finally gone. Ethan turned the monitor off, and the room was went silent. Oliver looked down to his wife whose chest no longer rose. She was completely still and he just couldn't hold in his emotions any longer. Oliver dropped his head to her stomach and just sobbed._

The sound of footsteps pulled Oliver from his thoughts, and he turned to see Constantine and Zatanna walking toward him. Both seemed to wear two very different expressions and he wasn't sure what that could mean. Zatanna suddenly moved to stand in front of Constantine, and pushed him back.

"Don't do this!" she snapped and Constantine glared down to her. "This is wrong. You can't-"

"What's going on?" Oliver asked taking a step forward, and Zatanna looked over to him. "What's wrong?"

"Look Z, I know you think I'm refusing to accept this, but you're wrong." Constantine said and the woman turned back to him. "I can feel this. She's not dead, but for some reason she wants the world to believe she is. That darkness inside of her is planning something, and if we want to stop it, we're going to need his help." Zatanna looked up to him for a moment before nodding and moving out of the way. Constantine continued over to Oliver who still looked confused. "Hey mate."

"Constantine, what's going on?"

"How willing are you to believe the impossible right now, mate?" Constantine asked and Oliver's brow furrowed. "What if I told you that I didn't believe your wife was dead?" Oliver's eyes widened and he took a step toward the man.

"Wha—how?" Oliver asked. He was trying to fit the mans words to reality but he couldn't find a way to contradict with what his own eyes showed him. "No, I saw Damien Darhk stab her. I was there in the hospital when they pulled the plug. She's gone."

"Mate, I understand how difficult this may be to believe, but-"

"Just stop!" Oliver snapped. "I trusted you to help me figure out a a way to get that thing out of my wife and you and your friend just sped along the process. I trusted you to help me save her and you didn't. My wife is gone, and I'm no longer talking to you about her." Oliver took a deep breath. "Right now I need to focus on finding Damien Darhk. He has his idol and all of his powers and I need a way to fight him. That's why we're here. Do you have any ideas?" Constantine opened his mouth to speak, but it was Zatanna who stepped forward.

"Darhk's idol, it's drawing power. I can feel it now. He's drawing it from death, and darkness, and he's getting stronger. Constantine and I could try to stop him, but his powers are growing, and we might not be a match for him."

"So you're saying there's no way to stop him?"

"I didn't say that. There's someone who may be able to help you." Zatanna glanced over to Constantine who just shook his head. "Her name is Esrin Fortuna." she looked back over to Oliver. "she may be able to help you figure out a way to combat Damien's power."

"I'll go." Constantine volunteered. "Esrin can be a tricky little bitch if she doesn't know you."

"No." Oliver said with a shake of his head. "Fighting Damien Darhk is my mission. I will be the one to do this."

"Not alone." Zatanna replied turning back to him. "Constantine is right. Esrin isn't the most trusting person, and she actually likes me." she turned to Constantine. "You should stay here." he looked over to her in confusion. "If Oliver and I are gone, someone with some kind of power should stay back in case Darhk makes any moves." she turned back to Oliver who simply nodded. "She's in Hub City. You should tell your friends about this and we'll leave in the morning.

"Fine." Oliver said, glancing over to Constantine one final time before turning and walking away.

"You'd know if she were gone Oliver!" Constantine called after him. "You'd feel it in your bones if she were gone." Oliver stopped but didn't turn to him. He stood there for a moment before continuing to walk away.

"You can't tell a man his dead wife's still alive without any proof." Zatanna said.

"Well he knows I'm telling the truth."

"He's not ready to believe something that goes against something he's seen with his own eyes."

"Then how about you?" Constantine looked down to her. "You and I both know the Homo Magi have skills of illusions, you yourself have made a pretty penny on it. I'm telling you love, this is an illusion. She needs everyone to believe she's dead."

"And why would she do that?"

"Because no one will see her coming when she strikes."

It was Laurel who volunteered to check in on Ari and Robyn who'd been pretty quiet. The woman opened the door to the nursery and stopped at the sight of someone who was not supposed to be there.

"Nyssa?" Laurel said watching the woman who sat in the rocking chair, cradling Robyn in her arms.

"She was awake when I came in. She looked like she wanted to be picked up and so I did." Nyssa said softly as she stared down to the little girl whose eyes watched her as well. "She didn't cry when I picked her up."

"Nyssa, you shouldn't be in here." Laurel whispered, glancing over to Ari who was still asleep. "If Oliver catches you in here, now he-"

"She was my cousin." Nyssa said, looking back up to Laurel. "I disliked her with an intense passion, but she was my blood." Nyssa looked back down to her baby cousin and smiled. "My family. And she was murdered. Damien Darhk took the life of a member of the Al Ghul family." she looked over to Laurel. "And because of that, I am going to kill him."

John sat in the back yard of the Queen residence, his eyes to the sky. He hadn't been able to shake the thoughts that stemmed from his earlier conversation with Ari. The girl was right. Katie or whatever that thing inside of her was, they were smart, and they were tactful. And one of the top rules in combat was never turn your back to your enemy. And yet, she stood in front of Darhk, and turned her eyes away from him. For the life of him, he couldn't figure out why she would do that.

"There you are." Lyla's voice pulled Diggle from his thoughts, and the man turned to see her walking toward him. He brought an arm around her when she was close enough, and she dropped her head on his chest and let out a deep breath. "This day still doesn't seem real."

"Tell me about it." John replied, and the tone in his voice made Lyla lift her head to look up to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked and the man shook his head. "Hey-" she moved to stand in front of him, and he met her gaze. "Talk to me. Is this about Andy?" she hadn't been able to get John to open up about the betrayal of his brother, but she knew it was eating him up. He defended Andy so many times, and in the end he was proven wrong. John turned away because today of all days he didn't want to think about Andy, and yet that was impossible. "John- "

"Oliver warned me about Andy, and I pretty much told him to go to hell. Katie is dead because of me. "

"That's not true." Lyla took John's hands in hers and he just had to turn away. "John-"

"Oliver lost a wife, Robyn lost her mother, and Ari lost her cousin, because I was too blinded to see apparently what everyone else could." John turned back to his wife and shook his head. "This is on me." He pulled from her grasp and stalked away.

"John!" she called after him, but he just continued walking.

Felicity had just stepped on to the porch for a bit a fresh air. She walked over to the take a seat on the porch swing, and closed her eyes letting out a deep breath.

"You shouldn't be out here alone." a voice spoke causing her to jump. She opened her eyes and glared to see Bruce standing at the base of the porch steps, a glass brown alcohol in his hand. "It's dangerous."

"Well you're out here alone." she replied and the man chuckled before taking another sip. "How many of those have you had?"

"Not nearly enough." he replied before downing what was left in the glass. He slid a hand over his eyes before looking over to the woman who was still watching him closely. "I should go." he turned, his eyes searching for his car. "As soon as I figure out where I parked my car."

"I don't think so." Felicity said standing to her feet and walking up to him with a shake of her head. "You're drunk. You're definitely not driving anywhere tonight." the man turned to her, and stared down to her eyes and smiled.

"I could tell you, you know." he said before lifting his eyes and letting out a deep breath. "Robins is dead, so there's no fear of the unthinkable happening, because it happened and she's gone." Felicity looked at the man in confusion as he brought his eyes back to her. "I can tell you the big secret." her eyes widen, and she realized the man must be really drunk right now. He just laughed, before turning off and walking away.

"Bruce!" Felicity ran after the man, and the pair found themselves walking down the dark empty street. "You're drunk so there's no reason for me to believe anything you say right now."

"Oh, but you will because once you hear it, you're just going to know it's true." he said, glancing over to her before shaking his head. "Because she's gone." he turned away from the woman and stopped walking and so did she. "Why wasn't I called?" he turned to Felicity who wasn't sure what he was asking at first. "I told Oliver once he had information about the prison break to call me, so why didn't he?" Felicity looked at him for a moment before turning away.

"He did." she replied unable to meet his gaze. "When they found out about the riot at the prison, he and the others went knowing it was Darhk. I stayed behind, and was told to call you." she looked back over to the man. "I was supposed to fill you in on what was happening and I was going to. I really was, but then I dialed your number and for the life of me, I just couldn't make that call." she felt tears in her eyes and she shook her head. "Oliver, Laurel, Thea and John had been through worse fights. I thought they could handle it." she looked back over to him. "That's what I told myself. You weren't needed, and I didn't have to call you, because I really didn't want to hear your voice."

"So you're the reason I wasn't there?" Bruce asked, and Felicity saw the look in his eyes as he looked to her and she felt even more guilty. "You're the reason I didn't even get the chance to save my friend's life?"

"Bruce I'm sorry. At the time I just didn't think it would be a big deal."

"Well you were wrong weren't you?" Bruce said throwing the glass that he'd been holding in his hand, making it shatter in the street. He turned his back to her and Felicity stood there watching...waiting for him to say something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"Bruce?" he turned back to her.

"I'm going to walk you back to the house, and then I'm going to leave."

"Bruce, just-"

"We should go." he turned and headed back in the direction of the house. He only took a few steps before stopping when he realized Felicity wasn't walking with him. "Felicity-"

"I'm sorry." she said and he turned back to her. "I think about that decision now, and I wonder too. What if you were there? Could you have been the one to save her? Did she die because I was being an emotional idiot who didn't want to talk to her ex-boyfriend?" she walked over to stand in front of him. "So you can be angry with me, because what I did went against everything I thought I was, because me and you should never affect my decisions when it comes to the lives of my team." she shook her head before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "She was not supposed to die like that." she opened her eyes, and tears she didn't think she had, just poured from her. "That woman went out on the streets of the Glades, and saved life after life, she had the idea to bring jobs back to this city, and that's just the short list." Felicity wiped the tears from her eyes but they continued to fall. "and she did all of it after being tortured for years." she looked back over to Bruce. "I'm sorry." he looked at the woman for a moment before reaching forward and pulling her into his arms, to which she didn't fight. She laid her head on his chest and continued sobbing right there in the middle of that dark street.

Oliver doesn't know why he's here, but he stays for a little while. He sits in his car, parked near the quarry, as his mind can't help but wander away to time he wished he could go back to in this moment.

" _You should be sleeping." a voice whispered, and Oliver turned to see his new wife awake in her hospital bed. It was hours after their hospital wedding, and the others had all went back to their hotels, leaving the newlyweds along with their daughter. Katie began sitting up and Oliver walked over to help her. "I got it."_

" _I'm just trying to help my wife." he said and she turned a bright smile to the man. "I really don't think I will get tired of saying that." he took a seat on the edge of the bed. "My wife." he brought an arm around her and she leaned into him. "Mrs. Queen."_

" _Liver, we really got married." she said with a shake of her head, that smile still on her face. "Do you feel any different?" Oliver lifted his head for a moment as if to see if anything felt different, and then he shook his head before looking back down to her eyes. "Nope. You?"_

" _My hand feels heavy." she said and he looked at her with a quirked brow before she lifted her hand and looked down to her wedding ring. "I can't believe I'm somebody's wife." she looked up to the man's blue eyes and sighed. "I'm somebody's mom." the man laughed at her before bringing his lips to hers. When he pulled back and continued to stare lovingly in her eyes, still unable to believe that he really had everything he ever wanted. This was it. This was every dream, every fantasy, and now it was his reality. "What are you thinking, my husband?" he smiled with a slight shake of his head wanting to just pinch himself._

" _I'm thinking about how happy I am right now. How nothing in my life will ever compare to this moment. I have my wife, and-" he glanced over to the sleeping baby in the small bassinet. "I have my daughter. For right now, this moment, everything is just perfect." he turned back to the woman who smiled, that smile that always took his breath away._

" _You want to kiss me, don't you?" she asked._

" _Every minute of my life." he replied already leaning into her before his lips once again met hers._

Oliver opened his eyes and found himself back in his car, staring out to that quarry. He was back to reality where everything was no longer perfect. He looked down to his hand, his eyes looking to his wedding band and despite what he wanted, tears slipped from his eyes.

Oliver turned up back to the house, about an hour later. It was really late and he didn't expect anyone to be awake. He sat in the car for a moment, unable to move. It was still strange coming back to this house, and her not being there. This house had represented so much for him for so long, and at the center was her. The man let out a deep breath, before stepping out of the car. His stride was slower than usual, still hesitant to walk inside. He was half way to the door when the hairs on the back of his neck stood. He stopped and turned his head.

"I'm not here for trouble." Oliver turned, glaring at the sight of Nyssa standing just a couple of feet away.

"Nyssa, what are you doing here?" Oliver asked and Nyssa frowned at the question before turning away. Even though it was dark, there was enough light for him to see the look on her face.

"She was my family." Nyssa said before turning back to Oliver. "She was-" Nyssa shook her head as she let out a deep breath. "My father saw something in her. Something I never saw." she met Oliver's eyes. "He thought that she was exceptional. It's why he trained her. Why he wanted her to lead the league."

"Nyssa, whatever you're planning-"

"If my father were here, what do you think he'd do right now?" she asked and Oliver shook his head. He didn't even want to think about the carnage that would follow the late Ra's Al Ghul if he were alive today.

"Right now we need to get a handle on this situation without any unnecessary casualties. This fight is between us and Darhk, and if you-"

"This city refused to kill him when they had the chance. They put him in a cage and gave him enough access to the outside world to escape." Nyssa took a step toward Oliver. "You see Oliver, I don't care about this city, or the lives it holds. I am going to do the one thing you have not been able to do. I'm going to kill Damien Darhk. Anyone who gets in my way-"

"You still have family here." Oliver replied closing the distance between the woman. "And this city is their home." Nyssa turned away from the man. "If my wife were here, right now, what do you think she'd do?" Nyssa turned back to the man. "Taking down Damien Darhk is the end game, but we have to do it smart, and we have to fight him in a way he won't expect. Look I may have a way to do that, but I'm going to need to leave for a while." Nyssa looked at the man in confusion. "I expect Darhk isn't going to make any moves yet, but in case he does-"

"You would like me to stay here. Play the bodyguard."

"You have a baby cousin in this house. I need you to make sure absolutely nothing happens to her, or Arianna. I need you to protect our family." Oliver said, and Nyssa took note on the fact that he included her in a family that included him and his children. She lifted her eyes to the house before turning back to him and giving him a nod before turning and walking away. Oliver watched until he couldn't see her any more, knowing she wasn't going far. He took another deep breath before turning and finally walking inside the house.

" _Why are you recording me, Ari?"_

" _Because this moment needs to documented." Ari answered, unable to contain her laughter._

Oliver followed the voices until he ended up in the den. The room was dark, the only light came from the glow of the television where Felicity, Thea and Ari were sitting. His eyes went to the screen, and he felt that lump in his throat at the sight of the smiling face of his wife.

" _I told you I can bake cookies." Katie said. They were in the kitchen, and she was wearing her silly ninja chef apron as she pulled things from the cabinets. "My mother baked all the time, how hard can it be?"_

" _I guess we're going to find out." Ari laughed, and Katie turned a glare to her. The kitchen door opened and in walked Oliver who carried Robyn in his arms. Katie looked over to him._

" _Oh, where is the rolling pin?" she asked and Oliver looked over to her with a quirked brow before turning to Ari who only continued to laugh._

" _Why do you need the rolling pin?" he asked and she turned to him and sighed._

" _Because I'm baking cookies." she replied matter of factly before turning to continue her search. "Now where is it?"_

" _Why are you baking cookies?" he questioned further. She let out a huff turning back to him and the look on her face just caused Ari to snicker. "I'm sorry Twinkie, but you and ovens have not done well together."_

" _That was one stupid frozen pizza, and I just misread the directions."_

" _Who needs directions to cook frozen pizza?" Ari asked, gaining her another glare from her cousin. "You're being ridiculous. That article was stupid."_

" _What article?" Oliver asked looking between Ari and Katie, but neither answered. "Hey, what article?" Ari nudged her head to the laptop on the kitchen table and the man walked over. He skimmed the article before letting out a sigh and looking back up to his wife._

" _He said we're pampered rich kids turned socialites. He says you are bored and decided to run for Mayor for kicks, and I'm a doctor CEO who probably can't even bake cookies for her kids." Katie said with a shake of her head._

" _Twinkie-" he began walking over to her, but she pointed a finger._

" _No, no sympathy right now. I know that writer is an idiot, and I know none of those things are true, and I'm going to prove it, now tell me where the rolling pin is." she said and Oliver simply pointed to the cabinet to her left. She walked over and spotted it instantly and pulled it out. She looked down to it for a moment before looking over to Oliver and Ari. "I am going to make cookies." she turned to Ari. "and you are going to stop recording me and help."_

" _You don't know how to use that rolling pin, do you?"_

" _Just get your teenage butt over here." Katie said and Ari loudly sighed before the video ended._

The television went blank and they all just sat there in silence for a moment.

"How did the cookies turn out?" Felicity asked, looking over to Ari who sat curled up in the big reclining chair, her eyes still on the blank television.

"Hard as a rock." Oliver said, and they all turned to him. There was a slight smile on his face as he remembered that day. He laughed.

"She wouldn't follow the recipe." Ari laughed, looking over to him. "She said her mother never used a recipe, and she wouldn't either. She was determined to make those stupid cookies, because she thought not being able to made her less of mom, I guess." Ari shook her head. "It didn't." she turned away and laid her head on the arm of the chair. "She was a great mom. I should've told her that." the room once again fell into a somber silence.

"Uh, how did you meeting with Constantine go?" Thea asked looking over to her brother.

"He put me on to someone who he thinks may be able to teach me how to defend against Darhk's magic." Oliver replied walking further inside and taking a seat beside Ari.

"Ok. Well, I'm not just saying this because I love "Harry Potter," but why are we not all taking those lessons?" Thea asked.

"Well, it is easier said than done and apparently quite dangerous." Oliver said, before turning to Ari. "So I have to go to Hub City for a day or two." she sat up and turned to him. "Ari-"

"You're leaving us?"

"I won't be gone long, but I need to see if this can truly help me fight Darhk. Right now he's too powerful, and we have nothing to fight him with."

"Then why can't we come with you? We can stay in some fancy hotel and order room service, while you go out and do your magic tricks." she said, but the look on Oliver's face told her it wasn't going to happen. "Damien Darhk is in this city, and you're going to leave us all alone." Oliver dropped his head only feeling more guilty about this. "You just said that this was dangerous, what if you-" he looked back over to her and reached over to take her hand. "No!" she pulled away and stood to her feet. "Just go, and die and leave us all alone. At this point we're used to it." she shook her head and stalking out of the den and ran upstairs to her room. Oliver looked over to Felicity and Thea.

"Oliver, Katie's funeral was today." Felicity said, and Oliver looked over to her with a shake of her head. "Do you really think now is the best time you should be leaving?"

"You don't think I want to just sit, and mourn for my wife?"

"Oliver, that's not what I-"

"Darhk has his idol, and the type of magic that he's using, I've seen it take good people and turn them dark, soulless, almost inhuman."

"And you're afraid that's gonna happen to you?" Thea asked, and her brother turned away.

"There's an argument to be made that I'm already there." he replied looking over to a picture of his wife and he can't even feel the light inside of himself anymore.

"Ollie, I know you're hurting, we all are, but that pain can't take away who you are."

"And who am I?" Oliver asked turning back to his sister before standing to his feet. "Without her, who the hell am I?" he let out a huff before storming out of the room.

Oliver headed toward Ari's door, not expecting to see Laurel standing outside of it. She turned to him in confusion.

"She just ran up here totally upset. What happened?"

"I may have found a way to combat Damien's magic. The thing is, I have to leave for a couple of days to do it." Laurel's eyes widened, not expecting the news. "Right now I have no other options if I want beat this bastard."

"I get it. I just didn't think you'd be making these plans so soon." Laurel sighed before turning away. "Well hopefully it works." she looked back up to the man. "I'm here to help with Ari and Robyn."

"Thank you. I leave in the morning, and will be back no later than Monday." Laurel simply nodded before walking around the man, but she stopped.

"You know I think about that moment." Laurel said and Oliver turned to her. "Us, in that prison, I was frozen, and Darhk was going to kill me." she looked over to that man. "That thing inside of her hated me, and yet it saved my life. Do you think it was her...Twinkie breaking through to do some good?" Oliver stood there for a moment, before letting out a deep breath, and Laurel regretted bringing up the moment. "I'm sorry, never mind." she turned to leave.

"I don't think it was as strong as it wanted us to believe it was." Oliver said and Laurel turned back to him. "I think Twinkie was fighting it, and there were moments it was her pulling the strings." he shook his head. "But for whatever reason, she just wasn't strong enough."

"Words I never thought would be spoken about Katie." Laurel said before turning and heading back downstairs. She wasn't sure what was happening when she saw Thea angrily heading for the front door, and Felicity following behind her.

"Thea-"

"No!" Thea said turning back to the woman, glancing over to Laurel as well as she walked over. "She's gone, and he's-" Thea shook her head. "He's running away from this, just like he did with mom."

"I don't think that's fair." Laurel said and Thea rolled her eyes. "Thea, your brother's wife is dead. The fact that he hasn't gone completely nuts is-" Laurel shook her head. "The amount of love those two had for each other was beyond anything I'd ever saw. And to see it die is heartbreaking. Right now your brother has decided to put all of his focus on stopping Darhk." Thea shook his head.

"Alex invited me to go away with him for the weekend." Thea said looking up to the women. She never really talked about the relationship with her brother's former political strategist. He was a part of her life untouched by the hero work she did at night and it's what she liked most about the relationship.

"You should go." Laurel said and Felicity turned to her with a quirked brow. "I mean I'm sure we all could use some mental rest right now after these last couple of days. I just get the feeling we're in this lull right now. This calm before the storm, so we should try to soak as much of it as we can."

"The kids-" Thea said turning back to Felicity.

"I'm here, of course I'm here." Felicity replied.

"So am I." Laurel added and Thea gave a nod to them both.

"Thank you. I'll call to check in. Thanks for understanding why I have to do this." Thea said before glancing over to the stairs. She shook her head before finally turning and leaving.

Felicity shook her head before turning and walking off leaving Laurel.

The next morning Oliver stood over a duffle bag that he'd just packed with a few clothes, and a couple of easily transportable weapons. He zipped up the bag and pulled it over his shoulder before glancing around their bedroom. This room seemed so cold at the moment, dim and lifeless. He'd already decided that when this was all over, he'd look into moving into another house. He turned and walked out of the room. It was still relatively early, so he had doubt anyone was awake and he contemplated just leaving without a word. There was once a version of Oliver that would've, but he was no longer that guy who ran away from the tough moments, and so he found himself outside of Ari's bedroom, hoping to get one more chance at soothing her fears of him not coming back. He lifted a fist and knocked against the door, but no one answered, but he knew she was awake. She was an early bird, just like him.

On the other side of the door, Ari laid on her tear soak pillow, her eyes looking over to the door.

"Ari, I have to go now." Oliver spoke, and the girl sniffed back a silent tear. "I want you to know that I coming back, that nothing in this world will keep me from coming back to you and Robyn. That is a promise I will never break." Ari rolled her eyes before turning over to face the window.

Oliver stood outside the door for just a moment before placing a hand on it and continuing down the hall. The man slipped inside the nursery quietly to not wake the baby, but to his surprise she was still awake. His eyes glanced over to the couch on the far wall where Laurel seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Oliver walked over to the crib, his daughter's eyes lighting up the moment she sees him and she reached up. He smiles as he pulls her into his arms and places a kiss to the top of her head.

"You always know when daddy needs to see those eyes looking back at him, don't you sweetie?" he said looking into the girls eyes, but she seemed enamored by the zipper on his jacket. "You know I'm coming back, don't you? I need you to keep an eye on your cousin and your aunts, ok." he placed a kiss to her cheek and hugged her. "And dream about mommy. Hold onto those memories for as long as you can." Before leaving he changed her diaper, held her a bit longer before lowering her back into her crib.

As he walked downstairs, Oliver heard the distant sound of the television coming from the kitchen. He walked inside where he found Felicity staring up to the news that was currently playing.

" _We have confirmed that Star City's most well-known empire, Robins Incoporated has announced the appointment of their new CEO. This comes weeks after former CEO, the late Katherine Queen stepped down from the position passed down from her father the late Jacob Robins. It is a bit strange the announcement coming just the day after Katherine Queen's funeral. A press release has noted that there will be an explanation about the timing of this announcement when the new CEO who has not been publicly named, makes a speech tonight at the company's charity dinner RI has planned as a mermoriam for Katherine. It's unknown at this point if her husband Oliver Queen will be in attendance._

Felicity glanced over, only now noticing Oliver's presence. She quickly turned off the television before turning to him.

"Sorry about that." Felicity said with a shake of her head. "I got an email last night about the announcement and I couldn't believe that they were doing this now. " she looked up to the man and sighed. "You're leaving?"

"Yeah." Oliver said placing his bag on the floor. "Felicity thanks again for this. Staying with the girls-" Felicity shook her head.

"You don't ever have to thank me. You, your children, you're all my family, and in a time of need, you step in for your family." she gave the man a smile just as her cell phone buzzed from the kitchen table. "That's probably another text from Palmer Tech, wanting me to come in to discuss how RI's new CEO is going to affect our company."

"If you needed to go-"

"Stop trying to get rid of me Oliver." Felicity said looking over to him with a smile before picking up the phone and seeing a text, but not from the company, but from Lyla. "Oh, it's-" she read the text and frowned.

"Everything alright?" Oliver asked and the woman looked up with a smile.

"Yeah, just like I thought." she shook her head and slipped the phone in her pocket. "I will give them a call later."

"Are you sure, because-" there was a ring from the doorbell that interrupted him and he turned. "That's probably Zatanna." he turned back to Felicity who gave a nod before watching the man pick up his bag. "Look if anything happens, if Darhk makes any moves in the city, call me, and I will be here, ok?"

"Absolutely." Felicity replied. Oliver turned to leave but stopped before walking out of the kitchen. "Oliver?" he didn't say anything and she moved to go to him. "Hey, are you-"

"No, yeah-" he turned to her with a slight smile. "I'm fine. Remember just call me if anything happens." Felicity once again gave a nod before the man turned and left.

Arianna had decided that she'd just stay in her room for the foreseeable future, but she'd gotten bored really quickly. She was tired of crying, tired of sitting in her room looking at pictures and she just couldn't do it anymore. It was in the late afternoon when she finally stepped into the hall outside of her room. It was pretty quiet, until she heard the distant sounds of Robyn's little baby sputterings. Ari walked down the hall, the baby's voice seeming to be coming from Oliver and Katie's room. When she pushed open the door, she spotted the baby standing up in her little play pen, but it was the boxes in the room that caught her attention.

"C'mon Robyn-" Felicity’s voice came from their closet. "I know it's a lot of syllables, but you're a genius so you can do it. Can you say Fel-" Felicity walked from the closet with hangers of clothes and Ari's eyes went wide.

"What are you doing?!"Ari asked and Felicity turned to her. "Those are her clothes, you can't touch her clothes." Ari hurried over to her, snatching the hangers from her hands and taking them back to the closet, pausing at the sight of Katie's side, practically empty.

"Ari, I'm sorry, I didn't want you to see this." Felicity said walking in behind the girl. "I thought it might be easier to have these things cleared out before Oliver came back."

"You want to erase her. Pretend as if she weren't even here."

"Of course not." Felicity walked around, placing herself in front of the teenager. "Ari, erasing your cousin is probably the most impossible thing in world. Her presence will always be here, and she will always live inside all of us. But this stuff-" Felicity glanced around the closet at the few clothes and shoes that were still there. "It's like a lie creating this fantasy that she'll come back and wear them." she looked back to the girl whose eyes couldn't be torn from the clothes hanging across from her. "Seeing these things are painful and I thought-" Ari simply pushed the clothes into Felicity hands before storming out of the room. Felicity dropped her head and sighed before glancing around the closet to see how much more was left. She never realized how many clothes and shoes Katie owned until this moment. She shook her head before walking over to grab a few more clothes to box up. She plucked a couple of more hangers, but stopped at the sight of box that seemed to be hidden behind them. Felicity's brow furrowed before she dropped clothes and picked up the box. She walked back in the bedroom, taking a seat on the edge of the bed before lifting the lid. Her eyes widened as she found old pictures of Katie and her mother. Felicity lifted the picture of a teenage Katie standing next to her mother and she blinked in surprise. She'd seen pictures of Grace Robins before, and always notes how much Katie looked like her, but in this picture it was uncanny. Felicity looked back into the box, finding more pictures, and a disk and some documents. She picked up the papers, her eyes going wide as she read them. "Oh, my gosh."

"Hey." Felicity looked up to Laurel who stood at the door. "What's that?" Laurel walked over and took the seat beside Felicity.

"These are Katie's things. I found them in a box hidden behind some of her clothes. They're mostly pictures, but I found this." Felicity handed the document to Laurel who skimmed it, her eyes going wide as well.

"Wait a minute, does this say-"

"Katie bought the freaking Queen mansion when it was put on sale, why yes it does." Felicity said when Laurel turned to her. "I can't believe this. Why didn't she say anything to Oliver or Thea?"

"I don't know." Laurel muttered, looking back down to the papers to make sure she'd read it right. She shook her head before looking over into the box. "What else is in there?"

"Pictures, and-" Felicity pulled out the disk and looked at it closely. "It's DVD." she turned it toward Laurel who read the label that read, ' _For Oliver'_

"Should we watch it?" Laurel asked and Felicity looked back to the disk and shook her head. "Right, you're right."

"We should put this stuff back and leave it for Oliver when he gets back." Felicity said as she put everything back into the box and placed it on the bed.

"Hey have you heard from John. I've been calling him, but I haven't gotten an answer."

"Yeah, there's a reason for that." Felicity said turning back to the woman. "But as I understand it, Lyla is taking care of it."

John sat on a cot in the small room, his eyes closed and arms folded over his chest. He opened his eyes when the door opened and in walked his wife who stood before him with a look he knows he deserves.

"Lyla-"

"Don't even start! I talk now!" Lyla said grabbing the chair in the corner of the room and dragging it over and placing it in front of him before taking a seat. "John you attacked the sitting Mayor of Star City. If we hadn't showed up when we did-" she shook her head. "She has the media. She has the police."

"I don't give a damn!" John snapped angrily standing to his feet and walking around his wife. "I'm so angry, I can hardly breathe!"

"Johnny, I know. I'm angry too."

"Every minute he's out there, it's another minute he can hurt someone I love."

"Johnny-" Lyla stood to her feet and walked over to him. "This isn't you. This isn't the man I married."

"I don't know Lyla." he turned to face her, and the look on his face, broke her heart. "I don't know who I am anymore, Lyla." John spoke, his voice cracking with emotions he'd been trying to hold in. "All I know is, all I can hold on to is that... I have to find my brother."

At the mention of Andy, Lyla became worried. "And-and do what?" she took a step closer to him. "Katie's gone, and finding Andy and whatever you're gonna do to him, it's not gonna bring her back, but if she were here, she'd tell you the same thing that I'm gonna tell you." she placed her hands on her husband's chest and looked up to his eyes. "You cannot forget who you are, and we... We can never become them." John sighed, and brought his arms around her and held her tight. "I'm going to let you out of this room, and you're going to go home and I'm going to deal with the catastrophe happening here."

"What's happening here?" John asked and Lyla pulled back to look up to him.

"Jacob Robins is missing." Lyla said. "And it is believed that he is gone due to unexplained circumstances."

"What do you mean?"

"Martin Ellis stood outside of his office door for hours and it never opened. When Martin went inside, he couldn't find Jacob."

"But this is Jacob we're talking about. Maybe there's some hidden door nobody knows about. Maybe he just needed to get away."

"It's possible, but at this point I don't know what to believe. We're still searching that office, and can't find any way he could've left." the woman let out a deep breath. "Johnny, I will help you find Andy, but we will have to do it the right way." her phone beeped, and she pulled it from her pocket to read the message.

"What is it?"

"It's Andy." she looked up to John. "I think we've found him."

Oliver's eyes opened to an unfamiliar ceiling, and he quickly sat up to find him self in a large hotel room he doesn't remember entering. He jumped to his feet and walked over to the terrace, pulling open the door and gasping at the sight of the city below him. He was in Hub city, but he has no memory of getting her.

"You're up!" he turned, his eyes going wide at the sight of Zatanna who was now wearing a long black evening gown. She walked over to the mirror as she put in her earrings.

"How-" he walked over to her. "When?" she chuckled before turning to him.

"You're wondering how and when we got here? Well you're already aware of my ability of transportation. I just figured you'd like to be knocked out for this trip. Plus you looked like you needed some sleep." she pointed across the room where a suit was hanging. "We have to be leaving soon, so you should get dressed." Oliver stood there for a moment, still unsure of what was happening. "There's no time to stop believing in the impossible now Oliver. Go, get dressed. We should get this meeting with Esrin over with." he hesitated for a moment before turning and grabbing the suit.

Oliver knew he was risking a lot coming here, and following the lead of a woman he barely knew. He was taking risks he knew he shouldn't, and yet he couldn't stop, not when there was even the slightest chance that he could stop Darhk. Apparently this all powerful immortal shaman hung around some underground casino. When they showed up, Zatanna mutters some words to the bouncer Oliver can't quite make out before they're let inside.

They're riding on an elevator that's taking them to the casino floor, when Zatanna looks over to Oliver who has a bit of a blank look on his face, and it worries her.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked and he glanced over to her. "We're about to meet a very powerful being, and your head needs to be in this moment, right now and focused. Are you sure you want to do this now? Your wife-"

"I'm doing this." Oliver replied turning away from the woman and she simply sighed before turning back to the doors as they opened and it was as expected. There were many people about the casino, machines buzzing and ringing as Oliver and Zatanna stepped off. Zatanna inhaled deeply.

"She's here." she glanced over to Oliver. "Let me do the talking."

The moments that followed seemed to be a blur to Oliver. He found himself just going with the motions all of a sudden which he knew was dangerous, and yet his mind wasn't as focused as it should be. Soon they ended up in some sort of chamber within the casino.

"Hey," Zatanna touched Oliver's arm and he turned to her. "Focus." he simply nodded before turning back to Esrin and Oliver follows her eyes, but then notices the idol sitting on some sort alter. Esrin follows his eyes.

"Recognize this handsome gent?" she asks.

"Darhk has an idol just like it." Oliver replies his eyes boring into that idol. He still regrets the fact that he didn't destroy Darhk's idol when he had the chance. Esrin walks over to Oliver, looking him over as if studying him before giving him a nod and walking over to her idol. Oliver looks over to Zatanna who simply shrugs before turning to the woman. "It's where he gets his powers."

"Uh uh." Esrin replies with a shake of her head. "It only channels it."

"Darhk's power comes from—"

"Death." Oliver say, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat. He shakes his head and pushes the emotions away. Esrin once again watches him closely, her eyes narrowing as if she's trying to see something. "What?"

"Nothing, it's just very strange." the woman said with a shake of her head. "You are right about Darhk. His need for death is what makes him stronger."

"Which is why we're here." Zatanna says. "Oliver doesn't plan on killing a bunch of people just to be on the same level playing field as Darhk."

"All things have their opposite. Darhk draws his power from fear and death. Its opposite is light and hope, la Luz Del Alma, light of the soul." Esrin turns to Oliver. "If you can channel la Luz Del Alma, you will be able to repel Darhk's magic."

"Then that is what I'm here to learn." Oliver said and Esrin quirked a brow before glancing over to Zatanna.

"I assumed it was you who'd be in need of this lesson, Zatanna." Esrin replied and Zatanna shook her head.

"Taking down Damien Darhk is my responsibility. I can learn how to channel this light or whatever." Oliver said and Esrin, looked unsure, once again glancing over to Zatanna. "What is it?" Esrin turns back to him and walks over with a shake of her head.

"Your aura is completely dark." the woman waved a hand in his direction. "I feel sadness and anger oozing from you." she met his eyes and once again narrowed her gaze. "But I also feel a hint of something ancient. Almost like residual magic, but that's impossible seeing as there's nothing mystical within you. You're actually quite interesting."

"It was his wife." Zatanna said, and Esrin turned to her. "The daughter of Minnal Al Ghul." Esrin's eyes widened as she turned back to Oliver. "Damien Darhk has murdered her in cold blood, and now Oliver needs a way to defeat him."

"You have to help me, you have-" Esrin rose a hand to stop Oliver's pleas.

"I will help you." she replied before once again glancing over to Zatanna and sighed before turning away. Esrin turned back to Oliver. "It will not be easy. If the darkness inside you outweighs the light, instead of repelling Darhk's magic, you will end up fueling it. You will only make him more powerful." Oliver looked at the woman, simply nodding even though he's unsure if at the moment there's still any light inside of him.

Jacob Robins sat in a chair he had no ability to move from. His heart rammed in his chest, but he didn't let his nervousness show. His eyes were stuck on the woman sitting across from him, flipping through the pages of a book she's not supposed to have. The woman who's not supposed to be sitting across from him flipping through the pages of said book.

"Here it is." she said a smile coming to her face as she lifts her eyes to Jacob. "You saved me a trip to that God awful Nanda Parbat."

"Sunshine!" Jacob called, "I know you're in there, I know you can hear me. You have to fight this!"

"Oh Jake. Your sunshine is gone. You watched the funeral." she replied looking over to him. "No, right now I'm all you got." she looked at him for a moment before leaning forward on the table. "Tell me something Jake. Why didn't you tell her?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the fact that Grace was pregnant before you met her." she said. "That you, Grace and the demon decided that little sweet Twinkie could never know the source of the darkness stemmed from her father, Damien Darhk."

"Damien Dark is not your father." Jacob growled with a shake of his head. "He is a monster, and your mother-"

"Grace let Damien Darhk put his hotdog in her bun." she replied crassly. "She knows. She's in here crying and throwing things because it's yet another lie daddy Jacob decided to keep from her. She doesn't even want to come out anymore." she chuckled. "Who knew the only thing to kill the fight in her was a little truth."

"Sunshine, I'm sorry, but-"

"You knew I was coming Jacob. That's why you never told her. Damien Darhk had become too close and you knew the connection they had would more than likely cause that darkness to spread. And it did because here I am, but you know if you told her sooner, I would've been here eons ago."

"What do you want?"

"Thank you!" she said, standing to her feet. "You're the first person to actually ask me that. They keep talking to her, in hopes that she comes back, but she's not. This is my body now, and what I want matters!" she began walking over to him. "Damien Darhk has committed countless terrible offenses against the Homo Magi. The fact that his power is drawn from an idol that does not belong to him is just one of the many reasons I'm obligated to end him. But it's one thing in particular that I find is his most heinous crime." she hopped on the table in front of the man and looked down to him. "You see, Grace Robins didn't kill herself and I know you know that." she watched as his eyes went wide. "And you're wondering how I know that and that's a stupid question because the how doesn't matter at this point. But if you must know, I was there." she smiled. "I used to be a dormant being smothered inside of your wife, but then she went and did something stupid. She tried to kill Darhk after not using her powers for years."

"What are you-"

"You came home, saw the candles, saw how she was displayed in the circle and you knew what she was doing." she shook her head. "Grace was my home, and she died because she had a dream that Darhk had finally found them and she decided to try to end it before he could."

"What do you want?" Jacob asked once again.

"Well it's a two parter. It may be obvious, but I'm going to kill Damian Darhk more than likely before he can complete whatever dumbass plan he has for this city."

"What else?" he asked and she smiled before hopping off the table and walking over to the grand window of the Queen Mansion's living room and pushed open the curtains, letting in the sun and revealing the beautiful scene of the perfect manicured lawn.

"This city, this—universe, it's quite unfortunate how far it's fallen since the absence of my people." she smiled at the sight of a bird that stopped on branch just outside the window. "I think it's time I fixed that."


	26. Reality Questioned

**Chapter 26**

**  
Reality Questioned**

_"We live in a world of denial,_

_and we don't know what the truth is anymore."_

_Javier Bardem_

* * *

Oliver sat in a chair, his eyes looking up to the ticking clock as his mind seems to wander to the craziness his life has fallen into.

_A sudden mist shot from Esrin's hands, and Oliver found himself somewhere else._

" _The darkness and light are within you. In truth, you are only fighting yourself." Oliver suddenly comes face to face with his League of Assassins persona. Al Sah-him, the Wahreeth Al Ghul. He was stunned for a moment not expecting to see that version of himself. The distraction caused the persona to grab him and toss him across the room, his back slamming against the wall. "The friends you've failed, the people you've killed, they have no place in this." Oliver turns his eyes going wide at the sight of Slade who grabs him by the jacket and tosses him once again. A laugh pulls his attention and Oliver turns to see Darhk walk toward him. "Don't give in. Cast aside your doubt, resist your darkness." Darhk jerks a kick to Oliver, but suddenly his mind flashes and he's back inside that burning building, Tommy in his arms dying and he's still helpless to it. The scene changes to the exact moment Slade jerks the sword into his mother's chest, and the quick moment her eyes turned and met his. Oliver feels a tightness in his chest, his skin feels like it's burning as emotions he'd been keeping at bay seemed to rise up in him. He needed this to stop, but it didn't. Suddenly he's back on that snow covered mountain as the demon pushes the sword in his chest. There's no break as he's suddenly sitting in the raft across from his father as he holds the gun to his own head and just pulls the trigger. It's when he's standing in that room of Iron Heights, his wife's eyes staring at him right before Damien Darhk shoves an arrow though her back, and he sees the pain that passes over her face. It's too much, too much all at once, and that's the only reason Oliver finds his knees weak and he collapses to the ground._

" _Oliver?" Zatanna walks over to help him to his feet._

" _He's not ready." Fortuna says, already heading out of the room back to her casino._

_"I'll get it, I'll get it." Oliver quickly jumps to his feet and Fortuna turns to him. "Now let's go again."_

_"I could give you an infinite number of tries. It wouldn't change a thing." the woman shook her head. Oliver refused to believe that._

_"What? No. I can do this."_

_"I told you if the darkness within you is greater than the light, you will only make your enemy stronger." the woman walked over to him and shook her head before turning to Zatanna. "The daughter of Minnah, are you sure she's dead?" Zatanna seemed confused by the question._

_"My wife is dead." Oliver answered, those words never seemed right coming out of his mouth. Esrin turned to him with a quirked brow. "I was there. I saw it. Which is why we have to try again. This was my only hope at defeating Darhk."_

_"Well you will just have to find another way. You've seen what's inside of you, yeah? Tell me, what could I possibly teach you that would change what you saw?"_

_"Esrin, there has to be something you can do." Zatanna said taking step toward the woman. "With that idol Darhk is far stronger than any of us." Zatanna shook her head. "Do you even understand what he did when he killed her? She was-"_

_"I know who she was Zatanna. Let's not forget who between the two of us has lived the longest." Esrin glanced over to Oliver once again and just shook her head. "Truly I wish I could help you, but there's nothing I can do for you." Esrin turned and began walking away, but she stopped and glanced back over to Zatanna before looking over to Oliver. "I never met your wife, but I know of her family and the power they held." she glanced over to Zatanna. "Do you remember the day Minnah died?" Oliver glanced over to the woman standing beside him, as she frowned and turned away. "Unmistakable." the woman simply gave a nod before turning and leaving._

_"What was that about?" Oliver asked and Zatanna turned back to him and sighed. "What was she talking about?"_

_"The day Minnah died there was this-" the woman shook her head. "It's hard to explain, but a heaviness, and an overwhelming surge of emotion that hit me and I wasn't sure why at first. And then I got word of her death and then I understood."_

_"Understood what?"_

_"Because a woman like that, with the power she had, wouldn't just die and it not be felt by any and everyone who has the ability to feel things beyond this world." the woman said, and Oliver turned away in thought._

_"When Twinkie-" he turned back to the woman. "When Katie-" he couldn't finish the question, because he wasn't sure what the answer would mean. Zatanna looked at him for a moment before she just shook her head._

_"No."_

"Mr. Queen?" Oliver was pulled from his thoughts and looked up to see a young woman standing in front of him. He smiled and quickly stood to his feet.

"Sorry, I guess I was day dreaming." Oliver said holding out a hand. "Ms. Watson?"

"Yes, and daydreaming happens to the best of us. You want to follow me to my office?" Oliver gave a nod before following behind the woman. He walked in to the small office, his eyes looking down to the stack of folders and papers on the woman's desk. "Sorry about the mess, please have a seat." she pointed to the seat in front of the desk as she walked around to take her seat behind her desk. Ms. Watson looked over to Oliver and noticed the nervousness in his eyes and shook her head. "I know meetings with a caseworker for CPS is a bit nerve wrecking, but you don't have anything to worry about." she grabbed a folder from the pile and flipped it open. "From what I can see from Arianna's file is that everything seems to be going relatively well." the woman glanced back up to Oliver. "We were very concerned after hearing about her being taken, but your wife-" the woman stopped talking, suddenly aware of what she'd said. "I'm sorry."

"No it's fine. My wife―" it was still so hard to speak of her. "We assured Ari's safety, and moving from Star City was the start of that."

"But then you moved back?" Oliver looked at the woman for a moment. Things would've been so different if he'd just stayed in Blue Hill. If he didn't let the nagging fear of Damien Darhk escaping make him afraid to just enjoy the time with his family. It was his chance to just forget this city, and be happy. Maybe if he did, his wife would still be here.

"Yeah, we came back." Oliver dropped his eyes and the woman could see the sudden sadness in his eyes.

"Mr. Queen, I would like to give my condolences to you and your family." Oliver looked up to the woman. "I didn't know much about your wife, just things I've read, but everything I've seen has shown me that she was a good woman and pillar of this community."

"She was." Oliver said turning away, hating that he had to speak of her in the past tense. "I know how moving back to Star City seemed-"

"It was your home. You have family and friends here, I believe." she glanced down to the folder in front of her and skimmed the page she was reading. She looked back up to the man. "You coming back to the city was not why you were called here today. It's just it was your wife who volunteered to take Arianna in, and now that she's gone I just want to see where you stand with housing her?" Oliver looked at the woman in confusion.

"You called me here to see if I wanted to keep her?" Oliver asked and the woman nodded.

"I know you are the father of small child, and you're alone, so two kids can be tough."

"I have help." Oliver replied. "Like you said I have family and friends. Arianna, wasn't just some girl my wife decided to take in. She was her family, she is my family. She can stay with me for as long as necessary." the woman nodded with a smile.

"Well ok. We will keep Arianna with you, but given your change of circumstances, I may have to make some home visits. It's only protocol."

"I understand." Oliver replied with a nod.

"So how is Arianna doing?" Ms. Watson asked and Oliver sighed sitting back in his chair.

"I mean I think she doing as expected." the man shook his head. "She's sad about her cousin, angry at times. But she's talking to me, talking to my sister, talking to friends." he looked back over to the woman.

"That's good. She's probably dealing with emotions she hasn't experienced since her father. So I suggest you keep her talking, maybe try to get her to focus on something else. A hobby or a school activity."

"I'll look into it." Oliver said, already knowing there is something girl seems to want to focus on, but he doesn't think he should mention the whole hero thing in this meeting.

The rest of the meeting was just more questions about Ari, that Oliver thinks he answered alright. He doesn't think the woman could tell how removed from the moment he truly was. He wasn't as focused on anything much recently and he knows why, even though he'd deny it if asked. After the meeting, he was supposed to go home, and yet he found himself walking the familiar trail in the Star City cemetery, a bouquet of daises in his hand. He doesn't think he will ever get used to the sight of walking over to a headstone with her name etched into it. He placed the flowers on the grass in front of the headstone and just looked it for a moment. Even now, even weeks later he didn't feel as if this was real, which only fueled his fears that maybe it wasn't.

"Are you gone?" he whispered when the sound of steps behind him caused him to turn to a familiar face. "Barry?"

"Uh, hey, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, I just-" Barry walked over, his eyes looking down to the headstone and just shook his head. "You know at the service, I looked at that casket and I couldn't believe it." Oliver turned his eyes toward the headstone once again.

"I know exactly what you mean."

"I don't think you do." Barry sighed and Oliver looked at him, but the man didn't meet his gaze. He simply shook his head before looking over to Oliver. "I mean, never mind. I should give you some privacy." Barry turned to walk away, but Oliver couldn't help but feel that he wasn't saying something.

"Barry!" the speedster stopped and let out a deep sigh before turning back to Oliver. "What is it?" Barry hesitated for a moment because he wasn't sure of the outcome of this conversation.

"Oliver, I'm not completely sure of much, and I don't have all the answers I want, but-" Barry walked back over to the man. "You remember when the Reverse Flash fixated on her. He kidnapped her in hopes she could help him beat me, and at first I didn't understand how, but then I―I discovered something." Barry paused for a moment, just to gauge Oliver's reaction and since the man stood waiting for him to continue, Barry just went on. " In one of the halls of the lab we found a secret room the Reverse Flash was using. It held this-" Barry shook his head. "It’s like an AI that knows an awful lot of information."

"Barry, I'm not following you right now. What are you trying to say?"

"Oliver, this AI-Gideon is what it called itself. It showed me things, things about me that haven't happened yet. Things I can't quite believe to be honest with you." Barry turned meeting Oliver's eyes. "There were these different articles about me, the things I was doing, people I was interacting with, and one of those people was Katie." Barry dropped his eyes and shook his head. "I can't quite remember what the article was about. " he looked back up to Oliver. "But I remember the date being many years from now." Oliver looked at the man with a blank stare and Barry sighed. "Look I know the future changes everyday, I know the future I saw probably isn't going to happen. I just-" Barry turned his eyes back to that headstone and sighed. "There's a chance it could happen-" he turned back to Oliver. "Right?" Oliver looked back to the moment, finding it strange that yet another person in his life was trying to plant the idea that Katie was still alive. Oliver turned, looking down to his wife's engraved name.

"Barry, I was there when that arrow was shoved in her back. I saw her lose more blood -" Oliver dropped his eyes. "I held her hand in the hospital as Ethan told me that there was no longer any brain activity, and that she was lying in that bed, but in essence was gone." Oliver turned back to Barry. "I watched my wife die with my own eyes."

"Right." Barry said with a nod. "I'm so sorry to have even-" he shook his head wanting to kick himself for even bringing up such a crazy accusation. "I guess I just want to believe that-" he looked back up to Oliver and sighed.

"Yeah, I know." Oliver swallowed the emotion that tingled his throat and he turned his eyes away.

"I should go." Barry finally said, and Oliver felt the breeze of the man speeding away.

Oliver looked down to that headstone once again, and he couldn't stop hearing the last words she'd said to him after being stabbed.

" _I told you your wife was dead. I guess now you get to see it for yourself."_

Oliver slid his hand over the smooth granite headstone and let out a deep breath. His eyes lifted at the feeling of eyes on him, but after a quick scan, he saw no one. He simply shook his head before turning and heading back to his car.

Oliver headed straight to the bunker to deal with their current problem. Darhk had successfully stolen Rubicon, the key to the world's nuclear weapons just a few nights before. It was also the night Andy Diggle had died at the hands of his brother.

When Oliver walked into the office, he headed for the elevator, and stopped at the sight of Ari who'd just stepped inside. She reached out a hand to hold it open as Oliver continued.

"Why aren't you in school?" Oliver asked once inside the elevator.

"I had a half day today." She replied and Oliver narrowed his eyes at her. "And you can stop with the look because it's true. I have a note and everything." she pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and handed it to the man. Oliver took the paper and skimmed it and found that she was right. "So how was the meeting with the new social worker? Did she seem like an evil kidnapper?" Oliver shook his head at the teen.

"No, and the meeting went fine. I mean we may get a random visit every now and then, but we'll be fine."

"And they're not trying to take me away?" she asked and Oliver shook his head and brought an arm around her.

"Ari, no one is taking you away. This is your home." the girl lightly smiled before turning at the doors opening. They both walked in where they found, Lyla, John and Felicity standing in front of one of the monitors.

"So what are we working on?" Ari asked.

"Homework." Oliver replied and the girl turned with a frown. "Half day or not, homework always comes first." he nudged his head toward the other side of the bunker where the girl usually did her homework. Naturally she groaned before turning and stomping away. Oliver pulled off his jacket and headed over to the others. "Has Darhk made any moves?"

"None that we see, but I can't tell you how disastrous this could be." Lyla said with a shake of her head. "Russia, Markovia, Corto Maltese, us, every NATO Ally- Rubicon has control over all their nuclear systems."

"You mean HIVE systems." John sighs as he looks at the map showing all locations of the world's nuclear weapons."

"I know it's a little late for this, but whoever created an algorithm that could override any country's nuclear weapons really screwed up." Felicity said looking at the screen before looking over to Lyla.

"That would be Amanda Waller."

"How much time do we have?" Oliver asked figuring at the moment that is the most important information he needed. He needed to know the time table with all of this so he could start planning.

"We?" Lyla said looking over to him. She assumed he was confused about what this meeting really was. This was her sharing information, not inducting his team in this take-down. "Oliver, I'm the director of ARGUS, and this goes way over my head. This is executive level, and this is Department of Defense."

"Right, right, right, right, but how much time?"

"There's a start-up sequence before Darhk can actually launch a nuke. We have just under 21 hours." Lyla replied and Oliver let out a sigh, trying to think of the next move quickly which he hasn't been excelling at lately. He glanced over to Felicity and gave a nod.

"You're gonna have to find a way to interrupt that sequence." Felicity looked over to him.

"Rubicon is a failsafe against nuclear Armageddon. ARGUS designed it to be 100% unhackable." Lyla said with a shake of her head.

"No." Oliver said with the upmost certainty as he looked over to Felicity. "She can do it. She's the best."

"Well, actually, that would be my father as far as Rubicon is concerned." Felicity said turning back to the monitor showing the map. "It uses Fourier protocols. Noah practically wrote the book on them." she turned back to Oliver. "The world is facing nuclear Armageddon. My pride and my general dislike for my father can take a backseat for the next 20-plus hours.

"Felicity, this isn't about pride. Your father's a criminal. He can't be trusted." John added and the blonde turned to him with a nod.

"I'm not saying we should trust him. I'm saying we need to."

"Ok. He got out in Darhk's jailbreak. How do we find him?" Oliver asked.

"I'm already running a search."

"Can you try to get in touch with Thea, too? Please. We need her back here." Oliver said before turning to John and nudging his head for him to follow. Once they were away from the women, Oliver finally asked the question he'd been wanting to ask. "Hey, how are you?

"Been better." John replied glancing over to the man, now noticing exhaustion in his eyes. "What about you? How have you been holding up?" Oliver shook his head not wanting to talk about himself in this moment.

"I'm more worried about you. I won't pretend I know what it's like to lose a sibling like you, but-"

"Oliver you've lost people. Your parents, your-" John turned away and sighed. "Katie. That pain is there, but right now there are more important things to focus on."

"You're right." Oliver said with a nod. "Has Lyla had any more news on Jacob?" John shook his head and Oliver sighed as he turned away.

"You really think this is Darhk?"

"It would make sense. Darhk wanting to hurt Jacob as much as he could. I'm going to see if I can get in contact with Martin. I'm sure he has been searching." Oliver said before looking back over to Lyla and Felicity. "I think we may need Bruce on this as well. We're going to need all the eyes we can get."

"Well he's still in town. I don't think he's leaving until Damien Darhk is out of the picture for good."

"He's not the only one." Oliver muttered with a shake of his head. "But finding Darhk right now is the main priority. His magic is powered by death, so if even one of those nukes hits- he will be unstoppable."

"Ok. What's your play?"John asked before following Oliver over to the map of the city.

"Well, if he is planning on harnessing all of this death, he's gonna be in something called a Nexus chamber. Basically, it's a collector magic."

"And here I thought earthquake machines were as strange as it got."

"Esrin Fortuna told me that one of these chambers exists in Star City. I'm betting it falls on a Ley line."

"What did Vixen call them-Wi-Fi for magic?" John asked with a shake of his head as he looked back down to the map. "It's a big city, Oliver. We got 21 hours."

"One step at a time." Oliver said letting his eyes scan over the map, before glancing down to his watch and John looks over to him and chuckles.

"You're not going to get her." John says and Oliver turns to him. "Robyn is fine. I'm telling you, if you remove ARGUS from the equation, and just see this great child care facility where she gets to play and learn, and interact with other children, you wouldn't worry."

"Except I do worry." Oliver says flicking his eyes back down to the map. He sighed because he knew he needed to focus as much of his attention on finding Damien Darhk, especially now that the man had nuclear weapons at his finger tips. So when John suggested the ARGUS child care facility, of course he was hesitant. He'd distrusted ARGUS for years, and time hasn't changed that. He only gave in when both John and Lyla gave their word that the place was safe.

"Plus I'm sure little Sara is looking out for her." John said and Oliver gave a nod. "Which doesn't relieve any of your nerves probably."

"To be fair, nothing would." Oliver said with a shake of his head as he glanced over to John. "Robyn, Ari, William, they're my greatest weaknesses and I have to make sure nothing happens to them. She'll kill me if anything ever happened to them." Oliver turned back to the map, and John watched him for a moment, unsure if the man realized the words he'd just said. He shakes his head figuring it to be just a slip of the tongue.

The coffee that streamed down Bruce's throat no longer tasted like coffee, but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to pour himself another cup after he finished the one in his hand. He doesn't even remember the the last time he slept, but at the moment it didn't matter. What mattered was scouring this city for even the inkling of Damien Darhk's presence, which at the moment wasn't producing any results.

The sound of an alarm made Bruce turn his head as he glanced over to one of his monitors that showed the surrounding area of the Star City ship yard. He let out a groan at the sight of someone he didn't have the patience to deal with right now. He shook his head before pressing a button for the intercom.

"What are you doing here Barry?" Bruce asked and he watched the Speedster lift his head in search of the source of the voice.

"Uh, hey Bruce-" Barry continued to look around. "Can I come in... where ever in is, exactly?" Bruce sighed before typing a few keys. Barry turned to a shipping container that suddenly began moving revealing stairs. Barry's eyes widened looking down to the stairs before glancing around. Once he was sure the coast was clear, he headed inside. Barry stared in amazement at the completely unexpected sight of a huge super secret hero lair underneath the shipping yard. "So is this like your secondary Bat cave?" Barry asked his eyes still wandering around. He found Bruce who didn't look overly excited to see him. "Ok, so I know I should've probably called first before just showing up, but I didn't want to give you the chance to shut me down."

"So you gave me the opportunity to kill you in person?" Bruce asked walking over to the man, and Barry gulped in nervousness. "What do you want Barry? I'm in the middle of something."

"Trying to find Damien Darhk?"

"Yeah, why, do you know something?" Bruce asked and Barry shook his head.

"About Damien Darhk, no, but I think you should alter your search." Barry said and Bruce looked at the man in confusion. "This will probably make no sense to you, and revealing this has already blew up in my face once today."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Do you remember I came to you after Thawne was finally gone? There was so many questions I had, but none more pressing than finding out that Katie could possibly be a metahuman. I needed to talk to Jacob."

"I remember you freaking out about some computer or whatever with this information about Robins and her mother having abilities. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Bruce, I saw information about the future, and in that future, I saw Katie." Barry said with a shake of his head as he took a step forward. "Look I know what Oliver saw, what the others saw. They saw her die."

"Because she's dead, Barry." Bruce snipped before turning back to the monitors. "I don't know what you think you saw, but I was at the hospital, I saw her with my own eyes." Barry stood there for a moment unsure what else he should say. "Like I said, I'm busy, and if there was nothing else-"

"Right," Barry began backing away, but then he sighed. "Bruce-" the man turned back to him. "It's just I know what it's like to have your own eyes lie to you." Barry took a step forward. "I just need you to really think about this."

"There's nothing to think about Barry!" Bruce snapped. "What you're insinuating, what you're proposing with no proof-"

"I know."

"You don't know Barry! That woman was my-" Bruce shook his head because it had been days and he expected these emotions to have passed and be replaced by focus and anger. Right now he just needed the drive to keep going and to keep searching for Damien Darhk. "Right now I can't chase ghosts with you Barry. I'm too busy trying to find a monster, so if you would excuse me." Bruce turned back to the monitor in front of him and Barry let out a sigh before turning and heading back for the stairs.

Thea was in serious trouble. She assumed a nice getaway with Alex was just what she needed. She didn't realize until recently that this quaint little town she'd been brought to was some creation of Damien Darhk. Some sort of safe town that would protect him and a chosen few while all of Star City is destroyed. And of course her father was involved. After revealing the true nature of the place they were, he also decided to drop the bomb on her that Lonnie Machin was out and about running a muck attempting to wipe out the CO2 in the current atmosphere. So not only was she being held against her will, there was also the risk of them suffocating.

"Thea, you can be upset, but it doesn't change the fact that we could all die if Machin isn't put back into his box." Malcolm said looking over to his daughter who currently had her back to him. "You have to use your connection to him-"she turned back to the man and just shook her head.

"Why couldn't you just leave me alone."Thea said. "God, why can't you just go away."

"Everything I've done has been for your well being. Bringing you here was a part of that. But it won't mean much of anything if there's no longer breathable air." the woman turned away from him once again. "Thea there is no way out of this, no way to try to stop Damien. Trying will only end badly. Katherine can vouch for that." Thea turned darkened eyes toward Malcolm, taking a step toward him, before stopping. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No you shouldn't!" Thea snapped. "Never let her name come out of your mouth again."she shook her head before turning to Alex and letting out a sigh. "So we know where Machin is?" she turned back to Malcolm who gave a nod.

Sometimes Ari wondered if Oliver really believed her homework truly took her hours to complete. In reality she completed most of it at school and would spend not even an hour to finish the rest. It was the only way she'd have enough time to use the bunker's computers. She was on the other side of the bunker, away from everyone so it was the perfect opportunity to utilize the computers without any watchful eyes. Now was even more perfect. Oliver had just come over to inform her that he was leaving to search for some guy. He didn't go into details, but he rambles off his list of rules, and always ends with her not leaving the bunker. The moment he's gone, she heads right over.

She isn't doing anything stupid. Nothing that can be traced back to the bunker. All she does is search for information about her cousin. She finds different articles, news videos, and there's even a few gossip columns dedicated to her cousin that only make her laugh. Her cousin is dead and she still has a lot of questions. The problem is, she doesn't even know what those questions are, and so she does her own research in hopes of finding answers.

Felicity's eyes were on the monitor. She was completely annoyed that their latest troubles just had to be a problem her criminal father could help solve. As she mentioned before, she'd stomach having to work with him. She'd learned that letting emotions play a part in her decision making, especially when it came to people's lives could end horribly. Oliver and John had already headed out, and Lyla headed back to ARGUS to see if there was any news. There was notification on the monitor to the left and Felicity leaned forward, and bit the corner of her lip. It was Ari again. She'd been accessing the bunkers computers for the past couple of times she'd been here. Felicity had lots of questions of course, but the biggest one was the how. The computers in this place were completely secure and shouldn't just be accessed by anyone who sits in front of them. Felicity types a few keys wanting to see exactly what the teenager is doing, and she sighs. It's always the same thing. She's looking up information about Katie, and Felicity just shakes her head. She had yet to tell Oliver about all of this, but she's afraid at some point she's going to have to. Ari is obviously still hurting and she's searching for something that maybe he can give her.

The sound of the elevator pulled her from her thoughts, and the blonde turned, her eyes widening at the sight of Bruce. She hadn't seen him since that night they'd been walking and she told him that it was her who didn't call him about the prison break. He stopped when he saw her at first, before he glanced around the bunker.

"Bruce?" she said standing to her feet and taking a few steps, but stopping herself. "Oliver's not here, he's-"

"Searching for Kuttler." Bruce said turning back to the woman. "John filled me in. About Darhk's access to Rubicon, and your father being able to help steal them back." Felicity gave a nod, dropping her eyes for a moment before looking back up to him.

"Uh, they should be there any moment, I should-" she pointed back to her computer before heading over and taking a seat.

Bruce stood in that spot for a few moments. He wasn't even sure why he was here right now. After John told them about finding Noah so he could help, he'd immediately thought about Felicity and how she felt about all of this. Bruce let out a deep breath before climbing the steps and stripping off his jacket. He placed it on the back of the chair to the right of Felicity before he took a seat and simply began typing. Felicity looked over to him in confusion. "Um, what-"

"Trying to divide my efforts between being here and being at the ship yard isn't efficient. I'll work from here, in case my help is needed." Bruce said before stopping and glancing over to her. "Unless that's a problem." Felicity looks at him for a moment, before simply shaking her head.

"No, you're right. It's fine." she says and the man nods before turning back to the monitor in front of him. Felicity finds herself staring at the side of his face and there are words just on the tip of her tongue, but she turns away, just as Oliver speaks.

" _There's no one here."_ Oliver spoke.

Felicity lifted her head, her eyes glancing over to Bruce who stared back to her before looking over to the monitor in front of her.

"I found a deep-trunk fiber optic hookup with polymorphic encryption." Felicity replied typing away and rechecking her findings and one thing was very clear. "Noah is there, trust me."

" _She's right, look."_ John says and Oliver follows his eyes to a camera that's pointed right at them.

"I'll trace the Bluetooth signal." Bruce said suddenly and Felicity glanced over to him with a nod. "Head southwest." after a few moments, they heard Oliver once again.

" _Well, he's not here."_

"He has to be." Felicity countered. She was sure she traced him back there. This is where he was.

" _He was."_ Oliver replied.

" _Looks like he bolted and in a hurry."_ John added as he glanced around the mess of the lab they were in.

"Bolted from whom?" Felicity asked looking down to the monitor that showed the computer in front of Oliver as he typed a few keys before a video began playing.

" _This was 20 minutes ago._ " Oliver said as they watched the video of Noah gathering his things quickly as men with guns approach the lab. Noah runs out of there only minutes before the men.

" _Looks like Kuttler wasn't the only one that left Iron Heights."_ John says recognizing the face of the front man of the armed' men as Danny Brickwell.

"Those are Ghosts with him." Felicity mutters and she feels Bruce ease closer to her, his eyes on the screen as well. "What does HIVE want with my father?"

" _Ok. Find that scrawny son of a bitch, and when you do, kill him."_ Brick orders and they watch as the men scatter.

Bruce glances over to Felicity, seeing her eyes widen at the order and she glances over to him and he can see it. The fear that her father's life was in danger.

" _We're coming back."_ Oliver says before ending the transmission.

Felicity lets out a deep breath before standing to her feet and beginning a nervous pace. Bruce stands as well, but he doesn't do or say anything right away. Honestly he's not even sure how he should approach this situation.

"Damien Darhk wants my father dead." Felicity said glancing over to Bruce. "He wants to kill my father, after he killed my best friend."

"Felicity-"

"You're going to say something right now to try to comfort me, but right now I just want to be angry, ok?" she said and the man simply nodded.

"That's fine." Bruce said taking a step toward her. "Be angry, but know that a couple of things are going to happen." He took another step, this one bringing him just inches away from the woman. "One, we're going to find your father alive and he's going to help us." Felicity stared into the man's eyes and she recognized that unrelinquishing certainty they held. The look that made her believe anything he would say. "Two, we're going to find Damien Darhk, and he is going to pay for all his wrongdoings." Bruce reached forward and took Felicity's hand in his, glad her immediate reaction wasn't to pull away. "And three, I'm going to tell you everything." She held his gaze after his words, and she only had one response.

"Ok." she replied before taking another deep breath to calm her nervousness. They stood there for a moment, before the sound of the elevator sounded.

"Oh." they turned at the voice to see Laurel. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." she glanced between the pair before Felicity turned back to Bruce realizing he was still holding her hand. She pulled away with a shake of her head before turning back to Laurel.

"It's fine. John and Oliver are on their way back."

"Did they find Kuttler?"

"No, Darhk's men are after him too and now he's in the wind." Felicity sighed. "Anything on the Ruvé front with your new job?"

"Nothing, she's being a stand up Mayor." Laurel sighed, her eyes going to Bruce who’s still staring at Felicity. "You know, I'm going to make sure Ari has finished her homework." with that the woman went rushing off. Felicity glanced back over to Bruce and his eyes were tugging something inside of her. Something that made her take a step, but she stopped herself.

"I should start searching for places my father would go." Felicity said before turning and heading over to her computer. Bruce stood there for a moment before walking over and taking his seat beside her.

When Laurel neared Ari's study area, she noticed the girl wasn't sitting at the table. She spotted her book bag, and a book, but not the teen.

"Ari?" Laurel called as she continued only stop at the sight of the girl staring back wide eyes back to her. Laurel saw the teenager sitting in front of the computer. "What are you-" Ari turned and quickly typed a few keys and by the time Laurel walked over the screen was blank. "What were you doing?"

"Just on Facebook," Ari said standing to her feet and walking back over to the table, grabbing her books and putting them into her backpack. "Is Oliver back?" she glanced over to Laurel who simply stared at her before walking over to the computer Ari just vacated, and turning it back on. "It's nothing, geez, just leave it alone."

"I won't leave it alone, Ari." Laurel said turning back to the girl. "You're not supposed to use these computers." Laurel shook her head. "I'm going to have to tell Oliver about this." Ari scoffed turning away from the woman. "Do you even understand why this is serious?"

"I understand a lot actually." Ari snapped turning back to Laurel. "I understand that you must be on cloud nine right now with my cousin out of the picture. You get to shove your way back into Oliver's life, and try to replace her. But you should know I will never let that happen." Ari turned pulling her backpack on her shoulder about to walk away.

"Ari!" the girl stopped and turned back to her. "I get you're still hurting, we all are. But you should know that I would never try to replace Katie. No one on the face of the earth could come close to replacing her. I don't know why you would think I would-" Laurel shook her head. "It's ridiculous and it doesn't takeaway from the fact that you're in trouble." they both heard the ring of the elevator, and they knew it was Oliver and John. Ari looked over nervously before turning back to Laurel.

"Laurel, can you please just not. I promise I won't do it again." Ari said and Laurel stared for a moment, before hearing the heavy footsteps coming over.

"Is everything alright?" Oliver asked looking over to Laurel before turning to Arianna. Neither spoke right away, and so Oliver turned back to Laurel. "Laurel?" Laurel sighed before turning to Oliver.

"I walked over and caught Ari using one of the computers."

"Bitch!" Ari said and both Laurel and Oliver turned to her.

"Ari!" Oliver hissed.

"I wasn't doing anything bad, I promise." she glared over to Laurel before turning back to Oliver. "I'm sorry, please don't send me away." he saw the fear in her eyes, and so did Laurel who regretted being the person to put it there.

"Ari, I'm not-" Oliver let out a heavy sigh. "We're going to talk about this at home." Ari simply nodded grabbing her jacket about to walk toward the elevator, but Oliver stepped in front of her with a look in his eyes she needed no words to translate. The girl rolled her eyes before turning to Laurel.

"I apologize for calling you a bitch." Ari said before turning back to Oliver who was still glaring at her for swearing again. "I-"

"Ari, go. Wait with Felicity until I get changed and then we'll go home." Oliver said and Ari dropped her head before stalking off. Once she was gone Oliver looked over to Laurel who looked guilty. "I'm sorry for that, she's been-"

"Oliver I get it. I really do. She's a teenager who lost someone important to her, and she's grieving."

"Yeah, she is. It still doesn't give her the right to call you names or act out." He walked over to the computer and turned it on, only to find that the initial locked screen appeared. "I'm going to have to talk to Felicity. Ari's not supposed to even have access to these computers." he let out a deep sigh before sliding a hand over his face.

"Hey, you alright?" Laurel asked and Oliver dropped his hands and looked over to her. "Ollie, we all aren't sure how you can really be here right now."

"Darhk has the world's nuclear weapons in his possession."

"Yeah, and the love of your life is dead." Laurel said and the words would always cut Oliver worse than any blade. He turned away. "I just feel like you haven't really grieved for her."

"I'm grieving." Oliver said looking over to the woman. "Right now, this moment as I stand in front of you, I'm grieving. But right now, stopping Damien Darhk, killing him, that comes before my grieving." Laurel looked at him for a moment and she could see that he actually believed those words and yet she knew they weren't true. "I need to get changed and figure out what I'm going to say to Arianna." Oliver shook his head before heading off.

Ari sat in the chair across from Felicity and Bruce. She walked over without word and just plopped into the chair where she sat slowly spinning in circles. The sound of the chair was soon noticed by the two adults across from her and both looked up, sharing a look. It was Felicity who stopped typing and stood to her feet before walking over to her. The moment Ari saw Felicity standing above her, she stopped.

"What? Are you going to rat me out too?" Ari asked and Felicity let out a snort with a shake of her head.

"Nope. You see I've been very much aware of what you do when you come here after school." Felicity said and the teen's eyes widened slightly. "These computers are kind of my babies and no one messes with my babies and I don't know about it. I was alerted every time you signed on."

"So you knew the whole time and didn't tell Oliver like annoying Laurel." Ari said with shake of her head, before looking back to Felicity. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me, I only allowed it because I monitored every key stroke of yours and knew what you were doing. You need to tell Oliver." Felicity said and Ari turned away. "It might help ease whatever punishment he's thinking up right now."

"Punishment?" Ari asked and Felicity shrugged. Ari let out a sigh, glancing over to see Oliver walking over now changed and ready to go. He glanced over to her, and didn't say a word, but the look told Ari that she should be moving. And so the girl stood to her feet and headed for the elevator.

Felicity walked over to Oliver who glanced over to the teenager before turning back to her.

"You knew didn't you?" Oliver asked.

"I did. I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner, but given the things we're dealing with right now, it didn't seem like that big of deal. I monitored everything she was doing, and it was harmless." Felicity glanced over to the girl who stood with her back against the elevator waiting for Oliver.

"Felicity, I appreciate everything you've done for us. But even given the things we're dealing with right now, Ari and Robyn will always be a first priority. I need to know that they're alright, so please next time, just talk to me."

"Absolutely." Felicity replied with a nod before watching Oliver turn, but she caught his arm and he stopped and turned to her. "Um, I know you said you'd look into the whole Twinkie owning the Queen Mansion thing-" Oliver sighed. "Have you?"

"I've been kind of busy, Felicity." Oliver replied and Felicity simply nodded. "I'm not even sure there's much to look into. She bought me and Thea's childhood home and didn't even tell us about it."

"Don't you want to know why?"

"It's just only one person can answer that question." Oliver sighed with a shake of his head. "I won't ever get a chance to ask her." with that Oliver turned and walked over to Ari who looked up to him.

"So how bad is this punishment going to be?" Ari asked and Oliver simply reached around her to press the button for the elevator. "How worried should I be?" he simply glanced down to her with a shake of his head.

Jacob was at a loss for what to do next. He mulled about the old Queen Mansion trying to find a way out, but every door, or window wouldn't budge or break. At the moment he stood at the window, looking out to the manicured gardens.

"I bet you'd like some fresh air, wouldn't you?" Jacob didn't turn at the voice. He'd been trapped here for weeks now, and at this point held no illusions. His daughter was dead. The thing walking around her body was something else. Something he knew would have to be taken down sooner or later. "Want to feel the breeze on your wrinkled skin?" She chuckled and he turned. "Don't worry, time is winding down for you."

"What does that mean? You're going to kill me?" he took a step forward. "Because I'd rather you just do it now, and put me out of my misery. Do it now so I don't have to look at you and see my daughter's face when I know she's gone."

"What's the rush? I still need you." she said walking over to him. "We have to stop this dumbass plan Damien Darhk has been cooking up."

"Do you know what it is?" Jacob asked and he saw the thing wearing his daughter smile. "You do, don't you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she chuckled before turning. "I have to head out, don't try to escape or anything." she full on laughed. "Or do, maybe you'll surprise me."

Ari sat in front of Oliver, scowl etched onto her face with her arms folded over her chest.

"So no phone, or computer for a week, fine." she grumbled and Oliver sighed as he sat back in his chair and looked over to her. "Can I go to my room now?"

"Not yet." Oliver said and the girl rolled her eyes. "Do you want to tell me what you were doing on those computers?"

"It was seriously nothing." she replied turning back to the man. "I would've used my own, but the CPU in my laptop is nothing compared to what Felicity has down there. I just wanted to-" she didn't finish the sentence, and Oliver waited for her to continue. "I wanted to know about her." she turned away from his eyes. "I spent so much time with her and feel like I know nothing about her." she turned back to Oliver who looked at her with that expression she'd been trying to avoid. "I'm fine."

"Ari, if there's something about Katie you want to know, all you have to do is ask." Oliver said with a nod. "We can talk about her." Ari shook her head before turning away. "What do you want to know?"Ari didn't say anything right away, as she continued to stare down to the coffee table. After a few moments, Ari just shook her head.

"It doesn't matter, because she's gone. She left us. It's a familiar theme in my life." she stood to her feet.

"Ari, that's not-"

" I'm tired, I just want to go to bed." she said, and without waiting for a response she started out of the room, but Oliver stood to his feet.

"Ari, wait!" he called after her and she let out a huff before turning back to him. "Look I completely understand what you're going through right now. I know you're still sad, and angry and probably a bunch of other emotions you don't know how to handle." he took a step to stand in front of her. "What I need you to really understand is that right now, it's just us. You, me and Robyn. This is our family. That means, you sneaking to use the computers in the bunker, or calling Laurel names, which you will apologize for. A real apology. But despite all of it, this is your family. You're not going anywhere. No one is taking you away, and no one is leaving you." she stared into his eyes and saw that seriousness in his eyes and couldn't do anything but believe him. "Ok?"

"Ok." she replied with a nod. She stood there for a moment before turning and heading up stairs. Oliver stood there until he heard the sound of her door closing before he released a deep breath. He walked back into the living room and fell back into the seat, sliding a hand across his face.

Oliver still couldn't believe the twists and turns of his life some times. One day he's married to the love of his life, and the next, she's gone, and he's a single dad who has to raise a teenager and a baby. Some times he wonders when someone will realize he has absolutely no idea what he's doing. Oliver dropped his head back and closed his eyes. He didn't intend to fall asleep, but it seemed even he couldn't fight his exhaustion.

_That familiar annoying bell blared as Oliver found himself standing in the empty hall of Starling Prep. His eyes looked down to his clothes, now noticing he was wearing that same blue and gold uniform he remembered so well. He lifted his eyes and scanned the empty hall. He took cautious steps forward, remembering the last time he found himself in these halls. When he, Constantine and Zatanna went inside of Katie's consciousness this place was one that played over and over again. Oliver wasn't sure where he should be going, but he stopped at the sight of the door marked Library. A smile came to his lips before he pushed open the door. This dream or whatever it was seemed so real right now, because this library looked just as he remembered it. It even held the same smell if that made sense. He'd been inside of this room many days when he was a student, and every time he stepped inside, he only went for one reason._

_Oliver stopped at the sight of the first person he'd seen since appearing at the school. It was her. It was Katie, and seeing her sit there, just as he remembered finding her every time he walked in here just stirred emotions inside of him he wasn't prepared for. He walked over, pulled the chair back that was across from her and took a seat. She never lifted her eyes from the book she was reading. She never did, but he knew she knew it was him sitting in front of her. She always knew._

_"What are you reading?" he asked, and she didn't say anything at first before flipping the page._

_"We're not doing this, Liver." she sighed and the sound of the nickname just made him smile even more. "You want something, just come out with it."_

_"No, I think this is what I want." he replied and she finally lifted her eyes to him and the sight of her, sitting right there in front of him, so close and yet so far away, should've just made him crumble, and yet it didn't. "I just want to sit here, with you." She tilted her head as she studied him with narrowed eyes, and he laughed because he knew that look._

_"Seriously, this is your chance to tell me what you want." she said again and Oliver stared unsure what he should say to that. "You obviously want something. Just ask." she sat back in her chair, and closed her book as she kept her eyes on him. The answer was obvious._

_"I want you." he replied and she smiled that smile that swallowed the world around them and made his heart ache with love. "I just want you." the smile fell and she lifted her eyes for a moment. "Twinkie?"_

_"It's too strong." she met his gaze once again. "I can't fight it any longer." she reached across the table and placed her hands above his. "But you can. It's afraid of you. More than anything, it's afraid of you." Oliver stared in confusion, before it finally hit him what was happening._

_"Twinkie?" he asked, now grasping her hand in return. "How-"_

_"I don't have much time. I get the feeling this is one of those once in a life times opportunities. I know you will want to save me, because that's what you do. But this time Oliver, you can't. But you can protect our children." she pulled from his grasp before opening her book and sliding it over to Oliver. Oliver forced his eyes to look down to the page which showed a drawing of some sort of curved blade, with a jeweled handle. "I thought we could have forever." he lifted his eyes back to her. "But we can't. You have to end it, and when you do, I'll have to go."_

_"No, you can't, you just-" she turned and stood to her feet. "Katie, wait, just don't go, just stay with me." she turned back to him and smiled. "Just stay with me." tears welled in her eyes as she stared at him. "Twinkie, please." she shook her head before walking around the table, and climbed onto his lap, wrapping her arms around him and leaning in so close, he thought he could feel her breath on his skin._

_"You always found me in here, because I always waited for you." she dropped her lips to his._

Oliver's eyes snapped open at the sound of his crying baby. He quickly sat up, his eyes looking around the living room, his brain still going back to that library.

"Twinkie?" he whispered. The sound of the crying continued, and Oliver just shook off the dream before jumping to his feet and heading up to check on his daughter.

A brutal silence befell upon the bunker once everyone left, leaving Felicity and Bruce. The only sound that echoed around them was the tapping of their keystrokes. It wasn't until Felicity groaned and slammed her hands against her keyboard was the silence interrupted. Bruce stopped and turned to her and she simply pointed at him with without looking at him.

"Just don't." she stood to her feet before grabbing her jacket.

"Let me drive you home." Bruce suggested standing to his feet as well. She stopped and looked over to him with an annoyed look. "You're upset. But there are still people looking for your father, people who may try to get to him though you."

"Bruce, that's sweet, but I don't think that's necessary. I doubt Darhk has made the connection between me and Noah."

"Yeah, but there's a chance he has, and in that case, your safety comes first." Bruce walked over to her. "Look I can drive you home or follow you home, your choice." she looked at him for a moment. "So what's it going to be, Ms. Smoak?" she didn't want to smile right now. With everything happening with her father and Damien Darhk, and nuclear weapons, she shouldn't be smiling right now. And yet when he called her Ms. Smoak a smile curled on her lips and she let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine, you can drive me home, but you're not staying." she replied and Bruce simply nodded before grabbing his own jacket and walking with her toward the elevator.

"That's fine. I live close enough to keep an eye out anyway." Bruce said as the doors opened. Felicity stepped on first and he followed.

"Wait, close? Where are you staying?" she asked turning to him. "Bruce?"

"Being an associate of Oliver makes you a possible target." Bruce says simply still not meeting her gaze.

"How close?" she asked again. "Are you staying in my building?"

"Of course not." Bruce said with a shake of his head. "That would be weird." he reached forward and pressed the button to close the elevator doors. "I stay in the building across the street." Felicity's eyes widened as she looked to him.

"Are you serious?" she asked and he turned to her and she just knew he was telling the truth. "Seriously? You—Which apartment is yours? So God help me, if its the one across from mine-"

"It's not. I mean not technically."

"What does that mean? Which one is yours?" she asked and he once again responded in silence. "Bruce, which-" she pursed her lips when she finally realized what he wasn't telling her. "You bought the entire building, didn't you?"

"I won't confirm or deny that accusation Ms. Smoak." he said, and she just shook her head, turning away, hating that he was able to make her smile again.

"You're such a weirdo." she muttered.

The next morning began with a lead on Darhk that didn't seem to be panning out. John and Oliver staked out the location Felicity provided as a possible Darhk hide out, but they weren't finding anything.

They'd been walking a while, surveying the area when John looked over to Oliver who seemed to be so far away from him right now, even though he was walking right beside him.

"Hey, how you doing over there?" John asked and Oliver turned to the man as if remembering where he was and what he was doing. "You looked like you were a million miles away."

"I'm fine." Oliver says turning away, clearing his throat. Truthfully he wasn't able to get that strange dream out of his head. "Uh, I talked to Lyla, she's worried about you because you said you shot Andy in self defense." he looked back over to John who turned away, and it was obvious, it was a conversation he did not want to have.

"Oliver, I don't want to talk about this." he said and he looked over to the man. "And if anyone can understand that, it's you."

"What does that mean?" Oliver asked.

"C'mon man. You lost your wife, and you haven't let any of that emotion out really." John says and Oliver stops walking. "Oliver you loved her, completely and now she's gone."

"I don't need a reminder John." Oliver said with a shake of his head before he continued to walk. "I was there, remember? I got the front row seat to witness as half my heart just drifted away. I have no idea why all of you seem to have an opinion on how I'm reacting to this."

"That's just it Oliver, you're not reacting." John replied. "You haven't stopped to actually react."

"John, it's fine. You don't want to talk about Andy, I get that." Oliver said once again stopped and turning to his friend. "But what I will say is that you should talk to your wife. Tell her everything you're feeling. Just talk to her. You'll never know how much you'll miss something as simple as talking to your wife until you can't anymore." Oliver turned about to continue walking when his phone began ringing. He pulled it from his pocket to see a call from Felicity and he quickly answered. "Yeah?"

"Noah's at a cabin in Cypress Cove." Felicity informed and Oliver looked up to John.

"We got him." he said. "We're on our way." and with that the two men were off.

Arianna Locke was not happy as she stomped through the front door of her house. She didn't turn at the sound of her name being called. Mostly because she disliked the woman who was calling it.

"Ari, will you stop!" Laurel called and Ari let out an annoyed growled before stopping halfway up the steps and turning back to the woman. Laurel let out a sigh as she pushed Robyn's stroller further inside and closed the door. "I know you don't like me very much."

"Understatement, much."

"Yeah, well right now you don't get a choice. Oliver is working, and you're grounded, and I'm the only one free to watch you two."

"I turn sixteen in a few months, I don't need a babysitter." Ari said about to turn and head back upstairs.

"That may be so, but I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

"Aren't you like a district Attorney?" Ari asked. "How do you have so much free time to play the annoying babysitter all of a sudden."

"The position is in a transition stage right now, and never mind. It doesn't matter why I have the time to be here, I will always make time to help Oliver." Laurel said and for some reason that just made Ari even more annoyed. She rolled her eyes before turning and heading up the stairs. Laurel let out a huff before glancing down to the baby in the stroller who seemed content with chewing on the ear of her stuffed rabbit. "Your cousin reminds me so much of your mommy, it's scary."

That night, Laurel nodded off to sleep at the kitchen table, her head next to her laptop. It's how Oliver found her when he walked in the very early parts of the morning. She heard his footsteps and quickly lifted her head, and groaned.

"Hi." she said groggily trying to rub the sleep from her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Almost two." Oliver sighed. "I'm sorry, I seriously thought I would be back sooner."

"I didn't. Rounding up a criminal who’s also Felicity's dad, doesn't seem like it would be a walk in the park."

"It wasn't. Brick and his men were there. We almost lost him, but we got him. He's at Felicity's."

"Is that a good idea?" Laurel asked and Oliver chuckled.

"Well he's at Felicity's where Bruce is as well." Oliver said and Laurel now understood the amusement. "I doubt Noah would try anything." Oliver slid a hand over his face hoping to clear away the exhaustion.

"You should get some sleep, and I should be heading home." Laurel replied closing her laptop.

"Laurel, it's late, and we have a spare room."

"I doubt I'm someone Ari would like to see when she wakes up in the morning." Laurel said walking over to her bag and slipping her laptop inside.

"I'm almost afraid to ask. How was she?"

"Well she wasn't happy about the whole grounded thing, but I think she hated that I was the one playing her warden even more." Laurel said with a shake of her head. "She reminds me so much of-" Laurel stopped herself. Because she was about to say a name that could bring up a topic Oliver didn't seem to want to discuss.

"Twinkie." Oliver sighed with a shake of his head before standing as well. He noticed it too. "It's scary some times, you know? The stubbornness, and the things she says. The fact that I think she's ridiculously smart, but is hiding it for some reason." Oliver looked over to Laurel who was smiling over to him. "The fact that it's really hard to hide things from her, because she sees right through it."

"Good thing you've had a lot of experience, huh?" Oliver smiled and gave a nod.

"Yeah." Oliver once again slid a hand across his face. "Are you sure you just didn't want to stay?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to poke the bear that is Ari anymore than I have to." Laurel pulled her bag over her arm. "I should be heading home." Oliver simply nodded before walking her out.

Once he locked up, he headed upstairs. He stopped at the sound of a voice...her voice coming from Ari's room. He quickened his step, walking over to her door that was slightly open. He pushed it further to see Ari sitting at her desk as she watched a video he recognized instantly. Granted he hadn't watched the video. He'd only gotten as far as slipping it in his laptop, but the moment he sees her face he can't find it in himself to press play.

" _I can't believe I'm doing this." Katie sighed as she stared at the camera. "Doing this, this just in case video, means I've accepted that I might not beat this." she dropped her eyes and shook her head before looking back to the camera with a smile. "But I'm the realist remember. You and I both know there's a chance I won't be able to beat this, and if that happens-"_

Oliver grabbed the laptop, closing it and stopping the video. Ari turned to him with wide eyes. She'd been so transfixed on the video, that she didn't even hear him come into her room.

"Uh, I-"

"Ari, just, go to bed." Oliver said turning away with the laptop in hand and stalking out of the room, closing the door behind him. Oliver walked into his room, placing the laptop on the bed and just looked at it. The moment Felicity handed him the disk, and he saw Katie's handwriting, he couldn't find it in himself to watch it. He knew what it was. Knew it was her final words to him and he wasn't sure he was ready to hear them just yet. He doesn't think he will ever be ready. It was that reason that he walked over and took a seat on the bed, before flipping that laptop open once again. He took a deep breath, before pressing play.

" _If that happens, I-"_ Katie stopped, dropping her eyes once again as if she didn't want to say the words. She shook her head and looked back up to the camera and Oliver could see the look in her eyes. That fear, and sadness. _"I want you to know it is absolutely not your fault. This thing inside of me, it's been there, it was just awakened by whatever Darhk did to me."_ she shook her head. _"That does not mean you become some crazed person whose out for Damien's blood. Just keep doing what you're doing and play this smart. He will slip up and a weakness will present it self. Just pay attention." s_ he smiled once again. _"You're going to beat him. I have no doubt you will."_ the smile fell _. "I just don't think I'll be around to witness it. If that happens-"_ she leaned in closer to the camera. _"Liver, if that happens. If I'm gone, and this thing inside of me takes over, I need you to be the one to end it."_ Oliver turned away from the camera at those words about to just turn the video off. " _Don't you dare stop this video."_ he turned back to the laptop. " _This is important and you need to hear me."_ Oliver dropped his eyes for a moment before he looked back to her. _"There is a blade. It's called the Moon blade. It's the only thing that will be able to stop it. Constantine has it and has for some time. If this thing gets too bad, if you look in my eyes and don't see me anymore, I need you to be the one to finally end this thing."_ Oliver closed his eyes and fought the emotions trying to tear through his skin. _"I wasn't going to ask you this."_ he opened his eyes and turned back to her. " _I know you, my Liver, I thought you'd always try to save me, that I could do nothing so wrong that you wouldn't try to save me."_ she wiped a stray tear with her hand. " _But I also know your heart. I know deep down you'll just know when I just can't be saved. You're going to feel it. I just want you to not ignore that feeling. When you realize I'm gone, just end this once and for all."_ She gave a nod and took a deep breath. There was a knock that sounded in the room she was in and she turned her head.

" _Twinkie, let's go! Let's get this fake bachelorette party started!"_

" _Just give me a few more minutes!"_ she called back before turning back to the camera. _"That was your sister if you couldn't tell. I have no idea what she's planning, and I'm a little frightened."_ she laughed, and the sound brought a smile to his face. He looked at her, really looked at her and his heart once again ached because she was right there, but he couldn't touch her. _"We're getting married tomorrow in this wedding that is completely pointless, but I'm sure I will enjoy none the less."_ she sighed. _"Ok, I have to go, so final words. One, make sure Robyn and Ari know I love them, that there are no words to describe how much I love them. Two, make sure our family knows how much I appreciate what they've done for me, and that I love them all. Three, make sure the moment you hang up that hood, you're truly ready, but until then, you kick ass and you be the hero I know you are."_ she dropped her eyes once again and Oliver saw her wipe away more tears, and it was this moment he felt his own tears escaping down his cheek. She lifted her eyes back to the camera. _"And finally, my husband, know that I love you. Know that if today is the last day of my life, or tomorrow or the next, I will leave this earth knowing that I have felt the greatest love imaginable. And you did that."_ she placed a kiss on her palm and waved goodbye before standing to her feet and walking over to end the video.

Oliver sat there for a few moments longer, staring at the paused screen that was frozen on her smiling face. He wasn't ready to just turn it off and for her to be gone.

"Dah dah!" a voice called, and Oliver lifted his eyes to the baby monitor and sighed. He closed the screen of the laptop before heading off to check on his daughter.

There was something about the video. Oliver kept seeing it in his head, and even he knew it was taking away his focus when he really couldn't afford it at the moment.

Bruce stood, watching like a hawk as Noah settled on the couch where he would be sleeping. The man glanced over to Bruce and sighed.

"You know given that if I leave here, I'm probably a dead man. So you can rest assure I'm not going to try to escape."

"You think I'm watching you because I think you're going to leave?" Bruce asked taking a step toward the man. "No, if you want to go I won't stop you. I am here to make sure you don't do anything to hurt Felicity again."

"Given the fact that I never read about the wedding of the century between Bruce Wayne, and Felicity Smoak, I think those should be my lines." Noah replied taking a step toward the man as well. "So what exactly did you do to my daughter that would cause her break off the engagement?"

"That's absolutely none of your business." it was Felicity who spoke and both men turned to her as she stood at the base of the steps and walked over. "My life is none of your concern. You're here for one reason, and that is to help save the world. Once you've done that, you can continue to do the one thing you're good at, and that's run away." with that the woman turned and stalked away, and Noah took a step to go after her, but Bruce moved to block him.

"You should get some sleep, Noah. Big day tomorrow." Noah looked at the man for a moment before walking over to lay on the couch. Bruce shook his head before heading into the kitchen just as Felicity was pouring herself a glass of wine. "Are you alright?" she looked over to him and glared. "So that's a no." he walked around the kitchen island to her. "Palmer Tech fired you." she shook her head.

"Apparently I wasn't devoting enough of my attention to the company. I mean I was trying to help save all of their lives, but that just didn't matter." she said before taking a sip from her glass.

"Hey, Wayne enterprises is a shareholder of Palmer. I could cause a ruckus about all of this." Bruce said and Felicity looked over to him with a quirked brow.

"Did you just say ruckus?" she laughed, and the sound made him smile. "And no, right now the company is the least of my worries with Damien Darhk having nuclear weapons at his finger tips." she turned to the man who was still staring. "Thanks for offering though."

"Any time, Ms. Smoak." Bruce said and the blonde rolled her eyes before looking out to the living room where her father was. "I'm going to stay the night." Felicity turned to the man. "I just don't feel comfortable leaving him here with you alone."

"I can take care of myself."

"I don't doubt that. Me here, is just a precaution. We don't know if the people who are after him might figure out he's here, and if that happens I want to be here to protect you." Felicity stared at him for a few moments, hating that tingling feeling she always got when he was sweet. She had to turn away, because she felt it. That desire to grab him and just kiss him and just release all the pent up nervousness and fear that was swarming inside of her.

"I'm sorry." she said suddenly and Bruce looked at her in confusion. "I know I apologized already, about not calling you that night, but I-"

"Felicity—" Bruce shook his head. "Your apologies can't change what has happened." the woman deflated at the response turning away. "But I appreciate it." she turned back to the man. "I really do." she smiled and for a moment they pretended that everything between them was fine, even though they both knew it wasn't.

"I should head up to bed." Felicity said, heading out of the kitchen, but for the life of her, she couldn't just leave. Bruce glanced over to her and watched as she turned to face him. "You said that you could tell me. Maybe you were just drunk, or maybe you were just talking crazy, but you said that now that she's gone you can tell me." the woman took a step forward. "That means the secret involved Katie." Bruce looked at her for a moment and sighed.

"Yeah, it did." he said and Felicity took another step and watched as he slid a hand over his face. "And now she'll never know." he turned back to the woman who seemed to be waiting for him to just say it. He glanced over to the doorway of the kitchen, and shook his head before turning back to the woman. "I will tell you, but not now. It's the kind of conversation that can't have any extra ears listening." Felicity glanced over to the door as well, realizing they weren't the only ones in her apartment right now. She nodded before turning back to him.

"Right." she turned once again and head for the door. "I'll see you in the morning, Mr. Wayne."

"Good night, Ms. Smoak." he replied, not seeing the smile that crossed her lips as she left.

It was early the next morning, and Oliver found himself balancing his phone to his ear while trying to simultaneously feed his daughter her oatmeal, and neither was working the way he wanted.

"Thea, I get you were angry with me, but at least let me know if you're alright." Oliver said before ending the call, and slipping the phone into his pocket before turning back to Robyn. "Alright, what's wrong with your oatmeal today. We had the same thing yesterday and you loved it." Oliver tried to ease the spoon to her mouth once again, but she only turned her head away. Oliver let out a sigh just as Ari walked into the kitchen and headed straight for the refrigerator. He turned to her and waited for at least some acknowledgment, but she simply grabbed the milk and sat it on the counter. She glanced over to him and noticed him staring.

"What?"

"Good morning, Ari. How did you sleep?" he asked and the girl scoffed before turning and going about grabbing a bowl and cereal.

"Sorry, but if I'm grounded, I'm also no longer speaking to you."

"You're speaking to me now." Oliver replied and the teen looked up with a glare. Oliver just shook his head before turning back to Robyn bringing the spoon to her lips, only for her to smack it away, causing oatmeal to splatter over his face. The sight made the girl laugh. He looked up to her and couldn't help but smile. "You think this is real funny don't you?"

"You with oatmeal on your face is hilarious." Ari said and Oliver glanced over to her. "Is what I would say if I was still talking to you." she walked over to the table and took a seat before tossing a folded piece of paper at Oliver.

"What's this?" he asks taking the paper and looking over to Ari.

"It's a letter." she replies simply. "From my mom." Oliver looked over a bit surprised before looking down to the paper. He unfolded it. "She wants to meet you." Oliver skimmed the letter and sighed. "I think she wants to vet you or something." he glanced back over to the girl who looked down to her cereal. "She's the last person who should be judging anyone."

"Hey, Ari-" she didn't look up, but she heard that tone that she always hated. "She's still your mom and I understand why she wants to meet me." Ari looked up to him. "I'm taking care of the most important person in her life. I want her to have no doubt that you're in good hands."

"Yeah, the hands of someone whose punishments don't fit the crime." Ari replied taking a bite of her cereal. "I used a computer."

"You used a highly protected computer. One you knew you weren't supposed to use, which is why you kept it a secret." Oliver said grabbing a napkin to wipe his face. "And a week of no phone, tablet or computer isn't a bad punishment." he looked over to her.

"Also a week of no hero super secret club." Ari replied and Oliver looked over to her with a quirked brow. "Your team definitely needs a name."

" _C'mon, Team Robins definitely has a nice ring to it. Don't you think, Liver?"_

Oliver turned away, the sudden memory hitting him unexpectedly. It wasn't the first memory, or the first time he heard the sound of her voice as if she were sitting right in front of him. It was also yet another time he felt a stab through the chest as he realized that she wasn't here.

"Hey—" Oliver turned back to Ari who noticed the grim look that passed over the man's face. "You, ok?" Oliver simply nodded before glancing down to the letter once again.

"Fine, I'm fine. You should finish your cereal quick, so you can get ready for school." Ari looked at him for a moment before continuing to eat her cereal.

Thea Queen just wanted to scream. She was trapped in this crazy town, and it was like she was the only sane person around. Malcolm was leading her to where Lonnie was held up, and Thea just shook her head. She glanced over her shoulder at the sudden feeling that she was being watched.

"Something wrong?" Malcolm asked, and Thea turned a glare to him.

"You mean besides being kidnapped, and being forced to stay in Pleasantville?" Thea asked and her father simply turned away.

"One day you're going to see that this was for the best." Malcolm said once again and Thea scoffed. "I'm saving your life."

"While simultaneously dooming the lives of the entire city above us." Thea said stopping and turning to the man. "Didn't you do this already Malcolm? Didn't you learn anything from your failed undertaking. This is not going to work."

"And whose going to stop us? Your brother. I think Oliver has realized he is no match for Damien's power. The only person who probably came close is in a cemetery right now." Malcolm began walking again, and to his annoyance Thea didn't move. He let out a huff before turning back to her. "We're still running out of time."

"You meant Katie." Thea said walking over to the man. "You think Katie could've stopped Darhk?"

"I said she could've gotten close." Malcolm reiterated. "But that no longer matters because she's gone and there is no one who can beat him now." Malcolm once again began walking and Thea just let out a heavy sigh. She made to follow after him, but stopped once again and scanned the area. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched at this very moment, and yet she didn't see anyone. She shook off the thoughts as just paranoia before turning to catch up to her father.

Just across the street, the darkness trapped inside of the body of a beloved doctor peers from behind a large tree. A smile curling on her lips as she watches Thea and Malcolm walking along the street.

Oliver wasn't sure why he was nervous. He was sitting in the visiting area of Iron Heights. His eyes scanned the room, and even though he's in a totally different wing than where the riot happened, it still doesn't feel very far. This is where she died. Even thinking the words didn't feel right and Oliver still couldn't figure out why. He refused to believe that what Barry said was true, or that Constantine ramblings could have meaning. He was there. He saw the arrow stab her in the back, he sat at her hospital bed and watched as she just stopped breathing. Everything he saw only proved that she was really gone, and yet something else was thinking something different.

Oliver heard the sound of the buzzing that signalled the door opening. He turned to see Heather walking inside, her wrists still cuffed. The guard unlocked the cuffs, and watched as the woman walked over to take the seat across from the man.

"Heather, it's uh, it's good to see you again." Oliver started off, and the woman quirked a brow. "I mean, I wish it were under better circumstances."

"But I held a restaurant filled with people and threatened to kill them and your wife because of this twisted fantasy that I was avenging my innocent husband." Heather said with a shake of her head.

"Well sometimes we do stupid things for love." Oliver muttered and Heather looked at him for a moment.

"I'm sorry." she said and he looked at her in confusion. "For your loss. Katherine was-" Heather turned away slightly, and Oliver saw a flash of saddness wash over her face. She shook her head and turned back to the man. "I tried to hurt her, and she turned around and got me the best lawyers."

"Which you still have." Oliver said. "I will ensure you still have the best legal team. It's what Katie would've wanted."

"You know I still don't even understand why." Heather sighed. "I didn't deserve an ounce of the kindness she showed me."

"You're family Heather, and family was very important to her." Oliver said and they let his words settle for a moment. Oliver soon cleared his throat. "Ari told me that you wanted to meet me—"

"I did."

"I'm actually sorry I haven't been here sooner than this. I mean even before-" Oliver was still finding it hard to refer to Katie's death. "Even before what happened, I should've come here, met with you. Hopefully given you a bit a peace of mind about the people raising your daughter."

"Meeting you sooner wouldn't have done that." Heather sighed. "Nothing would've done that." she looked to the man and nodded. "I did want to meet you though. See how you're doing with raising her and a baby girl alone. I can only imagine it's not a picnic."

"It's not, but honestly, I'm handling it. I have friends who are practically family who help out a lot. I mean it's tough, and I know it's going to be tough, but we're figuring it out."

"At least until I get out of here." Heather replied and she noted the expression change on the man's face. Those were definitely not words he wanted to hear. "Which I will. Those lawyers you're paying for have assured me that my sentence will be reduced. They're saying I could possibly be out of here within a couple of months, and when that happens, I plan on getting my daughter." Oliver didn't say anything, because he knew all of this was possible. Even before she said the words, he knew all of this could some day happen, but on the outside, in their home it was always just some far away possibility that they never really thought about. "I wanted to meet with you because I know you've become very fond of Ari, and she has become very fond of you and your daughter. She's getting attached to you, and I just want to know that you will be aware that that attachment can only be temporary." Oliver looked down to his hands, his eyes glancing over to his wedding ring and he couldn't help but wonder what his Twinkie would say in this moment and a smile came to his face.

"No," Oliver said looking back over to the woman. "Heather, if you're released-"

"When I'm released. I'm getting out of here Oliver-"

"And in any case, Ari will always have a place in my home. She's old enough to know what she wants and if she chooses that she wants to go with you, then I won't stop her, but if she chooses to stay, I won't stop that either, and neither should you."

"Guard!" Heather called as she stood to her feet. "She's my daughter, Oliver. When I get out of here, there's nothing on earth that will keep me from her and if I were you, I wouldn't even attempt to get in my way." Oliver didn't respond, figuring nothing he said would change her mind. And so he watched as she once again cuffed and taken away.

That evening, Oliver sat at the table reading over the text from Felicity. A lot had occurred while he was away. Of the list of thngs, Felicity was fired as the CEO of Palmer Tech, and as it turns out her father needed some sort of quantum subluminal processor he would need to hack Rubicon. With Felicity fired they only had one way to get the processor. And that was to break in to the company and steal it. So at the moment, Bruce and John were currently helping Felicity and Noah steal from Palmer Tech and Oliver couldn't shake the feeling that he should be there. But he couldn't, not right now.

When he heard the sound of the front door opening and closing, he slipped his phone back into his pocket and stood to his feet, walking out of the kitchen and spotting Ari who'd only just pulled off her jacket before turning to him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I live here." Oliver replied and the girl glared with a shake of her head before turning to head upstairs. "I actually wanted to be here when you got home. We need to talk." Ari looked over to the man and knew this was a serious conversation.

"Ok." Ari said walking back down the stairs and following Oliver into the kitchen. She took the seat across from him and waited for him to start talking. "What's with the serious face?"

"I spoke with your mother." Oliver replied and Ari sighed.

"Did she threaten you, because that's just something she does." Ari said with a shake of her head. "She's really harmless." the girl turned away. "Well not really completely harmless, given the fact that she's in prison." she looked back to Oliver who still looked too serious for this to be a simple conversation. "What?"

"Your mother wanted to talk to me, because she wanted to make me aware that when she gets out of prison, she plans on restarting her life...with you." Oliver watched as Ari frowned a bit as she just stared at him. "How do you feel about that?"

"Not much really, she's not getting out." Ari said and Oliver looked over to her in confusion. "My mom's only saving grace was my cousin in her corner, there to testify for her, and now that Katie's gone, mom doesn't have a leg to stand on." Ari shook her head once again. "She's not getting out of that place any time soon." Ari stood to her feet to leave, but Oliver grabbed her arm.

"Ari, your mother has recorded testimonies from Katie, testimonies that could get her out sooner than either of us think. If that happens, she's going to come here and she's going to want you to live with her. The question is, is that something you want?" Ari looked at him for a moment before turning away, unsure what to say right now. This was her mother, who she loved, but she remembers what it was like before. When her dad died, and how her mother was there, but barely. She loved her mother, but she felt so alone, and only felt solace when she was able to return to her boarding school. She turned back to Oliver who was now staring at her, waiting for her to speak.

"Well, if I leave who would take care of you and the pooper?" Oliver smiled and the girl dropped back into her chair.

"Me and Robyn would really miss you, but we'd be ok if leaving is something you wanted. But that's just it, Ari, it has to be what you want." Ari still looked a bit nervous at the thought and Oliver sighed. "Look, right now you're here, you're home, so you don't have to decide anything yet. I just want you to know that I will stand behind you with whatever you choose, and I'll always be here for you, no matter what?" Emotions tickled the teens throat, and she let out a cough to try to clear it, but it didn't work. She turned back to Oliver, this guy who was married to her guardian, who was now the closet thing she had to a parent, and right now, she couldn't imagine leaving.

"Ok." Ari said clearing her throat. She stood to her feet once again about to head upstairs to her room, but she once again turned back to the man. "Just so I'm clear, me being grounded..."

"Still in affect." Oliver replied and the girl groaned before turning and heading up to her room.

Oliver sat with a slight smile as he watched her leave. Once she was gone he let out a deep sigh, sliding a hand over his face. His eyes lifted to a picture that was on the refrigerator. He stood to his feet and walked closer. It was a picture of Katie, and Ari, both covered in flour as they attempted to bake cookies. The picture was taken right in the middle of something funny being said because both were laughing. "You'd know how to handle this."

Thea couldn't believe it. She thought she could get through to Lonnie, and get him to see reason, but it was pointless. After his failed attempt to blow up the scrubbers he ran, but she found him. She tried to talk to him again, but he wasn't seeing reason, and he attacked her. She fought as hard as she could, but he got her down, and that's when he turned his sights to Alex.

"Get away from him!" she yelled.

"I'm liberating you, mommy!" Lonnie said as he stalked toward Alex, electro baton in his hand. "You don't need another man clouding your mind." Thea seemed to know his intent.

"Alex, run!" she called and before she knew it, Lonnie pressed the baton to Alex's chest sending an electric current though his body that knocked him unconscious instantly. "No!" Through exhaustion, Thea jumped to her feet and ran toward Lonnie. She no longer felt exhaustion, and pain, all she felt was anger and darkness. She kicked, and grabbed the baton, throwing a punch before swinging the baton hiting him in the face. She tossed a final roundhouse kick to his stomach, tossing him onto the lawn, and seemingly unconscious. She looked at him for a moment before dropping the baton and checking on Alex.

"Alex!" she tried the shake him a bit. Her hand slid to his neck and she didn't feet a pulse. "No!" he was gone. Someone else in her life was just gone, and she couldn't hold the emotions in anymore. Thea sobbed, her heading falling to his back as she craddled him in her arms. Suddenly she heard the sound of clapping, and for a moment she thought she were hearing things, but when she lifted her head and looked over to where Lonnie was once lying unconscious, it was Katie she saw. "Katie?" Thea sat there frozen as she looked over to the woman who stood there wearing all black leather pants and jacket, her lips painted a bright red as her hair was pulled back into a tight pony tail. Thea sat there looking at the familiar face, but she had no doubt the woman standing in front of her was definitely not her sister. Footsteps sounded from the side of the house, but Thea couldn't tear her eyes from the woman's face.

"Impossible." she heard Malcolm say.

"Oh, nothing's impossible Malcolm." Katie said turning to the man with a smile. "So I hear you've kidnapped your daughter again." she clicked her teeth with a shake of her head.

"And I hear you're dead. I should probably rectify that." Malcolm quickly grabbed an arrow from his quiver and shot it right at the woman, but he didn't expect it to stop just inches away from her. He growled grabbing arrow after arrow, each one seeming to hover right in front of her.

"You done?" she asked, just as all the arrows floating in front of her dropped to the ground. She turned back to Thea, pointing a finger toward the woman. Thea wasn't sure what was happening, but she was standing to her feet and walking over to the woman, but it was as if she were attached to puppet strings because she was not moving of her own will.

"Thea don't!" Malcolm called, and the woman could only turn her head as her feet continued to move.

"I can't stop!" Thea said just as she took her last step, now standing right in front of the woman. She couldn’t turn her eyes away from the face she thought she'd never see again. "Twinkie?" the woman laughed, and Thea watched as her eyes changed to a cold black before leaning forward.

"Not quite." She said, just as Malcolm took a step forward. "I wouldn't do that Malcolm." she looked over to the man with a smile. " I'm just here to take Thea because she has something I need."

"You're not taking my daughter anywhere." the man growled.

"But I am, and I'm also going to be back to destroy all of this." she said glancing around the fake town. "Damien thinks himself a god, well he's going to find out the truth really quickly." Those dark eyes turned to Malcolm. "If I were you Malcolm I'd get the people here, back to Star City." She smiled as she wrapped an arm around Thea and dropped her head on Thea's shoulder. "The second coming is near and you're going to want a front row seat."


	27. When Darkness Calls

**Chapter 27**

**  
When Darkness Calls**

_"The depth of the love of parents for their children cannot be measured._

_It is like no other relationship. It exceeds concern for life itself._

_The love of a parent for a child is continuous and transcends heartbreak and disappointment."_

_-James E. Faust_

* * *

There was no winning. Oliver had finally come to that realization in this very moment as he laid on his side in the nexus chamber. His eyes glanced over to where Bruce and John seemed to lay in the same position. They weren't able to stop Rubicon, but they were able to minimize the number of deaths. It would seem that few number of deaths were enough to juice up Darhk's idol and allow him to soak up more power.

"I'm not going to kill you." Damien says as the building surrounding them begins to shake. "Well, not right now, at least." Oliver looks up to the man, and can't help but see how pompous he is right now. "Instead, I'm going to regain control of Rubicon. That way, when the whole world goes all "Dr. Strangelove," you can feel your skin melt from Armageddon." with another flick of his hands, Darhk sends Oliver and John flying into a hard, rock wall before leaving. That's when the nexus begins totally collapsing. Huge rocks begin falling, and if they don't move quick, they won't make it out of here alive. For a moment, Oliver lies there, and for some reason the possibility of this all just ending right now doesn't seem too bad. Because he's all out of moves. Damien Darhk is now beyond powerful, so if he dies right now, maybe he'd finally be at peace.

"Oliver, let's go!" John yells as he jumps to his feet. Oliver glances over to his friend and remembers that there's more at stake here and he couldn't run away from this. He jumped to his feet.

"Come on! We got to go now!" Bruce yells, and both men follow behind him.

Laurel sat watching Ari pace back and forth in front of her. She'd been tempted to tell the girl to sit, but it had been a couple of hours since Oliver left and now Ari seemed completely worried.

"You know I'm sure he's alright." Laurel said hoping some reassurance would help. Ari looked over to the woman with a look of annoyance. "It's late Ari, you should really get to bed." Ari stopped pacing, and turned to Laurel about to tell her where she can put that suggestion, but the doorbell rang, and Ari bolted toward the door. Laurel jumped to her feet and quickly followed because she knew it wasn't Oliver ringing the doorbell to his own house. That logic seemed to pass Ari who hoped it was Oliver who would be standing outside the door. The moment she pulled open the door, that hope dwindled because it was someone who always annoyed her.

"Hey kid," Ethan greeted with a smile. Ari stared at him for a moment before slamming the door in his face. She turned walking past Laurel back to the living room to continue her nervous pace. Laurel pulled opened the door, a bit surprised to see Ethan as well. "Laur, hey. What are you doing here?"

"Babysitting. What are you doing here, so late?"

"I needed to talk to Oliver." the man glanced into the house before turning back to the woman. "But I figure since you're babysitting, he's not here."

"No, he's...out." Laurel said and Ethan nodded. She noticed he looked slightly nervous. "Is everything alright?" Ethan stared for a moment before nodding.

"I've been offered a job. Head of Emergency Medicine." Ethan said and Laurel smiled. It was an honest smile because she knew just how hard the man worked at the hospital and if anyone deserved the position it was him.

"Oh my God. Congratulations. That's so wonderful. You really deserve it. I can't believe GMH is promoting you again."

"That's just it. They're not." Ethan said before taking a deep breath. "The job is in Metropolis." her eyes widened again. She was supposed to say something, but she was speechless. "Laur-" she looked back up to him and smiled. "I haven't accepted the job yet."

"Yet?" she repeated with a shake of her head. "Why wouldn't you accept this great job in Metropolis?"

"Well a lot of reasons. I love my current job and the people there." he said taking a step inside the house, and Laurel didn't find herself backing away. "There's the fact that I somehow found myself a part of this super cool hero team who need me when they get all beat up." he closed the door behind him. "And lastly, Metropolis is missing one thing that's become a big notch on the cons list." he was standing right in front of her, his eyes on hers, and hers on his.

"And what's that?" she asked, and a smile tugged at his lips as he placed a hand on the side of her face.

"Uh, ew." a voice spoke and they turned to see Ari standing there with Laurel's phone in her hand. "It's Oliver, he wants to talk to you, so stop whatever this is." Laurel turned back to Ethan who took a step back to allow the woman to pull away and hurry over to her phone.

"Hey, " Laurel said, and her eyes widened as she looked from Ethan to Ari. "Right, ok." Laurel ended the call before turning to Ari. "Ari, I need you to go upstairs and grab the go bag Oliver made you pack." Ari looked at Laurel for a moment before shaking her head. "Ari—"

"Is he coming for us? Is Damien Darhk coming for us?"

"Right now, nothing has happened, but circumstances have changed, and Oliver thinks it's best if you and Robyn are not in the city right now."

"He's sending us away?"

"Ari, he's trying to keep you safe. He can't lose you or Robyn, please just-" Ari shook her head before running up the stairs. Laurel let out a heavy sigh before turning back to Ethan. "Darhk has become more powerful. Oliver said he gave very vague threats to the city. He wants Ari and Robyn out of the city in case this things go bad."

"What about the rest of the city?" Ethan asks and Laurel just sighs. Ethan's cell phone buzzes and he pulls it from his pocket and curses under his breath. It was a page from the hospital. "I guess I just got my answer." he looks back over to Laurel. "I have to go."

"Right." Laurel walks over to the man, and for some reason she feels this moment is an important moment between the two of them. With this threat looming in the city, there's no telling what might happen in the future. "Ethan, I-" she was scared of these words for a variety of reasons.

"Why don't you hold that thought." Ethan said, seeing the emotions that play over the woman's face. "Tell me when all of this over, and everything has calmed down."

"What if-" Laurel's words were stolen by Ethan's lips as they crashed into hers. She hated that his lips could erase her fears and anger for those brief moments, but it's also the reason she loved them. When they pulled apart, Ethan dropped his forehead to Laurel's.

"No what if's, Laur. The heroes are going to save the day, because that's how it works."

"Optimism." Laurel said and Ethan smiled.

"Well my optimism is one of the things you love about me." Ethan replied as he pulled away. "I really have to go."

"Right, and I have to make sure Ari is actually doing something I asked her to do." Laurel said glancing up the stairs. She turned back to Ethan with a smile. "Be careful out there."

"You too, Ms. Lance." Ethan said with a nod before turning and head out the door. Laurel let out another heavy sigh before turning and heading up the stairs.

When Oliver ended the call, he dropped his face to his palms, and just took a moment to realize what was happening.

"You alright?" a voice spoke from behind him and he turned to see Quentin who'd been waiting, along with the rest of the team to return.

"I just made the call. The one call I didn't want to make." Oliver said with a shake of his head. "To protect those kids, I have to send them away. I probably should've done it sooner, but I thought-"

"Oliver-"

"I thought I would've beaten him by now. But he's taken so much." Oliver dropped his eyes. "He took her, and I don't know how I'm actually functioning right now with her gone, but I am and right now Ari and Robyn are my priority." he looked back over to Lance. "Does Felicity have a location on Thea?"

"Yeah, but Oliver-" Oliver didn't let him finish because he didn't want to talk anymore. He stalked past the man over to Felicity.

"Where is she?"

"I've been tracking her and Alex's phone for any activity, and I finally got a hit." Felicity said typing a few keys before a location appeared. "The signal came from the intersection of Berkeley and Childress, right in the heart of the Glades." Felicity turned back to Oliver who looked confused.

"I thought you said Thea and her boyfriend went out of town." Quentin said walking over to look at the map as well.

"I thought they did. Let's go." Oliver said looking over to John, before looking around the bunker for Bruce. "Where's-" they all looked around, and no one spotted Bruce either. "Felicity?"

"Already tracking him." Felicity replied as she typed. The man was here just a moment ago. She wasn't sure why he would just disappear without a word.

"We can't wait for him." Oliver says turning to John who gave a nod.

"I-I'm coming with you." Quentin said and Oliver turned to him with a shake of his head.

"I want you to stay here. If this gets worse, the city is going to need someone to listen to that they can trust." Oliver replied before turning back to Felicity. "If I'm not back in the next twenty four hours-"

"Oliver-"

"Felicity, Robyn, and Ari need to be on that plane."

"They also need you, so try really hard to make sure you're the one putting them on that plane and not me." Felicity said and Oliver looked at her for a moment.

"Ok." Oliver replied before he and John finally left.

Thea Queen was stuck. Both literally and figuratively. Her eyes scanned over the familiar dining room of her childhood home and she couldn't believe she was sitting here. Everything looked exactly the same from the table to the paintings on the wall. She turned her eyes to Jacob who stood beside her, his eyes on the entrances to the room.

"And you said she didn't give you any indication of what she was doing?" Jacob asked Thea who turned a glare to the man. He turned to her and sighed. "I'm sorry, but it's just I get the feeling whatever that thing is planning, it's going to be worse than we could've ever imagined."

"I mean Damien Darhk is planning on destroying the city, could it be worse than that?"

"I believe so." Jacob said turning back, darting his eyes to the entrances.

"I just don't get why she brought me here." Thea said with a shake of her head. "She said I had something she needed."

"And you do!" a voice called from the hall, and soon they turned to one of the entrances where they saw the monster still completely comfortable wearing Katie's face. This time when they saw her, she was wearing a bathrobe, with rollers in her head. She took a seat across from them and smiled, before turning to Thea. "Aw, sweet Speedy, you have a liquid gold running through your veins." Thea looked confused. "Don't worry, you'll figure it out soon enough." Soon the smile on her face dropped, and she rolled her eyes. "Ugh, that brother of yours is annoying as hell. Now I have to go destroy Damien Darhk's little dream city sooner than expected." She lifted her hand and stared at the perfect manicured nails. "So help me God, if I break a nail." she stood, waving a hand before turning and walking out of the dining room. The moment she was gone, both Thea and Jacob felt their control once again, and they stood from the chairs.

"Ok, if that thing is leaving, this is our chance to get out of here." Thea suggested turning to Jacob who didn't looked too optimistic. "Which you've already tried, haven't you?"

"I have. There's not a way out of this place. She has it charmed or something." Jacob replied before walking out of the dining room into the foyer, and Thea followed behind him. He noticed the candles that surrounded the room, but they weren't lit. There was a table, and a bar filled with alcohol.

"It looks like there's going to be a party here." Thea said looking around as well. She turned to Jacob who continued to scan the room. "What are you thinking?"

"She wants an audience." Jacob said turning to Thea.

Oliver suddenly heard a sudden ticking. Internally though, in his head. Time was running out. He could feel it. Right now his greatest concern was protecting his family. It's why Laurel was with Ari and Robyn, hopefully getting them ready to leave on the plane that was already set up. It's also why he's standing in the middle of some house in some underground town Darhk created with an arrow pointed at Malcolm Merlyn.

"Where is Thea?!" The Green Arrow demanded once again. There were feathers still falling from the pillows destroyed when Malcolm and his men tried to ambush him and John. It didn't go as Malcolm planned, his eyes looked up to the arrow pointed at him as his men laid unconscious. "If I have to ask you again-"

"You really don't know, do you?" Malcolm asked. "Thea isn't here. She was taken, by your wife." Oliver looked over to the man in confusion, and he shook his head as he pulled the bow string a bit. "I'm telling the truth!"

"No, I don't think you're capable of telling the truth, Malcolm." John says still gripping the man by the collar. "I just thought you'd be a little better at it than blaming a dead woman. Just tell us where Thea is." Malcolm turned back to Oliver and he saw something there, it was as if the possibility of Katie being alive wasn't as far-fetched as his friend believed.

"You know I'm telling the truth, don't you?" Malcolm said. John shook his head before looking back to Oliver, and that's when he saw it too.

 _"Hi, everyone. Uncle Lonnie here."_ they all turned to the television screen. Oliver and John really didn't expect to see Lonnie Machin's face. _"See, I just absolutely adore your little community. It's so welcoming to outsiders, but it's so...structured. Going to have to fix that."_ the video panned to Ruvé Adams who looked beat up and tied to a beam. Lonnie came into view beside the woman. _"Mr. Darhk, remember me? The loyal servant you rejected, betrayed? In 20 minutes, I'm going to kill someone. It can be your wife..."_ the video moved and soon appeared the face of Nora Darhk who looked completely terrified. _"Oh, but, Damien, you're my first choice. Ball's in your court, buddy."_ the video turned back to Lonnie's face. _"Oh, and be quick about it, because in 21 minutes, I'm going to blow your little underground world into next week. Ok?"_ and then the video ended.

Lonnie laughed as he turned to the frightened face of Ruvé .

"You're not going to get away with this." the woman spat. "There's still time for you to get out of this clean. You know my husband, and you know what he will do to you. Just let us go. Let my daughter go."

"Aw, sorry Ruvé , but I only want one thing-"

"To hurt Damien Darhk?" a voice spoke, and Lonnie turned to see the face of someone he really didn't expect.

"Katherine?" Ruvé says, her eyes going wide at the sight of the woman who is supposed to be dead. Ruvé wasn't sure what this meant, but in this moment was hoping she was their savior.

"You're dead." Lonnie says taking a step toward the woman.

"Aw, you didn't here. Death is the new life. It's all the rage this year. Ask Jacob Robins!" she said glancing around the room. "You know Lonnie, I had plans to destroy this whole city before you, but my way was going to be much better, actually it was going to be a production, and now you've gone and ruined it."

"Katherine, you have to help us!" Ruvé pleaded. "You have to save my daughter." Ruvé turned to where Nora was tied and she saw how the woman turn as well before walking over and looking down to her. "She's innocent in all of this."

Nora looked up to the dark haired woman who'd she'd seen multiple times on television. The woman lowered herself in front of her.

"Are you here to rescue us?" Nora asked and the woman in front of her smiled before reaching behind the girl and untying the ropes around her wrists before holding out a hand to the girl who gratefully took it as she stood to her feet. "Now mommy."

"Hey!" Lonnie called and this time when he attempted to take a step forward, he couldn't. The confusion on his face was unmistakable as he tried moving any part of his body, but couldn't. "What—what is this?"

"This is the inevitable end, Mr. Machin." Dark eyes turned to Ruvé who gasped at the sight. "Tell me Ruvé, do you deserve to survive the end?"

"Mommy?" Nora tried to pull from the grasp holding her hand, but it only tightened.

"Please don't hurt my daughter." Ruvé pleaded with tears in her eyes.

"Hurt her? Why would I hurt her?" She replied with a smile. "She's my sister after all." Ruvé's eyes widened as she made the connection with the woman's words.

"Katie?" a voice softly spoke and they turned at the sight of the Green Arrow and Spartan standing there. "How-"

"The most important question right now is, will you live to see me again?" with those words, the monster pointed a hand toward Oliver, and with a slight wave one of his arrows flew out of his quiver and into a dwarf star alloy source. And that one shot set off an array of explosions. "Time to go, Nora. Say bye to mommy." Nora's tear filled gaze looked from Katie to her mother.

"Mommy!" Nora cried, and Ruvé gave her daughter a tearful smile.

"It's alright baby, you're going to be alright." Ruvé turned back to the woman holding her daughter's hand. "You keep her safe."

"Katie!" Oliver called once again as the building began shaking with debris falling all around them. He saw her, standing there, and he'd only taken a step before she and Nora were just gone.

At the end of the day, there was a giant hole in the middle of the Glades. Oliver, and John stood looking at the destruction, and yet Oliver's mind couldn't be torn from seeing his dead wife staring back at him.

"Is anyone there?" Felicity's voice called through the comlink. "Green Arrow? Spartan? Hell, I'd take Malcolm Merlyn at this point."

"We're all safe." Oliver replied. "Where are you with Rubicon?"

"HIVE's locked out. We're good." Felicity replied, and Oliver didn't confirm the statement. "We are safe aren't we?"

"Emergency meeting at the bunker now." Oliver said before turning.

"We need to talk about this!" John called after the man and Oliver stopped walking, but didn't turn. "Oliver-"

"What do you want me to say?" Oliver says finally turning to face John. "I have no idea what is going on. All I know is that my wife who I thought was dead, was just standing just a few feet away from me."

"No, Oliver, whoever that was standing in front of you was not Katie." John says walking over to Oliver. "The fact that she faked all of this, that she wanted the world to think Katie was dead only means one thing. There's no telling what she's been doing all this time." Oliver turned away from the man. "Now she has Thea, and she has Damien Darhk's daughter. What do you think he's going to do when he finds out."

"Probably the one thing she wants him to do." Oliver replied with a shake of his head. "That darkness has wanted to kill Damien from the beginning. Now it's trying to lure him in with his daughter."

"And Thea? What does taking Thea do?"

"Get my attention." Oliver replied. "I don't know, right now we have two very powerful beings who seem intent on causing pain. We need to find them."

Nora searched the unfamiliar room with wide eyes of fear. She looked for her father, or one of the people who worked for him, but there were no familiar faces.

"Don't worry, Nora." Nora looked up to the woman who spoke to her. The woman she was starting to believe was not the same nice woman she'd seen on television. "This will all be over soon." they heard foot steps and looked up just as Jacob and Thea walked into the room.

"Why did you bring her here?" Jacob asked looking from the girl to the thing in his daughter's body. "What is all of this about?"

"It's about correcting mistakes."

"Whose mistakes?" Thea asked. "Yours?" Thea had hope that maybe her sister was still in there some where.

"No, mankind. This world has completely fallen from grace after being given every opportunity to thrive and make themselves better. But you turn on that stupid box and you see corruption, murder, robbery, kidnapping, and it's no longer surprising. You see it and you change the channel as if it's not happening. People like Damien Darhk were given too much rope, and no one ever hung him with it." a gasp escaped Nora who finally jerked her hand from the woman and began backing away. "Oh Nora, you and I both know how intelligent you are. You know the type of father we have, but he's somehow brainwashed you into thinking it was alright." Nora shook her head before running out of the room.

"The type of father we have." Thea repeated the words and those dark eyes turned back to her with a smile. Thea looked over to Jacob who kept his eyes on the most dangerous thing in the room. Thea looked back to the dark being and suddenly realized what wasn't said. "Damien Darhk is your father. He and Grace-" Thea shook her head, once again turning back to Jacob. "And you knew this."

"He did, but he thought not saying it out loud would prevent me." Thea turned back to her. "Oh how wrong he was." the grandfather clock suddenly loudly chimed, the sound filling the mansion. "Damnit! I should be making sure everything is ready for the party tomorrow." with one final smile, the being turned and rushed out of the room up the stairs.

Thea turned facing Jacob, waiting for him to explain.

"Thea, you don't understand-"

"No, I don't think you do. Do you have any idea how her knowing this could've changed this."

"You're wrong. Her finding this out would've sped along the process." Jacob replied. "The truth is Damien Darhk is not her father...not really. I think she knows that, and this is just some ploy."

"I don't get it. If he and Grace did the deed and created a baby, that makes him the father." Thea said watching the man who just shook his head. "What aren't you saying?"

"I will tell you what I am saying. Whatever that thing is planning, we need to stop it."

"Easier said than done. Any ideas?" Thea asked and Jacob looked around the room before walking into the dining room. He spotted a tray that held various knives. He picked up a large butcher knife, his eyes looking it over before turning to Thea. "You're really going to do this?" her eyes looked over to the knife and the implications that surrounded it. The implication that the only way to stop this plan was to kill the sister she'd just gotten back. Thea shook her head because she couldn't imagine doing this. "No-" she began backing away. "There has to be another way to save her. To finally pull her out of that darkness."

"Thea-"

"No!" Thea snapped angrily. "Because when I was lost, and when everyone thought I was a goner, she came to save me. I can't do this." Thea turned away.

"And you think I want to do this? I've been in this house for weeks and one thing has been completely clear. My daughter is dead." Thea turned back to the man. "You were at her funeral. You said goodbye." Thea shook her head. "She's gone Thea. That thing walking around in her body is planning something, and if we don't stop it now, I don't think we will ever be able to." Thea's eyes looked back to the knife because she could feel it to. What ever was coming, was big. Maybe even bigger than Damien Darhk.

The bunker was so silent, a pin could probably drop right now and would probably be heard. Oliver and John, met with Felicity, and Quentin and revealed the events that occurred, and that included seeing Katie and watching her disappear with Nora Darhk. After the revelation, no one quite knew what to say. Their minds were still trying to come to grips with what this all meant.

"So she's alive?" Felicity asked lowering herself to sit . "Wha-how-" Felicity wasn't quite sure what questions she should be asking right now. "Why would she want us to believe she was dead?"

"Because when you're dead, no one's looking for you." John said and they all turned to him. "That thing is still in Katie's body, and it wanted anonymity. Time to plan something big without any extra eyes. The question now is what that plan is." Their eyes turned back to Oliver who seemed completely out of the moment now.

"Oliver?" Felicity spoke standing to her feet and walking over to the man. He didn't say anything, his eyes still in a daze, until she placed her hand on his shoulder. His eyes turned to her as if only now realizing she was standing in front of him. "I think you should sit."

"I'm fine." Oliver says closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "We know this thing now has Thea and Nora for some reason. Both are draws for me and Damien."

"Where is she trying to lure you?" Quentin asked. Oliver opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of the elevator opening made him pause and turn, picking up his bow and inserting an arrow. They all quietly stared as the elevator finally opened and they sighed in relief.

"Constantine, you got my message." Oliver says dropping the bow he glances over to the man.

"I did. Can't say I'm surprised, seeing as I'm the one who tried to warn you." Constantine replied walking over to the man. The look in Oliver's eyes told Constantine that he truly did see her and he was still trying to make sense of it.

"Warn?" John asked looking over to Oliver. "Warn how? Did he tell you she was alive?"

"He did, and I didn't believe him." Oliver replied looking over to John. "I was there. I was in the hospital room when the machines keeping her breathing were turned off. So I hope me not believing someone telling my wife is still alive doesn't seem too crazy." John looked at the man, but gave a nod seeming to understand before they turned back to Constantine. "We saw her tonight, which means she's done pretending to be dead."

"That means whatever she's planning is happening soon." Constantine looked around the bunker and they all followed his eyes trying to figure out what he was looking for.

"Well can't you find her with your whoo-doo or whatever?" Quentin asked and Constantine turned to the man clearly offended. "Sorry if I don't clearly understand what it is you do."

"Apology not accepted, mate. And I've already tried searching for her." Constantine said his eyes once again scanning the bunker. "She seems to be hiding really well."

"How?" Felicity asked. "She's been Hermonie Granger for a couple of weeks now. How can she make the world think she's dead, and hide for so long?" Felicity shook her head still unable to believe all of this. They were at a funeral, and she'd been through a whirl wind of emotions thinking the woman she'd thought of as a sister was dead. And now she finds out it was all a trick.

"Because the darkness inside our girl is millennia old." Constantine replied and they all stared back in surprise. "Old school and has had a lot of time to craft it's magic."

"So how do we find her?" Oliver asked, and the answer seemed to come from the elevator once again opening, only this time there was no person standing there. They all stepped forward, because the elevator wasn't empty. There was an envelope lying on the floor. Constantine being the closest walked inside and picked it up. He looked at the envelope with a quirked brow before walking over to the other.

"I don't think we will have to find her." Constantine replies opening the envelope and pulling out a folded card stock. As he did, black rose pedals seemed to escape from the envelope as well.

"Is that an invitation?" Felicity asked.

"That's Twinkie's handwriting." Oliver says taking the invitation from Constantine's hand. "You're cordially invited-" Oliver read before flipping open the invitation. " The Party of the Beginning's End." they all seemed confused by the words unsure what that could possibly mean.

"Is there more?" John asked stepping forward to read the invitation. "Wait, does that say-"

"What?" Felicity walked to the other side of Oliver's shoulder to take a peek as well. "Tomorrow night, full moon, location...oh." she looked over to Oliver. Without another word, Oliver turned grabbing his bow and tossing his quiver over his shoulder about to leave, but it was Constantine who was brave enough to block him.

"Move!"

"I can't do that mate."

"We know where that thing is. We don't have to play into this game. We can go tonight-"

"And then what?" Constantine asked. "The same problem you have for not being able to fight Damien Darhk is the same problem you have for going after this thing. It's too powerful." Constantine saw just how much Oliver didn't want to hear these words. Oliver shook his head before turning and stalking away.

"Oliver-" It was John's voice once again. "I know right now probably isn't the best time, but I'm afraid there never will be a good time." Oliver stopped and looked over to the man. "I think we all can agree that whatever this thing inside of Katie plans are, they're not good. We need to discuss how we should stop it."

"You want us to come up with a plan to kill my wife, John?" Oliver asked turning to the man. John didn't respond, unsure if he could really say the words out loud. Oliver looked over to the man, before turning to the others who seemed to be waiting for an answer to that question. Oliver shook his head before turning back to John. "Stopping that thing will be my responsibility, only me."

"What do we do about the invitation?" Felicity asked.

"We don't go." Oliver replied looking to the eyes on him. "We're through playing games, with this monster inside of Katie, and with Damien Darhk. Right now there is a giant hole in the middle Glades, and that is going to cause chaos. That is our focus." Oliver looked over to the time and sighed. "I have to go." he turned and stalked away to get changed.

Damien Darhk stood in the dark office of his base of operations, starring at a multitude of blank monitors when Malcolm walked inside. Damien knew something was wrong, he just didn't know the details.

"Sir-"

"Tell me!" Damien demanded.

"It was Machin. He's-" Malcolm began his explanation but they were things Darhk didn't care about he was only worried about his family.

"Ruvé?" Damien interrupted.

"I'm sorry." Was Malcolm's response, and Damien felt the anger rise in his chest. His wife was gone. The love of his life was just gone.

"My daughter?" Damien asked, and this time Malcolm didn't say a word, and so Damien turned his glare to the man. "Is my daughter dead Malcolm?"

"I don't know sir, it's—" Malcolm shook his head. "There was so much going on and at the time Machin was a threat and I-"

"You what?!" Damien turned his body to Malcolm, a move that made the man nervous.

"Sir, while in Tevat Noah, Katherine Queen showed up." Malcolm said and Damien tilted his head slightly.

"Impossible, I-" Damien remembers the moment he shoved that arrow in the woman's back. He distinctly remembers how surprised he was that he felt nothing, and he assumed it was the regeneration of power from his idol that was the cause. Darhk turned from Malcolm and looked back to the blank monitors. "Does Katherine have my daughter?" once again Malcolm didn't verbally answer the question, but Damien Darhk didn't really need him to. "Well it would seem my next move is quite obvious." he turned back to Malcolm. "I know someone who can get us back online."

"Damien, Tevat Noah is gone. It's buried under miles of ash. Even if you could regain control of Rubicon, there'd be no place on earth that is safe." Malcolm said, and the look on Damien's face let Malcolm know that the words weren't a surprise to the man. "

"If there's no place left on earth that's safe... Let it all burn."

Laurel zipped up the brightly colored bag, and placed it near the door before walking over to the crib and looking inside to the little girl who was sound asleep. Laurel heard the sound of the door to the nursery opening and she looked up to see Oliver, and if the look on his face told her anything, it was that this night did not go as he planned.

"Are they packed?" Oliver asked walking over and looking down to the crib as well, and letting his hand slide through the soft curls of his daughter's hair.

"Robyn's all packed up and ready to go, Ari is another story." Laurel replied and Oliver let out a heavy sigh. "I told her about leaving and then she just locked herself in her room." Oliver shook his head. "How bad is it?"

"Ruvé Adams is dead, and her daughter has been kidnapped, and I'm sure once Damien learns this information he has plans to retaliate." Oliver said and Laurel's eyes went wide in shock. "I'll tell you everything later, but right now, I need to talk to Ari. They're going to have to leave tonight."

"Right, I will make sure Robyn's changed and ready to go." Laurel said with a nod about to pick up the baby.

"Laurel-" Oliver said and the woman stopped and looked over to him. "Thank you. For this. You have absolutely no idea how grateful I am."

"Oliver, you don't have to-"

"But I do. My entire world is in this house, and I only have the courage to leave because I know you're here. So thank you."

"Well you're welcome." Laurel said with a smile before watching the man turn and leave.

When Oliver appeared outside of Ari's door, he hesitated. He'd ensure this girl that he would always be there for her, and now he was going to walk into her room and tell her that she had to leave and that he wasn't coming with her. Oliver never felt more like a failure than he did in this moment. As a husband, father...hero. He wasn't doing any of it right and he knew it.

Oliver finally worked up the courage, and finally knocked on the girl's door.

"Hey, Ari, it's me. Can I come in?" Oliver listened for a response, but didn't hear anything. He assumed the girl was too upset with him and was once again giving him the silent treatment. He knocked once more, and still heard nothing but silence. There was something about it that made him uneasy and so Oliver reached for the door knob and twisting it. As expected it was locked. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He was going to have to do the one thing he didn't want to do right now, but what he'd feared was even worse. So the man turned his body slightly before jerking his shoulder into the door causing it to crack open. Oliver pushed open the door, and as he feared, the window was opened and Ari was gone.

"What's going on?" Laurel asked rushing in. She looked over to Oliver before looking around the empty room. "Where's Ari?" she turned back to Oliver and the answer was written over his face. "Oh my gosh, Oliver, I'm—" Oliver turned to Laurel and the woman just shook her head. "What do we do?"

"Get Robyn and her things. Hank will be outside to take you to the airfield." Oliver said looking around the room. "I will find Ari and meet you there."

"Do you know were she's gone?" Laurel asked and Oliver just let out a sigh.

Ari didn't expect to be as nervous as she was until she'd gotten too far from the house. She glanced over her shoulder, hating that her hasty reaction to Oliver trying to ship them away was to run away in the middle of the night.

"You're such an idiot." the girl muttered to herself. "Damien Darhk is somewhere in the city running loose, and you decided to go traipsing off alone at who knows o'clock." she once again looked over her shoulder nervous that anything could just pop out a grab her, which in all reality was very possible. She stopped at the sound of a snapping twig, her heart now ramming in her chest. She reached into the pocket of her hoodie and pulled out the taser Oliver had gotten her that she's only supposed to use when absolutely necessary. Ari spun around, her eyes trying to see beyond the darkness, but she couldn't. She let out a sigh figuring she was probably overreacting, before slipping the taser back into her pocket and turning. The moment she turned, the teenager froze, not expecting someone to be standing right in front of her. Ari's eyes looked up to the dark haired woman who just appeared out of nowhere without making a sound.

"Who-" Ari couldn't even ask the question before the woman was grabbing her arm and tugging her back toward the direction of the house. "Hey! What are you- let me go!" Ari tried pulling her arm free, but the woman had a strong grasp. And without really thinking, Ari did something she probably shouldn't. She lifted her foot and kicked the woman in the back of the knees. It was obviously a move the woman didn't expect as she stumbled a bit. In that moment, her grasp loosened enough for Ari to pull free, and the moment she was, she went running.

Ari ran as fast as she could not even daring to look back. She glanced up, noticing a street sign realizing where she was. She'd remembered driving with Oliver and Katie down this block and pointing out Oliver's old house to her. A house she recently found out Katie had bought, which meant at the moment it was empty and a good place to hide out.

Laurel sat in the backseat of the car, her eyes looking down to Robyn who was still asleep. She smiled down to the girl before lifting her eyes as the car came to a stop. They were at the airfield. Her eyes widened at the sight of the man waiting in front of the plane.

"Ms. Lance, should I-"

"I will handle this Hank. Could you grab the bags?"

"Yes ma'am." the man replied before stepping out of the car. Laurel turned, looking back to the man before letting out a sigh, and getting out as well. She unfastened Robyn from her seat and wrapped the blanket around her before walking toward the plane.

"Laur-"

"What are you doing here Ethan?"

"You text me that you're about to leave town, and you don't expect me to show up?" Ethan asked walking over to close the distance.

"How did you even find me?" she asked and Ethan shook his head. "Felicity told you didn't she? There's no crisis that can stop that woman from meddling."

"Well this time I'm glad she did. Laur. You're leaving, and you're not even telling me where." Ethan said with a shake of his head as he looks down to the baby. "I knew it was getting bad, but-" he let out a sigh.

"Ethan, I think you may have misinterpreted my text." Laurel said and the man looked to her in confusion. "Yes I am leaving town, but not for long. I will be-" they turned at the sight of another car pulling up and Laurel gave a nod. "Escorting Felicity and Donna to the next drop point." Laurel turned back to Ethan who still looked confused. "Ethan, I'm coming back tomorrow night." the man let out a relieved sigh.

"Oh." a smile he couldn't hold back tugged at his lips. "That's—that's great. I thought-" he shook his head before turning back to the woman's eyes. "I thought I was going to lose you." Laurel looked at the man for a moment, and couldn't help the flutter in her stomach at the words. "Laur-" Ethan's pager beeped interrupting him and he groaned. "I was only supposed to be gone for ten minutes and it's nearing an hour."

"The boss can't just disappear, Ethan." Laurel said and the man gave a nod. He looked down to Robyn before slipping a finger into her grasp.

"I don't know when I'm going to see you again kid, but where ever you go, make sure you're ask kickass as you momma." he said with a smile before looking back up to Laurel. "And your auntie Laurel." he placed a kiss on top of the baby's head before walking around the woman toward her car. Laurel Lance stood there for a full second before turning around.

"Yes!" she called and the man stopped and turned back to her.

"Yes, what?" he asked and she smiled.

"You haven't asked yet, but when you do, the answer is yes." she said and she saw the huge grin take over his face. He took a step toward her, but his pager once again beeped. "Go! You can ask me when all of this is over." he stood there for a moment giving the woman a nod before turning and heading toward his car, giving a wave to Donna and Felicity as he did.

"He looks happy." Donna says walking over to Laurel. "Should he be looking happy when the city is being threatened by a madman with nukes?" Laurel just shook her head before turning to Felicity whose ear was still stuck to her phone. "Sweetie, if he hasn't answered by now-"

"Mom, could you not." Felicity said before turning to Laurel, and lifting the phone a bit from her ear. "Where's Oliver?"

"He hasn't called you?" Laurel asked, and Felicity shook her head. "Ari ran away. After finding about all of this, and Oliver not coming, she just ran away. He's says he's going to find her and meet us here, but I haven't heard anything."

"That girl seriously needs a low jack." Donna muttered.

"She has one." Felicity said and Laurel and Donna turned to her. "I'll fill you in later." she turned to Laurel. "It's kind of chilly out here, you should take her inside." Laurel nodded before Felicity turned to her mother. "And you should go in as well."

"Why, I'm not cold."

"No, but you are annoying me mom." Felicity replied and Donna frowned. "I love you, but I just need a minute."

"Sweetie, if he's not answering-"

"If Bruce is not answering me, then something is wrong." Felicity said with the utmost certainty. It was something she knew with every fiber in her body. Bruce was never unreachable to her. When she called, he answered. "I just need to make sure he's alright." Donna gave her daughter a nod before turning and following Laurel onto the plane.

Felicity pulled her phone from her ear, and began typing away, once again trying to get a lock on Bruce's cell phone, but it was still showing no signal, and there's only one reason that would happen. Felicity groaned once again dialing the man's number. She listened to the incessant ringing, and suddenly she heard a click. "How did you want me to kill you?"

"Felicity-"

"No, I've been driving myself crazy because I've been imagining you tied to a chair somewhere being tortured by Damien Darhk because you couldn't answer your phone!"

"Felicity-"

"And then you turned off the GPS signal to your phone. The one you know I'm supposed to use to find you in the event that you go missing. The signal that only you and I can modify. You made yourself unreachable to me and I thought we promised that would never happen!" she snapped and he could tell from the shakiness of her voice, even in anger, that she was worried.

"I'm sorry, I just-" the line went quiet and Felicity frowned. "I can't really talk right now. I'm alright, and if you call again I will answer.

"Bruce wait, there's things happening, Katie-"

"I know." Bruce interrupted and Felicity's brow furrowed. "Listen, when this is all over, I'll tell you everything, but right now I have to go." She's supposed to tell him that she's leaving and that she doesn't know when she will see him again. She was supposed to be standing in front of him right now, not on a phone. But once again it was all secrets with him and she wished she could be surprised, but she just isn't. "Felicity?"

"I'm glad you're alright Bruce, but I'm not going to call again." Felicity said before ending the call. She stared down to her phone before shaking her head. She turned and headed onto the plane only to stop dead in her tracks the moment she was inside. Felicity was immediately struck with the sight of an unconscious Donna and Laurel pinned to the seats facing her, Hank was lying unconscious, and there standing at the center of it all was Damien Darhk who was currently rocking a sleeping Robyn in his arms. His eyes lifted to Felicity and smiled.

"Oh there she is!" Damien said before glancing back down to the baby. "There's your auntie Felicity."

Felicity took a bold step forward, knowing a smart person wouldn't dare go against a man with as much power as Damien Darhk. And even though Felicity knew she was smart, had awards and accolades that illustrated such, the sight of this evil man holding that baby just switched something inside of the woman.

"Give me that baby." Felicity ordered, her voice taking on a deep, low tone that surprised and amused the man in front of her. "If you hurt her-"

"Well I have no intention to hurt this adorable little rugrat." Damien said glancing down to Robyn who was still blissfully asleep in his arms. A smile curled up at his lips at the sight as he let out a sigh. "But her mother has my daughter." he looked back up to Felicity. "So I figured this just made sense. She has my daughter and now I have hers. I mean hers is tiny and can break easily-"

"You have no idea what you're doing right now." Felicity said taking another bold step toward the man. She had no idea where this fearlessness was coming from, but she didn't care. "If you hurt that child, you will regret it." Damien chuckled once again at the threat before lifting a hand up toward the woman, and Felicity suddenly couldn't feel the air in her lungs anymore. She brought her hands up to her neck trying to will herself to breathe, but it wasn't happening.

"I just want my daughter, Ms. Smoak. I will do anything to get my daughter back." he said walking over to her. "I want you to take that literally and I want you to tell Oliver that if he wants to see his daughter, then I will see mine." Felicity began whimpering because she could feel that she was going to soon lose consciousness, but she was fighting as hard as she could not to. She didn't want her eyes to leave Robyn. The sight of the woman fighting the inevitable made Darhk once again laugh. "Fighting it only makes it more painful." Felicity dropped to her knees before falling to the floor. She heard the sound of the man's laughter as he walked over her, and stepped off the plane before darkness swallowed her consciousness.

Bruce Wayne held his cell phone in his hand, staring down to it for a moment. Felicity's words were still digging themselves into him even after the call had ended.

"Bruce?" the man didn't turn at first. "Uh, Bruce, are you ok?" Bruce lifted his head and turned to see Barry standing there with a look of concern. "Was that news about-"

"No," Bruce said before slipping his phone back into his pocket before walking back toward the meeting room.

"Bruce-" Barry once again said, and Bruce stopped but didn't turned to him. "I didn't-"

"You were right Barry." Bruce said turning to the man. "I didn't want to believe it because it was hope I didn't want to risk losing and now it's turned into something else." Bruce glanced around his lair and just shook his head. "The one thing I didn't want to happen is happening." he looked back over to Barry who let out a sigh. "We should get back in there." Barry nodded before following the man back to the room that was completely filled with tension. Bruce went back to his seat and Barry stood near the door for a moment longer still a bit shocked by the individuals in front of him. His eyes looked around the table glancing over to a reporter from Metropolis who he'd recently found out was Superman, and beside him was his cousin from National City who just happens to be Super Girl. At the head of the table stood Zatanna who was the woman who called them all here. Suddenly a hand grabbed Barry's shoulder and he turned to see the crooked smile of Constantine.

"You're not getting cold feet there are you mate?" he asked and Barry wasn't able to respond when he looked behind the man and saw someone else he's not going to expect. Constantine followed his eyes and smiled. "Pretty lady caught your eye, huh? Well if you're smart you'll steer clear." the woman walked up the short flight of steps to the meeting room, her eyes looking over the various heroes inside and they looking back to her. Her eyes turned to Barry who was a new face and she smiled as she held out a hand to him.

"I'm Diana." she said with a smile and a wide eyed Barry reached forward to shake the woman's hand.

"I'm—I'm Barry." he somehow said and the woman nodded before walking over to take a seat. She eyed the seat beside Bruce who glanced up to her, and she to him in a moment that everyone seemed to notice before she finally sat. Barry turned to Constantine to ask the question he's been asking a lot recently. "Now who is-" Constantine looked over to the woman before turning back to Barry.

"Well they call her Wonder Woman, but whether she's truly a wonder is up for debate. I mean take away her fancy rope and then who is she?" Barry looked over to the man who shook his head before walking around the table to stand beside Zatanna. Barry finally took his seat at the table surrounded by heroes, and he still can't believe there was a seat for him.

"You all know why you're here." Zatanna finally spoke and they all turned to her. "As I've explained the world—maybe even the entire universe is in danger."

"I still don't understand." Clark said looking between Zatanna and Constantine. They were a pair he rarely saw, but when he did, he was sure he was being brought into trouble. "Katherine Queen is alive, and she's somehow threatening the universe. There's a how and why and a bunch of other questions in there, right?"

"There are." Zatanna replied with a shrug. "And I wish I could answer them all. The short version, yes, she is alive. She faked her death and has been in hiding for the past couple of weeks making plans."

"And how do you know this exactly?" Kara asked glancing around to the other trying to gauge if any of them was wondering the same thing. The woman turned back to the magical pair. "How do you know she was planning something? How do you know these plans are a threat to the world?"

"Well a little birdie told me." they all silently watch him, awaiting for him to further explain. "A not so little dead birdie that I can see and none of you can't."

"I'm sorry, so are we going off the word of your imaginary friend or-"

"Not imaginary." Diana said and they turned to her. "Just no longer of this realm." she turns to Constantine. "John has access to a doorway between life and death. I believe that's how you explained it."

"Well that's the simple version your heads could understand. The other version is long and complicated and we don't have time for either right now."

"John is right." Zatanna continued. "Right now we are dealing with a very powerful being and-"

"And you're saying Katherine is this powerful being?" Clark asked and Zatanna turned to him in annoyance. "I'm sorry, but I think I'm the only one who needs to know all the facts before we just go after this woman who has never shown the slightest bit of malice or-"

"Exactly!" Constantine says with a smile as he points to Clark. "I completely agree with you. This meeting is pointless." He turns to Zatanna who turns her glare to him. "We are not here yet. She's still in there."

"What are you talking about?" Bruce asked and they turned to the man who'd been unusually silent for the most part. "What do you mean she's in there? Are you talking about Robins?" Constantine opened his mouth, but Zatanna held up a hand to stop him.

"Bruce, there is a very slim chance that Katie is still inside that shell of a monster. But with as much time that has passed, trying to pull her out, trying to get her to the surface-"

"But with all of that-" Clark said and the woman turned to him. "There's still a chance we can save her?" She looked at their eyes and she saw that they held hope, but she had a feeling deep inside that she couldn't shake. It was the reason she'd called the most powerful beings she could get a hold of to be here today. This was going to end in pain and suffering and they needed to fight this head on. Zatanna stood there for a moment before standing a bit straighter and folding her arms over her chest.

"Katherine is a descendant of the original Homo Magi. Power that has been passed down through generations is now coursing through her veins. Damien Darhk sent her an envelope filled with the pedals of a black rose, and those pedals were soaked in a spell that is meant to turn everything it touches dark. Her power fought it for as long as it could before a trigger caused it to finally step into the light. Once it stepped into the light, it didn't want to go back. That darkness is in the light right now, has been for weeks and trying to stick it back into it's box and pull Katherine out-" Zatanna shook her head. "I've spent the last couple of weeks researching how to save this woman who holds the essence of so many people, including myself, and it's all leads me to the same conclusion. We can try, no-" the woman gave a nod. "We will try to bring her back, but in the event that we can't, we will be the contingency."

"Oliver should be here." Barry spoke, and all their eyes turned to him, and he gulped in nervousness. He assumed he'd stay silent figuring that he was the least experienced hero at the table, but none of this seemed right without Oliver being here. "He's her husband. If there is a chance that Katie can be pulled out of this, he would be the one to do it."

"We assumed the strength of their connection before and it bit us in the ass." Zatanna said with a shake of her head. "Plus Oliver is too filled with his own darkness to even attempt to pull Katherine out of hers. Depending on him to make the tough decisions that are destined to occur would be a risk we might not be able to take."

"Am I the only one wondering what exactly this threat is?" Kara asked with a shake of her head. She'd been listening carefully to everything that was being said, and even her, the alien from another planet was finding some of this hard to believe. "What are we trying to stop?" Zatanna glanced over to Constantine who turned back to the eyes on them and they noticed all amusement left his eyes.

"From what I've been told, this thing is attempting to take the universe back to a time I don't think it could survive." Constantine replied and he saw the confused looks and realized he was going to have to go in to detail. "Well it's something else that's both simple and complicated. The short, simple answer. Tomorrow night, she's going to use the lunar magic of the full moon to open a portal between this world and another."

"What? Like a different planet?" Clark asked and Zatanna shook her head.

"No, more like a difference place in time. Constantine was right when he said this could be complicated to understand and it would take longer than we can afford to truly explain the whole multi-verse thing, but right now one is about to be brought to this one."

"It's called the Hidden City and it houses an entire realm of mystical beings." Constantine said with a shake of his head. "And trust us when we say these two worlds should not mix at all. A race of ridiculously superior beings roaming this planet would completely destroy this planet, maybe even the surrounding planets to be honest with you." the room fell into silence as they all realized just how serious this situation was, and the dangers that lied ahead.

"Right now the entire universe is about to be split down middle, and a lot of dangerous, magical beings will be invited in. You're here because we have to be the ones to stop it from happening." Zatanna said. more silence as they let the situation finally resonate. "That portal can not open."

After a few beats of silence, another important question was asked.

"Do we know where she is?" Clark asked, before hearing the sound of footsteps. They all turned toward the door, where Martin Ellis walked inside, his eyes marveling at the sight of a group of heroes assembled together in one room. A sight he'd assumed would warm his heart, but given the true reason, only made his heart heavy.

"We do, Mr. Kent." Martin says with a nod as they all watch him. "We know exactly where she is, and we have eyes on the location as we speak."

Ari was out of breath when she finally made it to the tall entry way gate that blocked her from getting to the house. She looked up to the top of the gate and let out a groan. She was going to have to climb it. She lifted her foot, climbing onto the first opening in the gate before trying to pull herself over the top, but the gate was too tall. After straining to pull herself over, her foot slipped and the girl came crashing to the ground onto her back with a grunt. She closed her eyes and groaned, not even moving.

"Pathetic." a voice spoke, and Ari whipped open her eyes to see the dark haired woman who'd chased her was now standing above her. "You're pathetic. Has no one trained you on scaling a fence?" Ari looked at the woman in confusion before standing to her feet. "Don't run. If you run again, I will hurt you."

"What are you? Why do keep following me?" Ari asked.

"Because I'm an idiot." the woman replied with a shake of her head. "Because I for some reason feel some sort of loyalty to your family. To my cousin."

"And who is your cousin?" Ari asked and Nyssa turned away for a moment. Thinking about Katie's death wasn't something she was doing lately. Her father's teachings taught her to not dwell on the sadness of death. She's supposed to redirect those feelings to something more productive. And chasing after teenagers definitely wasn't it. "Look I don't know who you are, or who you think I am-"

"We are the same Arianna." the woman said and Ari's eyes widened at the woman saying her name. "The cousins of that insufferable woman who died and took a piece everything with her." Ari looked at the woman in confusion. "My name is Nyssa Al Ghul, and I am Katherine's cousin."

"You're-" Ari was a bit speechless. She had no idea Katie had more family that she hadn't met. It was yet another piece of information on a growing list of things she didn't know about her cousin. Nyssa lifted her head to the house beyond the gates, and she frowned.

"You should've definitely picked another hideout." Nyssa said with a shake of her head before looking back down to the teenager. "At least one that isn't just a couple of blocks from your house. Who lives here, a friend of yours?"

"No one lives here, it's empty." Ari replied still watching the woman warily. There was something about her, something Ari couldn't quite explain. But she knew the woman standing in front of her was dangerous. Nyssa lifted her eyes back over to the house and Ari noticed the look on her face. "What?" she turned, following the woman's gaze to the house and that's when she saw it too. "There's lights on in there. That's impossible no one lives in that house."

"Maybe someone bought it."

"No, Katie and Oliver own that house." Ari says turning back to the woman. "No one is supposed to be in that house." she turned once again looking at the lights in the window. "Maybe it's like squatters." Ari heard the sound of metal and turned back to the woman who now held a long blade in her hand in front of her. "What are you-" Ari took a step back.

"Stand behind me." Nyssa said turning and letting her eyes scan the darkness of the neighborhood.

"What's going on?"

"Get behind me, now!" Nyssa growled through clenched teeth, and Ari unsure of any alternatives decided to comply. She took a step forward, placing herself behind the dangerous woman and her big knife once again regretting the decision to run away.

"Drop the knife ghuly girl." a male voice spoke suddenly and Ari craned her neck to see if she could spot the source.

"Soldier boy, is that you?" Nyssa asked as she gripped the knife in front of her. She'd already placed his location, so when he gave her even an inkling that he couldn't be trusted, she was ready to throw. Soon heavy footsteps neared and Rick Flag appeared underneath the lamp over the gate, his assault rifle in his grasp, but surprisingly not aimed at the woman. She figures that has more to do with the child standing behind her.

"What are you doing here?" Flag asked, glancing behind the woman and seeing Ari. "She shouldn't be here and neither should you." he turned back to Nyssa who firmly held the dagger in front of her. "I'm not going to hurt you. Believe it or not, you're the least of my worries right now."

"What are you doing here?" Nyssa asked, and Rick lifted his eyes back to the house and Nyssa looked back as well before turning back to him. "Who's in that house?" he turned back to her, but didn't answer that question.

"You should take her back home. It's not safe here." Rick replied and Nyssa looked at him for a moment before walking toward him, knife still held firmly, but he never lifted that rifle to her.

"Tell me who is in that house!" Nyssa ordered and they stood there, eyes locked on each other and for some reason it was enough for Nyssa to realize the truth. "Impossible."

"We live in a world beyond impossibility ghouly girl." Rick replied once again looking back and frowning. "Where the hell did she go?" Nyssa turned and cursed when she didn't see Ari anywhere. "She can't go in that house."

"You don't think I know that!" Nyssa said turning, tilting her head attempting to let her ears seek out the girl. "She's gone around this way." Nyssa didn't wait for the man to respond before she went running.

Ari used the two strange adults talking as a chance for her to get away. She ran around the gate that surrounded the property, only stopping when she spotted a broken piece of the gate. She hurried over, bending the bars a bit, pulling them far enough for her to slip inside. The squeeze was tight and one of the broken bars was cutting her back, but she grit her teeth before pulling herself through. Once she was on the other side, Ari went running toward the house.

When she reached the door, she didn't expect to turn the door knob and for the door to open. What she really didn't expect was the old, dusty mansion she imagined was far off from reality. She'd just walked in to a candle lit mansion, fully furnished. It was as if someone was living here.

"What the hell?" Ari muttered as she cautiously stepped further inside.

"Ari!" a small voice called and Ari turned her head, not expecting for Nora Darhk to run over and wrap her arms around her in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're here."

"Nora, what-" Ari wasn't sure what was happening, but the sight of the girl only made her afraid of who else could be here. "Wait, Nora, is your dad here?" Nora lifted her eyes to Ari and just shook her head. "Then who are you here with?"

"Ari?" that time Ari recognized the voice and when she lifted her eyes she saw Thea who looked just as surprised to see her. Thea rushed over and brought her arms around her in a hug as well. "Ari what are you doing here?" Thea pulled back to look over the girl who looked tired, and worn. "Are you alright?" Thea brought her hands to Ari's face. "Did she bring you here?"

"She?" there was no answer to the question as the sound of high heeled feet echoed around them. Thea turned placing herself in front of Ari and Nora. Ari once again had to crane her neck to see who exactly she was being protected from. Only this time when she caught sight of the person, she didn't believe it. "Wait-"Ari moved to the side, pushing Thea's hand away as her eyes found the sight of her cousin who she's not supposed to be seeing right now. "Katie?" Ari watched as her cousin turned her head away, before lifting her hand. The motion somehow caused the front door to swing open.

"She needs to leave."

Thea stood there watching as the being inside of Katie seemed completely different. There was no cockiness, no ego, no dark humor. Right now that thing was nervous.

"Katie-" Ari took a step forward, and she watched as her cousin took a step back recoiling away from her. "How is this possible?"

"She needs to leave!" she once again snapped, still not meeting Ari's eyes.

"Hey my Anna-banana." Jacob cautiously stepped into view so Ari could see him. Her wide eyes turned to him, not expecting to see him either. "You have to leave now. You have run and run as fast as you can."

"But-" Ari's eyes turned back to her cousin and she felt emotions threatening to spill out of her. "But-" suddenly tears were pooling in her eyes because in this moment she really felt and accepted that loss and now, now her cousin was standing right there, just a couple of feet away. "Katie!" Ari ran toward the woman, expecting to hug her and for her to hug her back because right now she was proving that the people who leave us can come back. Thea and Jacob screamed her name, screamed for her to stop, but Ari wasn't listening. She ran to her cousin until the only thing she could do was stop, and that's just what she did when her cousin was suddenly tossed across the room by some unseen force, her body crashing into a mirror that shattered instantly. Ari's eyes went wide, but there was no time to ask any questions because soon Jacob had run over and grabbed Ari, hiking her in his arms before bolting toward the open door. They all ran for the door, when Thea felt a sudden weight on her feet. They suddenly froze in place, and Jacob stopped and turned back to her.

"Just go!" Thea called out to him. "Get them out of here!" Jacob hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to leave the woman here. "Jacob, get those kids to safety!" Jacob clenched his jaw before turning and running out the front door with Ari and Nora, the door immediately slamming behind him.

Thea strained to pull herself free, but it was useless. Soon Thea heard the cracking of the shattered glass as the woman stood to her feet and walked over to her. The moment she came into Thea's view, Thea noticed the blood that stained her face and cuts along her cheek.

"That was unfortunate." Katie said, stretching her sore muscles. "But now it's just you and me." Katie lifted her hand and with a twitch of her wrist, Thea was free to move again. "I think I'm going to take a shower." when she walked toward the stairs, Thea turned and on a whim spoke.

"You didn't see her coming." Thea said and the woman stopped. "Ari. She ran right through the front door and you didn't see it coming. And then when she stood here, you couldn't look at her. You wanted her as far away as possible." the woman didn't say anything as she began walking up the steps. "Katie's still in there. She's weak, and she can't beat you fully, but when get near her kid, she finds the strength to take the reins just a bit." Thea watched as she continued walking up the steps without a word. "We're going to find her, and we're going to save her, and you're going to lose."

"Challenge accepted, Ms. Queen." was her muttered response before she disappeared upstairs.

Ari wasn't sure which way was up right now. All she knew was to keep running. And that's what she did. She ran and ran, and had no intentions of stopping. She catches what sounds like someone calling her name, but it's not enough to stop her feet from moving. It takes strong arms to wrap around her and practically lift her off her feet to finally get her to stop moving. The moment she's grabbed, Ari screams, and thrashes about.

"Ari!" she’s placed on her feet and forced to turn so her eyes finally look to the person who grabs her. "It's me."

"Oliver." she says, her voice shaking. Actually her entire body is shaking, and he quickly brings his arms around her in a hug. "She's—she's not—I—"

"I know. It's alright." Oliver says placing a kiss to the top of the girl's head. "You're alright, I got you." Oliver lifts her eyes to the sight of Jacob standing just a few feet away, Nora still holding his hand. "Ari, I have to get you out of here."

"What?" Ari pulled back and looked up to him. "No, she's in there. She's not herself but-" Ari shook her head. "You can save her." the girl brought those hopeful eyes to Oliver. "You have another chance to save her."

"Ari it's not that simple." Oliver sighed, his eyes turning and looking over to the mansion. She was in there, just a couple of feet away. He wanted so badly to just go in there, and just look at her, look into her eyes and just know that she's really here. But that's not how this can work. Oliver looked over to Nyssa and Rick who stood near by watching him. "We need to get Ari out of here. I-" Oliver's phone buzzed in his pocket and he frowned for a moment before pulling it out and looking down to see a new message from an unknown number. The moment Oliver swiped a picture appeared on his screen. A picture that did the impossible. Oliver's eyes lingered on the image of his daughter in the arms of Damien Darhk, and it instantly happened.

"Oliver?" Ari spoke walking over and glancing down to his phone. "Oh my gosh, is that-" she turned to Oliver whose eyes never turned from the screen. "Oliver?" she kept saying his name as if Oliver Queen was still standing there beside her. She had no idea Oliver Queen was gone. The picture disappeared when that number suddenly called him. Oliver brought the phone to his ear.

 _"Now that you got my message, how about we talk about what happens next."_ Damien's voice purred from the other end of the line. Oliver's jaw clenched and without a word he turned and just walked away.

"Oliver?!"

"Oliver where are you going?!"

"Oliv-" Without warning the street lamp above them just exploded. Startled, they looked up when suddenly every car parked along the street widows just shattered and their alarms blared. They turned their head as the widows of all the houses around them exploded one after the other.

Ari jumped when Nyssa suddenly grabbed her arm, and pulled her close to her. She turned and saw in the distance Oliver still walking as if he didn't even notice the neighborhood exploding around him.

 _"Oliver?"_ Damien spoke once again and this time Oliver could hear the distant cries of his daughter in the background.

There was no winning. Oliver was realizing that right now, that can't be possible. When it came to the life of his daughter, losing wasn't an option.

_"You still there?"_

"I am, but you won't be."


	28. Full Circle

**Chapter 28**

**  
Full Circle**

_"When we have lost everything,_

_including hope, life becomes a disgrace,_

_and death a duty."_

_W. C. Fields_

* * *

It was raining. Of course it was raining. The end needed to be marked with something dramatic, and there was nothing more dramatic than rain. So atop of Robins Incorporated stood a woman currently inhabited by an ancient entity, a bright smile on her face as she looks up, letting the rain hit her face. She didn't care, because she could see them. She could feel them through the cracked sky that hovered above the city. They were coming, her family was coming. She heard footsteps, and turned her gaze to the sight of Oliver Queen. The Green Arrow now completely stained in crimson, as the blood soaked on his hood seemed to stream to the ground beneath him in the rain. She smiled back to him and pointed to the sky.

"Look up, Liver, it's happening." she lifted her eyes back up to the parting of the sky that was expanding by the second. She looked back to the man, and the smile fell when she noticed the blade in his hand. She turned meeting his eyes and she didn't see any love. Not any more. "So I guess this is it."

"I guess it is." he replied.

_But before the end, there was a beginning. Something that would lead to the end. And so the story goes, it all began with Katherine Queen. Katherine Queen was very much alive. The problem? No one knew it, not even her. If anyone asked her where she was, she'd say in hell. This place that was so tiny, and yet so vast. The end, and yet never ending. It made no sense at all. Nothing about this place that looked exactly like Star City, and yet was completely void of any human being beside one herself._

_The first day she found herself trapped here, she ran, yelled, for anyone. Mostly she looked for him. For Oliver. The one who could appear in that moment and take away all of her fears. He never showed up, and that fear only grew, day after day of being trapped. Soon she couldn't keep track of time because in this place time was nonexistent. The stars and the moon hung above her head all the time. She was forced into this darkness both figuratively and literally and she had no idea how to escape. In the beginning she really did attempt to search every inch of this fake city for a way out and yet she couldn't find any thing. She had no way of telling how long she'd been trapped, but it was starting to feel like she'd been here for years, which couldn't be right. She couldn't be locked away in this place, away from her daughter, Ari...away from Oliver for years._

_Each day it was getting harder and harder to keep trying, to keep hoping. That's what was happening. Little by little, hope slipped away, until one day she just stopped. She sat in the dark, colder version of her home and just didn't move. She laid curled on the couch, her eyes on the blank screen of a television that only turned on to show her the things she did not want to see. At the moment it was off. A few moments ago Katie was staring at the image of Ari staring back her as if she could see her. The look in Ari's eyes told Katie who she was looking at and it was definitely someone who was not supposed to be near her. Katie didn't know if the images were real, or more torture tactics, but every time she seemed to focus every bit of energy on that moment. Willing whatever power she had to keep the danger away from her loved ones. It was rare that the television flicked on. She could count the times on one hand. There was a time she could see Oliver, and he was in the bunker, and the way his eyes looked at her was a look of distrust. Ari happened to walk in that room, and that was the first time it happened. When Katie tried to focus on pulling the danger away from the girl. There was another time,the television flicked on showing a prison and Damien Darhk was there and he was about to stab Laurel with an arrow. This wasn't real, Katie knew this couldn't be real, and yet when she saw it, she screamed for him to stop and then the television just flicked off. And now this is where she spent her days. It was a torture she seemed to welcome because it was the only window to a life she was slowly starting to forget. She laid there with the single hope that one day it would be over. One day she'd just slip away and be free of this place._

" _ **Twinkie!**_ _"_

_It was happening. Again! Katie clamped her hands over her ears and closed her eyes. It wasn't the first time she'd heard Oliver's voice. It was yet another plight of living in her hell. She was haunted by the voices of the people she loved. She never saw them, always just heard their voices. Sometimes they called her name...other times she heard mumbled conversations. At first she thought that meant she was close to her loved ones. Close enough to get their attention, to let them know she was here. She would call out to them, yell their names until sound could no longer come out of her mouth. No one one ever came for her._

_This place made no sense. There was no point in being here, no purpose of having her roam around in this imitation of a city. There was nothing to do but wander around. The solitude was another form of torture. Being able to remember a life before all of this, and having it ripped away was tearing up her insides._

_Suddenly she heard the sound of something that floated even to her covered ears. She didn't want to remove her hands. She wanted to wait until it was over, but this time it didn't. Soon her curiosity got the best of her, and she knows she shouldn't. She knows she could be falling for another trick and yet she slowly pulled her hands from her ears and soon she heard the humming...followed by singing._

" _ **The itsy bitsy spider, ran up the water spout. Down came the rain and washed the spider out."**_ _Katie opened her eyes because that voice...she recognized that voice. She didn't want to turn to that television, didn't want to see his face. "_ _ **Out came the sun and dried up all the rain. And the itsy bitsy spider ran up the spout again."**_ _he chuckled when he finished the song. "_ _ **That song reminds me of your daddy. He gets washed out by the rain and then just runs up the spout again. He's such an idiot, isn't he Robyn?"**_ _at the mention of her daughter's name, Katie turned her head, and her eyes went wide at the sight of Damien Darhk sitting in some underground tunnel rocking her daughter in his arms. Katie stood to her feet, closing her eyes and shaking her head hoping the image would change, but when she opened her eyes again it was still there._

" _No," she whispered taking small steps toward the television. "No, no, no, n-" she felt hot all of a sudden, and yet that wasn't her primary concern. She dropped down to her knees in front of the television, unable to turn away from such an impossible sight. Damien Darhk, and Robyn Queen should never even exist in the same room, and yet she was staring at an image of him holding her child in his arms, singing to her. It took her a moment to fully encompass what she was watching, and the moment she did, Katie felt the heat more and more. Her jaw clenched, and her hands twitched at her side, her eyes never leaving the screen. It was when the image flicked away, did she lift her head and let out a hoarse, piercing, guttural scream._

The bunker was silent. A team of heroes weren't quite ready for words just yet. They didn't want to vocalize what they already knew. Damien Darhk had kidnapped Robyn Queen. Oliver was no where to be found. Katie was alive, still evil, and at the moment they're assuming the recent exploding street lamps and windows were her doing. They figured she was aware of the kidnapping as well. But the bunker was still silent. Silent for way too long, and it was John Diggle who decided to finally end it.

"Felicity, were there any cameras in that airfield? Anything showing where Darhk could've gone?"

"I've already checked." Felicity's voice was low, a hint of annoyance in her response as well. How could he think that checking every surveillance video of a nearly two hundred mile radius wasn't the first thing she did when she got her hands on a computer?

"What about any known HIVE locations? Maybe we can shake one of them down for Darhk's whereabouts?" John suggested, glancing over to Felicity who was currently sitting across from him, her back to him. She didn't respond. "Felicity?" Felicity stood to her feet and stalked toward the elevator. She couldn't do this. She kept replaying those moments in her head. It was her. She was the only one there standing between Damien Darhk taking the baby. It was her who should've stopped him and yet she was powerless. "Felicity!" she was about to open the doors, but then they opened just as she stepped in front of them, and there standing was Bruce. His eyes went straight to her, the worry clear on his face as he instantly cupped her face.

"Are you ok? Are you hurt? Did he-" She shoved him away from her, before she moved around him to step onto the elevator. Bruce turned, slipping on as well before the doors could shut.

John let out a sigh before turning to Laurel and Lyla who both stood in the silence.

"We can't just sit here and do nothing. We have to-" there was a sound in the far end of the bunker and they all turned to see Jacob Robin. "Jacob?"

"Mr. Diggle." Jacob greeted before turning to Lyla. "Director, I need to have a word." Lyla gave a nod before taking a step.

"If it has anything to do with the shit storm we're in right now, then I think we all should know." John said looking between the pair.

"I agree." Laurel said looking between the ARGUS agents as well. "Have you found out where Darhk is keeping the baby?"

"At the moment no, but we have every available resource searching for her." Jacob replied clenching his fist slightly trying to reign in his emotions right now. He knew letting himself feel everything right now, from the darkness inside of his daughter to the fact that an evil bastard now has his grandchild, he'd turn into raving mad man if he wasn't careful. "We're going to find her."

"Then what's going on?" Lyla asked turning to him and Jacob turned to her with a look letting her know his words could only be heard by her. Lyla looked over to John and Laurel and knew the secrecy wasn't going to fly. Not right now. She turned back to Jacob and just shook her head. "Just say it." Jacob paused for a moment but continued.

"Rubicon." he said, and Lyla dropped her head. She felt like she failed as a director after letting that monster steal such a dangerous weapon. It cost a lot of lives. Though it wasn't as many as it could've been, it was still the lives of innocent people.

"I know." she said looking back up to the man with a shake of her head. "I take full responsibility. Our security wasn't tight enough. There wasn't enough oversight. I will note all of this in my statement for the hearing."

"There's not going to be a hearing, Director." Jacob said and the woman looked at the man in confusion.

"A wanted criminal stole nuclear launch codes, successfully launched a nuclear weapon and killed thousands of people under my watch. How can there not be a hearing?"

"What if I told you that a wanted criminal didn't steal nuclear launch codes, and didn't launch a nuclear weapon, and the town of Havenrock is unscathed."

"How is that possible?" Laurel asked looking over to the man. "Darhk and his HIVE stole Rubicon, we saw the missiles launch. Felicity and Noah were able to stop most of them, except for the one that hit Havenrock."

"I got a body count." Lyla said turning to the man. "Tens of thousand of people were killed." Jacob looked at the woman and even she began to doubt herself. "What's going on Jacob?"

"It was her, wasn't it?" they all turned to John at his question. "She made us think she was dead, maybe she made us believe Damien's plan had actually worked." Lyla turned back to Jacob and shook her head.

"There were reports, video footage. It was all over the news." Lyla said, and Jacob sighed before pulling out his cell phone. They watched as he pressed a few keys before turning it to Lyla who read the news article, her eyes widening.

"What is it?" John asked and he and Laurel walked over, their eyes looking down to the article as well. "Havenrock nuclear attack a hoax. Town unable to reveal the scam due to city wide power outage that cut them off from the rest of the world."

"How-" Laurel started, but stopped as she turned to Jacob. "Why would she want the world to believe that Havenrock was attacked?" Jacob shook his head.

"She didn't care about the world believing it, Ms. Lance."

"Darhk." John said looking over to the man. "We assumed all those deaths juiced up his idol, made him powerful." John glanced over to Laurel who soon understood as well. "If those people aren't dead-"

"He didn't get any souls." Laurel said and John nodded. "Meaning he's not as powerful as he thinks he is." they all turned to Jacob. "She tricked him."

"If she has the power to do all of this, I don't even want to think about what she's going to do to Damien Darhk when she finds him."

Felicity stalked out of the building with the intent to just get into her car and drive away. Bruce Wayne's heavy steps behind her revealed that wasn't going to happen.

"Hey!" Bruce finally caught her arm, stopping her from walking. "I know you're angry, and you're scared, but you stalking outside alone when this city is going to hell-" she pulled out of his grasp and turned wanting to just get to her car. "Will you wait!"

"What do you think I've been doing, Bruce?!" Felicity snapped angrily turning back to him. "What exactly do you think I've been doing? I've been waiting. For us, for you to stop being an asshole and just trust me the way I trust you." Felicity shook her head. "I'm not doing this now. I can't do this now. That bastard just walked away with my god daughter, and I let him." Bruce saw the way her hands were shaking and he attempted to reach out to her, but she once again pulled away.

"Felicity, it's not your-"

"Not my fault!" she snapped turning away from the man. "I was there. I was right there in front of him and I couldn't stop him. I couldn't even put up a fight. I let that evil bastard just walk away with my best friend's daughter, and I-" Felicity didn't want to remember those moments, but for some reason she couldn't stop. She was tormenting herself.

"Felicity-"

"Just don't. You weren't there. You were off, doing whatever it is you do that you can't tell me about, and I'm fine with that. Keep your secrets Bruce. I'm done waiting." she turned and began walking away, and Bruce knew that this was it. That there was no hope in her words. That she truly meant what she said, and in that moment he could only do one thing.

"Damien Darhk is Katie's father!" he called and Felicity's feet stopped. She slowly turned back to him, unsure if he really just said what she thinks he just said. She stood there and just looked at him for a moment before stalking over to him, and placing herself right in front of him. She needed to look in his eyes, needed to see even a hint of anything that would tell her that those words weren't true and she didn't see anything. Felicity's eyes widened and she took a step back. "Felicity-"

"This was the secret?" she whispered and the way she looked at him. The confusion, laced with betrayal let him know that he had to explain. "Why—why wouldn't you-" she shook her head because the sentence 'Damien Darhk is Katie's father' just didn't make sense. "How-" she stopped and took a deep breath before once again looking up to meet Bruce's eyes. "Explain." Bruce lifted his eyes and glanced around the block and he nudged his head back toward the office. Felicity nodded before following him.

Ari couldn't sleep. Sleep was the furthest thing from her mind right now. The teen sat in her room, atop of her bed, knees pressed to her chest as she rocked back and forth. She thinks she's having a mental breakdown, but she isn't sure. She keeps playing the previous night over and over again in her head. Katie was alive. Ari saw her, stood right in front of her, but it didn't really feel like her. The warmth she always felt around her cousin wasn't there, and it became replaced with fear. When she ran into Oliver, she thought she was safe. He was there, and he would protect her, but then he got the message. Damien Darhk had his daughter, and he just walked away from her. She got it. She totally understood that in that moment Oliver had to protect the kid that was in the most danger and right now that was Robyn. She remembers being kidnapped by that monster, and remembers being scared, but she never showed it. Robyn was just a baby. She couldn't act brave. She could just cry, and Ari didn't want to think about what would happen when Damien got tired of the crying.

The door to her room squeaked as it quietly opened, but Ari didn't turn. She knew who it was. It was her new babysitter. The scary lady who dressed weird.

"I uh—just wanted to make sure you were alright?" Nyssa asked, and Ari could hear how awkward it sounded. "Did you need anything?"

"I need you to leave me alone." Ari said, never turning to her, still rocking back and forth. She didn't hear the woman leave, and Ari shook her head. "Will you just leave me alone!" she turned and curled up on her bed, grabbing a pillow and clutching it to her chest. "He's going to take them all away from me, and I can't do anything about it."

"You think Damien Darhk is going to win?" Nyssa asked, but Ari didn't answer. "You don't know this, but Damien Darhk has a history of losing. It's why he's turned to mystics. He thinks it gives him the upper hand." Nyssa looked down to the girl without a mother, and without a father, and she couldn't help but see a bit of herself. The feeling of loneliness when the people you care about leave. The girl needed comfort, something Nyssa doesn't think she's wired to do, and so she turns and heads for the door. Before she leaves she stops, placing her hand on the door knob, and glances back to Ari once more. "You haven't lived long enough to know people like Damien Darhk, people like my father. Their reign of destruction can only last so long before someone finally steps up to stop them." Nyssa turned to leave.

"She was standing right there in front of me." Ari said and Nyssa once again stopped. She looked back over to the girl, Ari's back still to her. "That thing inside of her, it's still there."

"Do you want to know what makes our cousin so annoying?" Nyssa asked, and at the question, Ari finally turned to the woman. She was still finding it hard to accept that this woman was kind of like family. At the moment, she was the only family she had. "She has no off button." with that Nyssa turned and left the room. The woman walked down the halls, her eyes looking up to the pictures that lined the walls and couldn't quite believe it. She still remembers the day she picked up the rich doctor from the ARGUS agents. Her father never revealed the reason, even when she asked, he never told her the truth. Nyssa stopped in front of a picture of Oliver and Katie, Ari standing in front of her cousin, her arm wrapped around her while Oliver holds baby Robyn in his arms. "If there's any a time to fight, now is the time Nura."

Thea wasn't sure what to do. She wanted to run. Her eyes drift to the shattered windows, but she knew it couldn't be that easy. To this moment, she has no idea what set the woman off. Something happened, and Katie screamed and everything just exploded. The windows, the lights, vases. Anything made of glass just exploded and now shards covered the floors. Thea looked around and she couldn't see her home anymore. She couldn't see the place she grew up. This place had slowly turned into her prison and she had no idea how to escape.

Right now there was yelling. Katie was pacing back and forth yelling at someone that wasn't Thea. Thea simply sat there, watching, listening, hoping to learn anything.

"You have to give it to me!" the woman yelled. "It's the only way we can get her back!" she paused for a moment as if waiting for a response. "Just let go! I will get her back and get rid of him and then you'll be free." she once again paused. "This isn't your life any more! You're dead! Accept it and just slip away!"

Thea was totally confused, but she did see this moment as maybe a chance for her to slip away. Casting one final glance to the woman, Thea slowly stood to her feet, and began moving out of the room. She thought that this could be it, that she could really escape, but then she'd taken another step and none came after.

"Ah, ah, ah, Speedy." the voice was right behind her. Thea's feet soon loosened, and the woman turned to see she was right there. Katie was standing there right behind her. "I can't lose you too. You're the most important piece to my plan."

"And what plan is that?" Thea asked. The thing inside her sister smiled. "I'm not going to help you, you know."

"Oh, Speedy," Katie suddenly caught Thea's face with her hand. Thea grimaced, and struggled to pull away but she was once again stuck. "I don't need your willingness." Thea gasped when the woman's eyes changed to a cold black that always reminded Thea just who was staring back at her. This wasn't Katie, Twinkie was gone. This monster standing in front of her was evil and she knew this would only end one way. "I just need that liquid gold running through your veins." Katie shoved her away and Thea stumbled back, sliding a hand across her now sore jaw.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well I thought it was obvious, Thea. Tonight, is going to be the most glorious night. The reign of the Homo magi will be reignited, and you are going to make it possible. I just feel bad that you won't be around to see it."

"What-"

"No more talking. Sleep." and in an instant, Thea's eyes fluttered closed and Katie reached forward to grab her before she could hit the floor. "And now I have to go pay a visit to that brother of yours."

Oliver had finally stopped walking. He doesn't know how, but he stopped. He once again found himself standing at the edge of the Star City quarry. Damien had given him a time and place to make the exchange. It was happening later today. Nora for Robyn. Except there would be no exchange. Nora was taken by Jacob to ARGUS where she would be placed in protective custody. She'd probably be placed with another family and Damien will never see her again. Oliver knew Damien wouldn't like that. He would probably do something rash. Maybe try to hurt his daughter. But the plan was, he'd be dead before he could even think of hurting her.

Oliver heard the footsteps behind him and whipped around, his eyes going wide. It was her.

"Twinkie?"

"So you did live to see me again." she said with a shake of her head. "Too bad I'm going to kill you." she reached out a hand, and Oliver felt the air torn from his lungs. "You stupid, idiotic, failure of man. You let him take her! You let him-" Oliver felt a tightening of his throat and he dropped to his knees in front of her. "You had one job. You protect them. And now an ego-manic has her." she walked over closing the distance, and Oliver just looked up to her. He wasn't fighting her, wasn't begging for her to stop. He was just letting it happen. He was going to let her kill him. She narrowed her eyes when she realized that, and with a roll of her eyes she dropped her hand, and the man violently coughed as the air once again assaulted his lungs. "Well it's not fun if you're just going to give in. At least fight back!"

"Why?" he asked standing to his feet and looking to her. "You're right. I am a failure. I lost you, I lost my daughter. The one thing I was placed on this earth to do, and I couldn't do it." she looked at him for a moment as if to study him. She was thinking, and Oliver couldn't help but recognize the look on her face. He couldn't get over how she was standing right here, right in front of him. It was taking all the will power he had not to reach out and kiss her, touch her. He couldn't do any of those things, because he wasn't standing in front of his wife. He was standing in front of the shell of his wife, currently inhabited by this thing he still doesn't even understand. She looked at him and clenched her fist wanting to hit him so badly right now.

"You don't get to feel sorry for yourself when that bastard has her!" she took a step toward Oliver and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. He couldn't stop thinking about seeing her in that hospital bed, and Ethan telling him she was gone. He couldn't stop seeing that casket he saw her lying in. "So buck up and lets go get her back."

"I'm supposed to wait for Darhk to call me with-"

"No, we're no longer playing his games." Her eyes turned a cold, dark black and Oliver gasp taking a step back, but Katie caught his jacket and pulled him back to her. "We're doing this now." she smiled and Oliver inhaled deeply when it felt as if he'd been sucked into some sort of vacuum. It happened in the blink of an eye. One moment they were standing beside the quarry, the next they're standing in dark tunnels underneath the city. She looked over to the man who was gasping for air. "Take deep breaths. That funny feeling will pass." she turned scanning the tunnels. "Here's the deal, you get the baby and then I get you out of here."

"What are you-"

"No time for questions you're not going to like the answer to." she turned raven eyes to him and this time he didn't flinch. "Right now you and me want the same thing, how that happens doesn't matter." she nudged her head and began walking. Oliver hesitated for a moment, scanning the tunnels. His eyes looked back to the retreating form of the woman and couldn't quiet believe any of this was happening. But she was right. Only one thing mattered, and that was getting his daughter back and right now he didn't care how that happened. Oliver took in another deep breath before going to follow after her.

The trek through the tunnels was spent in silence. Oliver kept his eyes everywhere unsure of this plan.

"Are you sure Darhk's here?" Oliver whispered, but he didn't get a response from the woman in front of him. He hissed in annoyance before quickening his steps to stop the woman in front of him. "Are you-" she quickly pressed a hand to cover his mouth and he fixed his glare to her. She simply tapped her ear and so he listened.

"I don't mean to question you sir-"

"Then don't."

Oliver's ears perked up at the voices of Malcolm and Darhk.

Damien kept his gaze on the child in his arms, a smile on his face as he lightly rocked her in his arms. She was wide awake at the moment, her gaze on him as well. It was rare for anyone to surprise him, but for some reason this child did. She stared at him and it seemed as if she knew he wasn't supposed to have her and yet she wasn't crying. Was she being brave? Damien chuckled as he looked down to her, because that was impossible.

"Once I have my daughter, I will send the word to Cooper, and then we can proceed with the plan." Damien said with a smile as he looked down to the child. Malcolm looked over to the man, and found the sight unsettling. This entire thing was unsettling. He had no doubt this plan Darhk thought would go off without hitch wouldn't be so easy. And he'd bet his life that Oliver and the newly resurrected Katherine won't be letting the abduction of their daughter be swept away so easily. As time goes by, Malcolm's starting to realize that the tides have shifted and he's no longer on the winning team. It's time he acted, and so he stood to his feet.

"I'm not sure this place is suitable for a child this young." Malcolm walked over to the man who never tore his gaze from the child. "I could take her some place safe while you meet with Oliver. At least then if something goes wrong, you have a contingency plan."

"Nothing's going to go wrong. Oliver Queen is a lot of things, but he's not a gambler. He's not risking the life of his daughter to try to beat me. I mean he's an idiot, but he's not that big of an idiot." Damien lifted his eyes to Malcolm, and for some reason Malcolm got worried. He didn't show it on his face, but he did stand it bit straighter.

"Either way, she shouldn't be down here." Malcolm replied, and Damien was silent for a moment. Malcolm wasn't sure what the man was thinking, and that worried him. Damien dropped his eyes back to the little girl and gave her a smile. "Damien-"

"She's not going anywhere Malcolm." Damien replied. "You will stay here with her while I fetch Nora."

"But Oliver-"

"Oliver won't be living much longer after our meeting." Damien cooed down to the little girl. "And when mommy makes her appearance, I'll make sure to end her and ensure it sticks this time. Then you, me, and Nora will face the end together." Malcolm looked at the man with wary eyes. If he had any doubt about how insane this man was, it was definitely gone now. "Are you hungry? Let's get you something to eat?" Damien glanced over to Malcolm. "You want to grab a jar of-" Damien noticed Malcolm's gaze behind him, and so he turned his eyes widening at the sight of Oliver Queen. The surprise was quickly replaced with amusement as he began to laugh. "Oh Oliver, you-" he continued to laugh as he grasped the child in his arms. "You're impressing me, and that's not easy to do. So you found me. What was the plan? Surprise me, throw me off my game, and then take your daughter."

"Something like that." Oliver said, his eyes looking over to his daughter, and he feels the anger, feels the darkness he'd been trying to fight practically buzzing underneath his skin.

"Well there's just one problem." Damien said before shooting out a hand toward the man, before watching Oliver drop to his knees as he chokes. "I can still do that." Damien laughs as he glances down to Robyn. "Look at that. What did I tell you about your dear old dad."

"Damien," Malcolm says, and Darhk glances over to the man whose eyes are on Oliver. In confusion, Damien turns back, this time seeing Oliver flicker as if he were a projection. The smile fell from Damien's face as he dropped his hand back to his side. "It's her. She's here." Damien opened his mouth to respond when the weight of the child in his arms suddenly felt different. He glanced down, now staring at a watermelon swaddled in a blanket. He stared for a moment, before letting out a chuckle.

"Oh Katherine," he slid his arms letting the fruit drop to the floor before he lifted his eyes to scan the tunnels. "I know you're here. Be a good girl, and come talk to your father." Damien let his eyes move about, turning and noticing that his right hand man Malcolm had run off. "Coward."

"Or genius." a voice spoke from behind him. A smile came to his face as he turned to face her. It was her in the flesh and he feels stupid for not realizing it sooner. He thought his idol had cut the connection between the two of them, but he should've known better. Their connection, their bond was too strong to just be severed by his idol. "Hi Damien."

"Where's Oliver?" Damien asked as he looked behind the woman. "He's not going to stick around for the moment his wife truly dies?" Katie looked at him and just shook her head. "You know I can't believe she tried to hide you from me? Grace was always so-" the man sucked in a gasp of air. "You know what she was. She was a hypocrite."

"Is that so?"

"She knew who I was. Knew what I wanted, and knew I'd do anything to get it."

"And so you stole a page out of her grimoire to find your self a Khushu Idol." she said as she began slowly circling him. "How much do you know about that idol?"

"Is this the game we're playing, Katherine?" Darhk says as he watches her. "Because we've done the banter before. Gone toe to toe numerous times, and they all end the same. Let's break the cycle. You tell me where my daughter is, and I won't find and skin your entire family." she let out a heavy sigh.

"I had this big production planned for how I was going to do this. There was going to be a party, and everyone was going to be there, and you were going to be the man of the hour. It was going to be the night to remember." she shook her head. "But then you had to put your evil, dirty fingers on a child and just the thought alone makes me want to just decapitate you right now." she paused and turned. "You know we may get to that later. But where was I?" she turned back to him and waved her hands a bit. "That's right, the Khushu idol. I asked what you knew about it, and I figure you were going to say something idiotic like ' _killing people makes it give me power_ ', and I would tell you you're wrong!"

"Katherine-"

"Scene change!" she yelled, and in another blink, they were standing in the middle of Star City cemetery. Damien glanced around, before turning back to the woman who walked over and plopped down on the grass in front of a headstone. He took a few steps, reading the name and turned away. "You haven't been here have you? You've been trying to blow up the city, and you haven't even come to visit the woman you claimed to have loved."

"I-" Damien caught his words. He shook his head because he knew what this was. He was realizing the strength of the power sitting in front of him, and he didn't want to admit it, but an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. "This city is going to burn whether I came here or not."

"There won't be any nuclear missiles headed for Star City." Katie says reaching forward and sliding a hand across the headstone, tracing the name of Grace Robins. "You don't actually have any access to any nuclear weapons."

"What are you-" A sudden piercing, high pitched ringing filled his ears and the man snapped his eyes closed as he dropped his head to his hands. A memory assaults him. He's back in his command center, staring at the monitors as Cooper accesses Rubicon. His eyes look up to the monitors, only this time the image changes from showing the areal maps to being blank. The image continues to flicker, suddenly settling on the blank screens, and he feels the smile on his face widening.

He lets out a gasp as his eyes open, and he's back standing in the cemetery. "It was an illusion? Havenrock-"

"Havenrock is completely safe and oblivious to any attempted nuclear attack." she replied and she turned and leaned her back against the head stone.

"The souls-"

"What souls?" she asked and a smile curled at her lips and the man's eyes widened as he looked down to his hands before looking back to her. "Now about your Khushu idol, so yes, fine, death powers it, gives it's user the ability to tap into dark magic, but that's not it's purpose. You see the homo magi created the khushu idol as a set. One idol harnesses dark magic, the other harnesses light magic. They're supposed to be used together to create balance between the two. You're not supposed to consistently use just one." she shook her head as she looked up to the man. "You're just human, Damien. Harnessing that kind of power, you were killing yourself and you didn't even know it." she laughed. "Or maybe you did." she jumped to her feet and walked toward him. "Is that why you kept it near? Kept powering it up with unnecessary deaths? Because you knew if you stopped, you were dead."

"Katherine-"

"You keep calling me that as if that's my name, Damien?" the woman took a step toward him and he watched her eyes as they changed to raven black. He stumbled back a bit. "Grace told you about me, didn't she?" he continued moving backwards. "Told you how the homo magi had ways of avenging those that have been wronged. How those ancient families of the pure homo magi would be protected by these avenging mystical spirits when they were needed." she placed herself directly in front of the man and glanced up to the sky when suddenly black rose pedals began falling. "You had an envelope slipped underneath her door. You intended to darken her mystical side, if-" she brought those dark eyes back to him. "If she had one. You weren't sure. You didn't know if she inherited her mother's gifts, and so you took a chance." she placed a hand on his chest, and felt him shutter underneath her touch. "You had no idea those pedals would pull me free. You freed me Damien, and for that I thank you." the man shook his head.

"You're-" this was a trick. A manipulation. There was no way this woman held—he couldn't even think it, because it just wasn't possible. "If you're—that means Grace was."

"That means Grace was older than she let on. And had more power in her left pinky than the entire universe." the woman sucked in a gasp of air before turning and heading back to Grace's headstone. "She loved you, you know. She thought you were...different, and she really needed different." she shook her head. "But then you turned out to be just like every other power hungry sociopath she'd met. You just hid it a bit better."

"You know this has been a riveting conversation, but I'm getting bored of your campfire stories. So if you don't mind." The man lifted up his hand, and focused his power and watched as nothing happened. He frowned as he looked down to his hand, and continued to focus. "This isn't possible."

"Oh Damien, I forgot Malcolm probably didn't tell you. Before your whole prison break plan where Malcolm brings you the idol, I kind of tinkered with it a bit." she chuckled as she hopped up to sit on Grace's headstone, her eyes still on the man. "Which means I'm the one linked to the khushu, and I've just been giving you a bit of a bootleg connection, and you were none the wiser." Damien growled in anger, before taking a step toward the woman. "Scene change!" she yelled once again, and in the next moment they found themselves standing in the middle of the bunker. Damien let his eyes scan the room, before he turned, noticing the new eyes on him. "You maybe wondering what we're doing here, or maybe you're not." she glanced around the room where she spotted John, Laurel, Lyla and Jacob standing just across the bunker their eyes now trained on the sudden appearing pair. "We're here for daddy." she pointed a finger at the man and gestured for him to come over. Jacob was surprised she didn't force him over, but he figured she knew he had no where else to go, and so he took a step, but John caught his arm.

"I don't know what the hell this is, but you definitely shouldn't have brought it here." John said before reaching behind him and pulling out the glock he had tucked in his pants. Lyla did the same. They watched as neither the man or the woman standing across from them seems at all bothered by the weapons now pointing at them.

"Mr. Diggle, director, put down your guns." Jacob said, his eyes on Darhk, and the monster in his daughter's body.

"I'm sorry I can't do that." John said, not turning away either. "You may be wearing my friend's body, but I know what you are, and I have no problem pulling this trigger until the clip is empty." She took a step forward and he gripped the gun firmly.

"And I would love to see that, but we're not doing that now. Now it's time for a family reunion between me and my two fake dads." she turned to Jacob once again. "You see dad number one-" she turned back to Damien. "He knew Grace as Minnah, and was friends with her brother, and then they fell in love, and one would assume that's when I was created." she smiled. "Ahnt!" she turned back to Jacob. "Isn't that right, Jacob?"

"You should be careful what you say next." Jacob said moving past John and walking over to the woman. "Once you say the words out loud, you can't take them back."

"Oh come on Jacob, we're all adults. And secrets were meant to be shared publicly to embarrass and shame the idiots who thought they could keep them." she turned back to Damien and walked over to him. "You see my mother lied when she deemed you the father. It was a ploy she used against my uncle who she loved dearly. I mean if she wanted to get away from him, she could've made it so, but she was such a bleeding heart sometimes. She wouldn't hurt him, but she wanted to get away from him, and so she concocted the one story she could tell him that would make him release his hold on her." she shook her head. "The demon knew of your new found power, and thought you'd try to hurt his sister, maybe even the child she was carrying if you ever found her. So when the strapping soldier Jacob Robins strolled through the doors of his fortress, he wasn't as hesitant to let her go off with him, for the protection of her child." she smiled at the look of confusion on the man's face. "The truth. You got to tumble in the sheets with Minnah, but no child was ever conceived. No Katherine's conception was-"

"That's enough!" Jacob snapped and she turned back to him. "You have no idea what you're doing."

"I thought we were having a family bonding moment, but then you had to go and ruin it." she shook her head before turning back to Damien just as the doors of the elevator opened, and there appeared Oliver whose eyes went wide at the sight of Damien and Katie there, weapons pointed at him. "You took your sweet time, didn't you? How long does it take to put two kids on a plane when the plane was just outside waiting for you?" she shook her head as she spun around, looking into the eyes of Damien, Jacob, and Oliver. "This is it. This is the moment no one is ever going to forget." she smiled before turning to Damien, and walking over to him. "You have committed countless injustices against the homo magi, you tampered with a power never intended to be harbored within you." Damien stood there, and he just knew what was going to happen next, and so with his final words, he'd ask the one question he needed answered.

"Nora-"

"Your daughter is safe. She's in protective custody of ARGUS, she'll more than likely be placed with a family. I doubt it will stick though. She's going to carry this with her. Death of her mother, death of her father. She's destined to follow in the footsteps of her father. Hopefully she doesn't take the same steps, I mean we wouldn't want her to end up here."

"Katie-" It was Oliver who called the name, but she didn't turn to him. Not now. Not this moment. She couldn't. "What ever you're about to-"

"When you take the life of a person, you hold their eyes. Let them see you as they leave this plane. Let them leave without being alone. It's more than what you deserve, but I will give it to you." she placed a hand on his cheek. "You know why this has to happen. You actually have been waiting for this moment, and now it's here." he looked down to her eyes with a hard glare. He was helpless. He knew it, she knew it, everyone in this room knew it. It's why no one tried to stop her.

"So are we to stand in the middle of hero lair, as a team of justice seeking heroes watch you murder a man right in front of them?" Damien asked, and she smirked.

"Look around Damien. We're in a room where every last person wants you dead. No one will try to stop me, well Oliver might, he's still thinks this will somehow taint his wife's soul or something, but it can't. His wife's soul is as dead as she is. I'm all that's left." she dropped her hand and took a step back, all while never tearing her eyes from his. "Grace attempted to get a lock on your location. You felt it, just didn't know who it was. She did a spell, a dark magic spell, one that took a lot of magic. Magic she had, magic she became afraid of. To complete the spell she had to give into the darkness, but she held back, and it gave you a chance to counteract the spell. That counteraction was the straw that broke the camel's back."

"Katie, listen to me. If you're in there-" Oliver saw where this was going. He himself wanted Damien dead, but he just got the feeling that if it happened like this, if she was the one to do it, it would only dig her into a deeper darkness.

"Her heart stopped instantly. You killed her, and you didn't even know it. Well it was team effort I guess. She helped." she pointed a thumb back to Jacob. "He was right when he told people that she killed herself, because honestly she did." she took another step back, away from him, her eyes never leaving his. "I think we've come full circle, haven't we?"

"So that's it. How is justice served when the accused doesn't even get to defend himself?" Damien asked. He knew this was it, but he wasn't ready to just roll over yet. He took a bold step forward. "You don't want an easy kill, do you?" he continued walking toward her. She silently looked at him for a moment before lifting a hand and flicking her wrist. Everyone else in the room soon realized they couldn't move.

"Twinkie, I know you're in there-"

"She's not, and you're going to stop talking now." the woman whipped her wrist toward Oliver who attempted to speak, but the words from his brain never made it out of his mouth. He turned and watched as Damien pulled off his jacket, and she did the same.

"Fair fight, no magic, just-" she spun a kick into his chest sending him stumbling back, and he laughed before gaining his footing and rushing to attack.

_The television was blank. She didn't see Damien, or Robyn, but Katie couldn't explain it. She just knew Robyn was safe, and that Darhk no longer had her. And so she returned to her routine. She lied on that couch, staring at a blank screen awaiting the next image it would show her. The silence was deafening, but it was now an accepted part of her new existence of nonexistence. Until it wasn't._

_The doorbell rang. She thought it was just a hallucination. But then it rang again. She turned her head at the sound. She didn't want to believe that it was real. Believing that it was real meant accepting hope. Hope that someone else may be here. Hope that she wasn't all alone. Hope was dangerous in a place like this. It rang again, and if at all possible, it was louder than before, and this time Katie sat up into a sitting position. It was at this point that she finally accepted that the doorbell was truly ringing. She stood to her feet and slowly padded toward the door. The fourth time the door bell rang, the bell was so loud it practically shook the house. When she reached the door she hesitated, because pulling open this door, and seeing who or what was on the other side could either give her hope or kill her that much faster. Her hand shakily reached for the doorknob, and she pulled open the door._

" _Mom?"_

_Grace glanced around behind her as if watching for someone, before turning her eyes to Katie. She held out a hand to her daughter._

" _We don't have much time. We have to go?" Katie looked at the woman like she was crazy. She took a step back about to slam the door closed. This was either a trick or a hallucination, and she wasn't going to fall for it. She tried to push the door closed, but Grace pushed it back. "You've been in here too long, and I know you can't discern what's real and what's not, but you need to listen to me." Grace took a step inside the house. "We have to go now, before it's too late." Katie didn't say anything because she still wasn't sure if this was actually happening. She took another step back before turning and going back to her couch. She laid down closing her eyes and clamping her hands over her ears. This would make the unreal go away just as it has before. What she didn't expect was for the hallucination to grab her hands and force them from her ears. Katie snapped open her eyes to see her mother staring down to her with a hard stare. "This is real. I am real. I'm here, because today is the day you're going to die." Katie's eyes widened when the woman pulled her up. "But that's not going to happen, sweetie. I won't allow it. We're getting you out of here before it does."_

" _There is no way out of here!" Katie snapped pulling out of the woman's grasp._

" _There is, we just have to find it. Now come on!" Grace turned and rushed out the door, and Katie sat there for a moment. Was this real or was it a hallucination? Katie turned her head unsure at this point. Standing to her feet, and following after the woman meant Katie was accepting hope. Something she'd accepted didn't exist in this place long ago. She turned when the television flicked on, and there appeared Ari, Robyn in her arms._

" _ **We're going to get her back**." Ari whispered to the baby in her arms. " **She won't leave us."** Ari placed a kiss on top of the child's head, and that's when the image flicked off. Was this real or was it a hallucination? Katie sat there for all of a minute before she stood to her feet. The answer to that question was, she didn't care. If there was even the slightest chanced that this was real, she was going to take it. And so she rushed for the door, and finally took the first step of hope. _

Damien Darhk was a former member of the League of Assassins. Almost deemed the heir to thrown. It was a fact that should've made the woman think twice before engaging in hand to hand kombat with him. Just a couple of minutes into the fight and Damien was sure it was a fact that didn't matter to the woman who matched every punch, every kick, with her own. In this very moment, she tossed a right hook, but he caught her arm, and jerked her forward before pulling his arm around her neck in a choke hold. He tightened his grip, his arm putting pressure on her throat.

"Defender of the magi!" he taunted in her ear. "You're a disgrace to your people." he saw the rapid blinking of her eyes and knew it would be happening soon. She'd stop breathing. But she jerked her elbow into his chest, and his arm loosened just slightly. It gave her enough room to grab his arm and spin around and swing her leg up, hooking it around his neck and forcing him to the floor. The fall was hard, and Damien seemed to take the grunt of the hit. It took him too long to recover. Her leg was still around his neck, and she pulled his arm tight as she waited for the air to finally leave his lungs, and it was going to happen. Damien could feel it. It was close, and he thinks he's ready for it, but before the end could finally swallow him up, she relinquishes her hold before standing to her feet. Damien was going to lie there, but his aching feet seemed to force him to stand without his permission. He could feel them though, and he could move them, so when he turned and her back was to him, Damien bolted toward her. Jacob was standing right in front of her, her eyes on his for a moment as a smile curled at her lips,when suddently she whipped around before Damien could even touch her, her hand it—she—

Jacob closed his eyes, because the sight made his stomach turn. When he lifted his eyes back to her, the scene was unchanging. Her arm protruding from Damien Darhk's chest, his heart in her hand. Darhk’s eyes were still open, and she was looking right into them. She let his heart slip from her hand before she pulled herself free and watched as the man simply dropped to the floor.

Her eyes looked down to him for a moment before turning to the eyes on her and she caught the wary expressions.

"Oh, c'mon! Ding dong, the wicked dick is dead! You're welcome." she turned to Oliver whose eyes seemed to become glassy, as if he wanted to cry. "Sorry, you probably could've gone a lot longer without seeing your wife rip someone's heart out, huh?" she walked over to him, sliding a bloody hand across her forehead. "That was kind of invigorating. Got the blood pumping. I could probably run a marathon right now. If only I had the time." she smiled up to the man and she frowned for a moment. "Oh, that's right." she wave a hand, "I have to go, I'm sure you guys can handle the clean up." she smiled as she turned and once again looked down to Damien's body, and just like that she was gone.

The room was silent. All eyes on the deceased form of Damien Darhk, his heart just a few feet away from his body. No one in that room knew quite what to say in this moment. After a while, they all looked over to Oliver who couldn't take his eyes from the body. He kept replaying it in his head, seeing her kill him in that way, seeing how unaffected by all it she seemed. She had no remorse about it at all, and that's when he realized it. That's when he accepted it. That's when he truly felt it with every beam of his body.

His wife was dead. The love of his life was just gone, and in her place was a soulless monster.

" _If this thing get too bad, if you look in my eyes and don't see me anymore, I need you to be the one to finally end this thing."_

Oliver lifted his eyes to his friends, and their expression mirrored his own. He knew they'd come to the same conclusion as him. Oliver silently walked over to Jacob, and Jacob lifted his eyes from the body to his son in-law.

"Jacob-" Oliver started, and Jacob silently lifted a hand to Oliver's shoulder. "I-"

"It's ok." Jacob said with a nod. He felt the emotion twitch in his throat. "I know. She's gone." Oliver dropped his head because he never truly felt as if that were true until this moment, and he couldn't even stop the tears from spilling out of him. Jacob wrapped his arms around the man, and Oliver didn't even have the strength to return the embrace. There was no comfort here. He doesn't think anything could comfort him with this. Soon John walked over, placing a hand on Oliver's shoulder. Laurel and Lyla walked over as well, placing a hand on the man, and that's how they stood as the realization of the moment settled in.

The doors to the elevator opened, and no one turned.

"Oh my god." Felicity gasped, her eyes looking down to the dead body of Damien Darhk, a hole in his chest, and what she thinks is his heart beside him. She looks over to the team, and her eyes widen at the sight of Oliver in the center of their friends and in that moment she realizes what has happened, and she also realizes what happens next. Felicity didn't think she had any more tears left for her friend, and yet her cheeks were soon stained with tears that couldn't be stopped.

The sadness in the air could only last for so long before they had to pull themselves out of it. Oliver lifted his head from Jacob's shoulder, and dried his tears with his hand. He looked up to the eyes on him, and they waited for him to produce a next move. It's just he wasn't sure he could. He knew what had to happen, he just didn't know how it would. "Oliver-" the man turned to Felicity who cautiously walked over, trying to place as much distance from the corpse. "There's something you should know."

Soon Oliver found himself standing in Bruce's shipyard hideout, standing in front of an extraordinary team brought together for one reason. And that reason was to kill his wife..no...not his wife. His wife was dead. Every time the words passed through his mind, it seemed to secrete the fact even more. They told him their plan. Find her, and hope their combined efforts and abilities were enough to get close enough to stab her with the blade. The plan seemed way too simple, and Oliver knew it wouldn't go completely as planned, but at the moment it was all they had.

"Oliver?" it was Bruce who spoke first after the plan was explained. "I know this is hard. Trust me it's hard for everyone in this room, but everyone has accepted that this is what has to happen." Oliver looked at the man for a moment before letting his gaze move across the many eyes on him right now. "Oliver-"

"I'm in." Oliver said turning back to Bruce. "One condition. I have to be the one who use the blade." no one agreed to the terms right away, because they weren't sure the man could do it. He saw their hesitance and continued. "My wife is dead. I feel that in my core. That thing in her body is dangerous, and I made a vow to this city to protect them. We can't choose which evil we fight, but it doesn't change that fact that we still have to fight them. Whether you like it or not, I'm the one who can get close to her, I can distract her enough and then I can-" he paused for just a second. "Then I can kill her." they all continued to watch him, trying to find the truth in his words. It was Constantine who walked over to the man and looked at him for a moment, sympathy in his eyes before he pulled back his trench coat to reveal the handle of a blade tucked into his pants. He pulled it free, and Oliver's eyes were drawn to it, because this wasn't the first time he'd seen the blade. The curved blade and the jeweled handle. He remembered the dream, Katie showed him a drawing of the blade. She knew this moment was destined.

"It's called-"

"Moon blade." Oliver said reaching forward and taking the blade from Constantine's hand.

"That's right." Constantine said, watching the man as he grips the handle. "How did you know that?" Oliver looked up to the man, and just shook his head.

"Just a guess." he looked over to the others. "We have a plan, but do we know where she will be?"

"We've been trying to figure that out." Zatanna says walking over and typing a few keys on one of the computers. Oliver, and the rest of the team walked over, their eyes on the monitor. "From what Jacob has told us, she's planning on doing a spell. The spell we thinks she's doing will coincide with the full moon, and we believe she will need your sister." the woman turned to Oliver who glared at the screen. He hated that he hadn't seen his sister, and he hoped they could find her in time.

"Wait," Jacob said, and they all turned to him. "I remember her telling Thea that she had liquid gold running through her veins." Zatanna turned away in thought. "We didn't know what she meant."

"It's her blood." Oliver suddenly said turning away, and looking over to Zatanna who turned to him. "Thea was resurrected in the waters of the Lazarus Pit in Nanda Parbat." Zatanna turned to Constantine whose eyes widen and everyone in the room assumed they made a connection. "What is it?"

"The waters of the Lazarus Pit aren't natural waters." Constantine said with a shake of his head. "We believe their powers stemmed further than just being a fountain of immortality." the man tapped his chin as he attempted to figure out what was happening. "Thea has traces of the waters in her blood stream. That's why she needs your sister, but why-"

"She's using the remnants of the water found in Thea Queen's body to create a bridge." it was an unfamiliar voice that spoke, and everyone turned to see a slightly older woman, standing beside Malcolm Merlyn. Soon, guns were drawn and knives were pointed toward them and Malcolm took a step forward.

"This isn't-" he turned to Oliver. "I'm here to help." Oliver gripped the blade in his hand and stalked toward the man.

"Earlier today, you helped that bastard kidnap my daughter." Malcolm shook his head.

"I had no parts in kidnapping Robyn. That was all Damien. After finding out about Ruvé and his daughter, he just snapped. He planned another attack on the city, and to get his daughter back he was going to take yours. I realized then that he was batshit crazy."

"Really Malcolm!" Felicity said with a shake of her head. "That was the moment? I mean stealing nuclear weapons, threatening to kill millions of people, that's ok, but a kidnapping is your limit, huh?" Malcolm turned away from the woman back to Oliver.

"I get you have an opinion of me, and it's probably right, but when I saw Katherine, I knew whatever was happening to her was not good."

"Wow, Malcolm Merlyn knows what bad looks like. That's a shocker." John snarked with a shake of his head, the gun in his hand steady and ready.

"You're scared." Oliver said, and Malcolm turned his eyes back to him. "Damien kidnapped my daughter, and that not good thing you saw in her, it went after him. It killed him. Ripped his heart right out of his chest. And you were standing right beside him as he held my daughter. You know she's not just going to let you live, and so you figure you'd team up with us to stop her. Well I'm sorry Malcolm, but you're on your own." Malcolm growled before taking the hand of the woman beside him.

"This Evangeline. She was a priestess in the fortress of Nanda Parbat. She'd served in those walls for before I was there. She was a close confidant of one Minnah Al Ghul." They all turned their eyes to the woman who nodded. She turned to Jacob and pointed to him.

"You took the book. You thought you were going to keep it safe, but it was never meant for your hands." Evangeline turned back to Oliver and sighed. "Minnah owned a grimoire that held hundreds of spells. I believe the one your wife is attempting is one that is very dangerous. The waters of the Lazarus Pit are said to have been millinea old. Forged by the race of the pure homo magi."

"Pure homo magi?" it was Diana who spoke this time. She'd heard stories about the mystical humans, and their powers beyond belief, but she assumed they were just myths. "The pure homo magi race was diluted when they began living among humans. The originals died out and all that was left were the half race."

"Those were stories to explain what many couldn't fathom to believe." Evangeline countered. "The pure feared their lineage would be diluted, and so they decided to leave, creating new homes where their lines would strengthen. They pulled themselves from the universe, and now I believe Nura is attempting to bring them back." the woman shook her head. "Which would be a very bad thing if successful."

"How bad are we talking?" Clark asked suddenly a bit more wary of the situation they were in. He glanced over to Kara who seemed to mirror his concern. He doesn't think he could handle another Phantom Zone catastrophe.

"Well the pure homo magi have probably grown in numbers, and if they're pulled to this world, they'll ensure their lineage remains pure."

"So you're saying a bunch of really powerful people are going to come to earth and kill everyone?" Barry asked and the woman looked over to him and shook her head.

"Kill? No, they're not a vengeful race of people. They believe in justice and have values, but they also believe in a hierarchical way of life, and the class structure between them and humans is very large gap.

"Oh, so a bunch of powerful people head to earth to turn the world back to the dark ages." Barry sighed as he slipped his fingers through his hair. He was starting to feel like they were really out of their league with this one.

"Ok, so I guess I speak for everyone when I say we have to stop that before it happens." Kara said looking around to the others.

"She's right, and you're going to need all the help you can get." Malcolm said turning to Oliver. "Evangeline has a way to find her, and wherever Eva goes, I go." Oliver glared at the man who took the woman's hand and she rolled her eyes at the gesture. Oliver turned to the woman.

"Are you willing to help us without Malcolm?"

"Unfortunately, this is a deal even I can't get you out of." the woman turned to the man and shook her head. "He saved my life, and now I am indebted to him." she turned back to Oliver. "He goes, I go." Oliver turned to the satisfied smirk on Malcolm's face and he wanted nothing more than to punch it away.

"Fine, you help, but when this is all over, you better disappear, because if I see you, I will kill you." Oliver said before turning to the woman. "We need her location as soon as possible. What do you need?"

"A map and anyone with a mystical bone in their body." the woman said with a nod. "We're going to need as much energy into this locator spell as we can get."

"How long will that take?" Oliver asked and the woman turned to him and shook her head.

"It's not a sure thing. It will only work when her guard is down. It could take minutes or it could take hours." Oliver let out a sigh before giving the woman a nod.

"Fine, do it." Oliver said before turning to the woman. "Felicity if you could speed this along-"

"I can run facial recon through Bruce's illegal facial search." Felicity said before turning and heading over to a computer. Oliver gave a nod before turning to Lyla.

"We're going to need more than the people in this room. We've all seen what she can do, and if she gets past us, then there needs to be another line of attack." Lyla gave a nod before looking over to Jacob. "We will head over to HQ. Get a team together." Lyla said before nudging her head toward Jacob who nodded. The man stopped in front of Oliver for a moment and Oliver just let out a sigh.

"Oliver, no matter what happens out there, just trust your instincts. They haven't failed you yet."

"You and I have differing opinions on that, but I'll keep it in mind." Oliver said. Jacob gave a nod before he, Lyla and Martin headed out. Oliver turned, his eyes glancing over to Evangeline who was now talking with Zatanna, and Constantine. Oliver turned to the group in front of him as they all waited for their instructions. Oliver felt certain things needed to happen first, and so he looked around to the faces he'd never seen, and faces he'd seen maybe once or twice in the past. "What we're about to do, this fight it's bigger than us. It might be one of the biggest fights some of us have ever had to take a stand in. This is our team, and as a team we will fight this battle until it is finished." Oliver's eyes roamed over the people in front of him and he nodded. "Her face is what will make us pause, but we have to move past it quickly. We have to remember we're not fighting our friend, or our sister or...my wife. This is another criminal whose come to our city, and it is our job to stop her." They all gave the man a nod. "Alright, first things first. Lines of defense. We're splitting our efforts. Half of us will focus on gaining control of the city during the riots, and any stray HIVE members that may make an appearance. The other half will focus on stopping an invasion."

The day was was mostly gray, no sun in sight. A storm was coming. Evangeline and her team of mystics still hadn't gotten a lock on Katie's location. There was still a bit more time after the battle plan and so everyone would take a bit of a breather to soak up as much of the calm before storm. Oliver walked through the door of his home, and was immediately met with the end of Nyssa's blade. She withdrew when she realized it was Oliver.

"You should announce yourself." Nyssa said sheathing her blade. "I may not pause to look at your face the next time."

"Well hopefully there won't be a next time." Oliver says pulling off his jacket and glancing up the stairs. "Are they sleeping?"

"The little one maybe-" Oliver looked up to see Rick walking in from the kitchen. "The teenage one is walking a hole in her floor." Oliver took a step forward to go upstairs, but stopped and turned to the pair.

"I want to thank you two. I know sticking around here-" he looked from Rick to Nyssa. "Together, isn't something you probably want to do, but-"

"Are you about to thank us?" Nyssa asked frowning slightly.

"I was trying to." Oliver replied and Nyssa rolled her eyes before stalking away from the man into the den. He shook his head before turning to Flag. "Well thank you. I'm not sure why you chose to stick around here, but I really appreciate it." Oliver gave another nod before taking a step up the stairs.

"I promised I'd get her home." Rick said and Oliver stopped and turned to the man. "ARGUS and the league had torn her apart and then tried to jam her back together, and when she was free of them, I promised I'd get her home. Those kids up there, they're her home. I get the feeling I'm not the one who can get her back to them, but I can make sure they're safe and sound in case she finds a way back to them." Oliver didn't know what to say to that. Those word were rooted in hope. Rick hadn't seen what he'd seen. He didn't know there was no hope for his wife. Oliver wouldn't tell him that though. He wouldn't steal what little hope still lingered around this place. Oliver simply nodded before continuing up the stairs.

Oliver had been dreading the impending conversations. He'd been debating with himself just how much he should reveal to Ari about what was happening. When he came to her door, it was opened, and he saw that Rick was right. The teenager was pacing back and forth.

"Your cousin was a pacer." Oliver said and the girl stopped and turned to him. " Usually when she was trying figure out something." Ari looked at the man for a moment and she knew something was wrong. "Ari, you should sit." Ari didn't like those words. She shook her head and turned away from him. "Ari-"

"Just say it." Ari said turning back to the man. "Just tell me." Oliver stared at her for a moment. He just couldn't let the words come out of his mouth. He made her a promise, told her that he would bring their family back together, and now he had to tell her that it was no longer possible.

"I think I'm going to sit." Oliver said walking over and taking a seat on the edge of the girl's bed. She looked at him, only getting more nervous. Ari stood there for a moment before walking over and sitting on a chair across from him. Oliver still wasn't talking and Ari seemed to figure out why, and she dropped her head.

"She's gone isn't she?" Ari asked quietly. Oliver looked over to the girl, and his heart broke again. He wanted to fall apart in this moment, but he knew he couldn't. Ari lifted her head to him and Oliver let out a sigh.

"This thing has been inside of her for too long, and it's gotten to the point where it's becoming dangerous. She's becoming dangerous."

"And you being the hero, it's your job to stop her, huh?" Ari asked with a shake of her head before she stood to her feet and walked over to stand in front of her window. The room was once again silent, before Ari asked another question. "Are you sure there's nothing else that can be done?" Oliver looked over to her. He'd asked himself that same question. Was there anything else he could do? He couldn't think of anything, and he really tried. She turned to him and Oliver turned away for a moment and she noticed how his shoulders slumped. She realized he'd probably already gone over every possible way to get her back before coming to this conclusion.

"Ari, I'm sorry." Oliver said and the girl walked over and took the seat beside him. "I promised-"

"Yeah you did. You promised something you had no control over." Ari replied and Oliver turned to her. "My dad was the king of making promises he had no business making." Ari turned away with a shake of her head.

"I have to get back. I get the feeling this is going to happen fairly quickly." Oliver said turning away as well. He could honestly say he had no idea how this would end. The man turned, bringing his arms around the girl. "Whatever happens, I want you to remember her. Not this thing, but just her." he placed a kiss to the top of her head before standing to his feet and heading for the door.

"Don't underestimate her." Ari said suddenly, and Oliver stopped and turned back to her. "You once told me that my cousin was a fighter and that we shouldn't underestimate her. Her just completely throwing in the towel doesn't seem like her. If there's a chance she's still fighting, maybe give her a little bit more time." There was that hope again. Oliver looked at her for a moment, wanting to tell her that he wasn't sure he could wait any longer. This thing inside of his wife had a plan and he knows it happening tonight. But it was once again a moment he decided to simply nod and let the hope dwell in this room for a bit longer. When Oliver stepped into the hallway he took a few steps before stopping in front of the nursery. Believe it or not this was actually the moment he'd been dreading the most. Oliver took a deep breath before reaching forward and pushing open the door. He didn't expect to find Nyssa already inside, a laughing baby Robyn bouncing in her lap. The bright smile on Nyssa's face disappeared the moment Oliver walked in and he shook his head. Of course she wouldn't want anyone to see that she was actually human.

"I was just-" Nyssa cleared her throat in an attempt to explain the situation. She looked over to Oliver who simply looked on amused and she just rolled her eyes as she stood to her feet. "Don't look at me like that." Nyssa looked back to the child in her arms, and lightly smiled before turning and passing her to Oliver. "I assume the look in your eyes is from a realization you weren't expecting." Oliver glanced over to her before looking back to her daughter. "You believe Nura is truly gone?" Oliver sighed before walking over and taking a seat in the rocking chair, placing a kiss to the side of Robyn's cheek as he did. "And you are sure?" Oliver turned darkened eyes to the woman.

"My wife is gone, Nyssa. I have no doubts." Oliver said, and he felt a twinge of something in his stomach he thinks might actually be a little doubt. He turned away from Nyssa's intense gaze. "She killed Damien. There wasn't an ounce of remorse in her eyes as she took his heart from his chest with her bare hand. Then she turned to me and smiled like it was nothing." Nyssa turned away, and Oliver sighed. "Nyssa?"

"I'm going to check the perimeter." Nyssa muttered before heading for the door. She stopped before actually leaving. Lingering a bit and Oliver turned, wondering what was causing her to pause. The moment simply passed and she finally left the room. Oliver closed his eyes and hugged his daughter to his chest as he rocked back and forth in the chair. When he opened his eyes he looked down to see his daughter's tiny blue eyes staring back to him and it almost happened. He almost broke down once again. After a moment the child yawned before dropping her head back to rest on her father's chest.

He couldn't stop thinking about Damien taking her. How he almost lost her, and how that would be the moment he truly thinks he would've lost it.

"I'm sorry." he whispered to the girl as he gently stroked her back. "I know I promised I would bring your mommy back." the man shook his head. "Twinkie would've told me not to do that. She would tell me not to make a promise I might not be able to keep." he placed a kiss to the top of her head. "And I'd tell her that I make the promise because there's a chance I can keep it." Oliver thought about the promises he'd made. Each and every one he seemed to know that he could keep and yet, he couldn't. He failed. "She was right." Oliver closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before he turned Robyn around so she could look in his eyes. " I know you don't understand anything that's happening right now, and I'm actually relieved at that fact. One day I'm going to tell you everything. About mommy and daddy, and the twists and turns we had to go though for us to get to you." Oliver quickly wiped a tear from his eye and he continued to smile at the girl. "You are the best of us, and your mommy loved you with everything she had. She wouldn't-" Oliver felt the emotions invade his throat, stealing his words. "She wouldn't want you to remember her as this thing. She wouldn't-" Oliver stopped because he remembered something.

" _You'll never see her you know. Not this-" he looked over her. "I know you're in there, I know my Twinkie, my wife, the love of my life is buried in there refusing to fight because she thinks you can win this fight. I will do anything to get her to see the truth, but in the event that she can't, I think you should know you'll never see our daughter. She'll never look into those eyes." Oliver turned to leave, but stopped._

" _Oliver-" he turned back to her. "This and Robyn will never be in the same room." the flash of her eyes turned back to normal, and Oliver turned walking back over to her, but she turned away from him and began pacing once again._

Oliver turned away at the memory. It was the first glimpse of the darkness inside of her. And for a moment, it was her, it was Twinkie who forced her way to the front to tell him to keep their daughter away from the darkness inside of her. Oliver turned back to his daughter, before placing a kiss to her head and standing to his feet, placing her in her crib.

He looked down to her once more before turning and heading out of the room. He went back to Ari's room where he found the girl sitting on her bed, her eyes closed with her headphones blaring in her ear. She felt his eyes and when she opened her own, she pulled the headphones from her ears.

"What?"

"What happened when you saw Katie?" Oliver asked and Ari looked at him in confusion.

"Why?"

"Just-" he walked over and took a seat on the edge of the bed beside her. "Tell me exactly what happened." Ari sighed turning away.

"I saw her, and I was completely shocked. I forgot she was-" Ari shook her head. "That thing. She kept saying that I needed to leave." Ari turned back to Oliver with a furrowed brow. "She wasn't actually looking at me though. I thought that was weird. She was talking about me, but not looking at me. And then I-I ran to her and she-" Ari turned away from Oliver.

"She what?"

"I'm not completely sure, but it's like something tossed her across the room." Ari said turning back to the man with a shake of her head. "But there was no one near her. Like something invisible, nothing I could see just threw across the room when I tried to go to her." Oliver turned away letting out a shaky breath. "What does it mean?" Oliver turned back to her and shook his head before standing to his feet.

"I don't know yet." Oliver said just as his phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket. "That's Hank, he's downstairs."

"Do we really have to leave?" Ari asked and Oliver looked over to her.

"Ari right now the city isn't safe. I have to stop whatever is coming and I will feel a whole lot better knowing you and Robyn are away and safe. Nyssa will stay with you." Ari frowned and Oliver lightly chuckled. "I know she's a bit...odd, but she's family." Ari turned back to him. "She will take care of you." Ari simply nodded before watching the man turn and leave.

It hit her suddenly. Felicity was in the middle of expanding the search perimeters, when her eyes turned to the photo reference she was using. It was a picture of Katie from an article about another New Beginning's facility opening in Hub City. Felicity's fingers stopped typing because reality just hit her right then and there. She was searching for her friend, who was practically her sister, so a team of super powered heroes could find her and kill her. Felicity pushed away from the computer abruptly and the room stopped as everyone turned to her.

"Felicity-" John was closest to her. He walked over, placing a hand on her arm. "Felicity, are you ok?" she turned to him with a furrowed brow.

"Am I ok?" she repeated.

"Felicity-" Bruce appeared on the other side of her and she turned to him as well. "Maybe we should go outside, get some air."

"No." Felicity said with a shake of her head. Her eyes turned back to the monitor watching the search continuing for her friend who they were planning to kill, and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. "Oh God, what have I-" Felicity backed away from the computer.

"Hey, Felicity, look at me." Bruce placed his hands on her shoulders, and Felicity met his eyes. "Let's just take a break, and come back to this later." Felicity shook her head and pulled away from the man.

"No!" she snapped. "Do you know what this is? What we're doing right now?" Felicity looked over to John who had to turn away. "She's-" Felicity turned back to the monitor and looked at the picture. "That woman saved my life-" she looked over to John. "Yours too." her eyes turned to Laurel. "Yours. I thinks she's saved almost everyone in this room one way or another."

"Felicity-"

"She became a doctor, and then shipped out over seas where she saved the lives of people in third world countries, and then she was kidnapped, tortured, beaten, because of her father-"

"Felicity-"

"And then!" Felicity turned to Bruce. "And then she came home and Malcolm Merlyn hired hit men to kill her. And then Ra's Al Ghul wanted to take her back—wait before that was Chien, and then Ra's-"

"Felicity!" Bruce grabbed her shoulders once again. "I completely understand how you're feeling right now, but that woman-" he forced her back to the monitor so her eyes were once again on the picture. "That woman is dead."

"We don't know that." Felicity said before pulling out of Bruce's grasp. "We don't know that. That woman, my friend, my-" Felicity glanced back to the picture. "My best friend, she's one of the strongest women I know. She's still fighting." the woman turned back to Bruce, and the sadness in her eyes just broke his heart. "I have absolutely no doubt that she's still fighting."

The woman spoke of hope and Bruce didn't have the heart to steal it away.


	29. Sanctuary, Secrets, Sacrifice

**Chapter 29**

**  
Sanctuary, Secrets, Sacrifice**

" _Let us sacrifice our today_

_so that our children can have a better tomorrow."_

_-A. P. J. Abdul Kalam_

* * *

_They were walking aimlessly. Katie looked up ahead to her mother whose eyes seemed to be looking for something as they walked._

" _There's nothing here!" Katie called to Grace who glanced over to her daughter. "I've searched this city, and there's nothing here."_

" _What were you looking for?" Grace asked as she continued walking and Katie shook her head. "Did you look for Oliver? Did you hope you'd turn a corner and he'd be there?" Katie stopped walking, and Grace stopped and looked back to her. "Do you have any idea where you are right now?"_

" _Some place between heaven and hell I figure." Katie muttered and Grace stalked over to her. Katie took a slight step back seeing the dark look in her mother's eyes. It was a look she hadn't seen in ages and yet a look she'd never forget._

" _You're not dead. You're very much alive, but you've been buried. You've been suppressed. The reason you haven't found anything is because everything you've searched for isn't here. You've been looking for the light. Oliver, your friends, your daughter. None of them are here because none of them can save you." Katie turned away from the woman. "Look at me when I'm talking to you young lady." the tone in her mother's voice snapped Katie's eyes back to hers. "The other thing that's here is the darkness, and it's swallowing everything it comes in contact with. That's what you need to look for."_

" _Why?"_

" _Because the only way you get out of here is if you finally face the darkness head on." Grace turned her eyes once again scanning the area. "No one can save you from this baby. This is your fight." Grace suddenly had a realization and she turned back to her daughter. "This is your fight. Your darkness. Only you know where it is." Katie looked at the woman in confusion. "Look I know going to that place is the last thing you want to do, but remember what I told you. S_ _ome roads have to be traveled to get to the destination we want. If you want to get to your husband, your kids, you have to go through the fire and the flood." Grace placed a hand to Katie's cheek. "You have to seek out the darkness if you want to beat it." Katie dropped her head._

_"_ _What if I lose?" she asked before lifting her eyes back to her mother. "I've lost countless times against this thing. It's stronger, it's smarter it's-"_

_"_ _There's nothing more stronger and smarter than a mother going after her kids. That's who you're fighting for. Robyn, Arianna-" Grace smiled. "Oliver. They are the light that darkness can never take. The light that's so ingrained in you that you could take on an entire army." Grace looked up to her daughter who once again dropped her head. "When do we lose?" Katie lifted her eyes not expecting the demon's question to come from her mother. "When do we give up?" Grace reached down and took her daughter's hands. "They were never his words, they were mine. He twisted them, used them for his own volition, but their purpose still remained." Katie looked into her mother's eyes, and the questions played over and over in her head. "When do we lose, baby?"_

_"_ _When we stop fighting." Katie replied. Her gaze lifted, and her eyes went wide. Grace turned and she too looked surprised to see the street of Star City turn into the familiar path that leads up to the demon's fortress in Nanda Parbat._

_"_ _It's here?" Grace asked, turning back to her daughter._

_"_ _This is where it started." Katie says her eyes looking on to the lantern trail that lead to the fortress. "This is where that darkness was formed."_

The city was going to hell. The looting, fighting and craziness wasn't ceasing. None of them knew of Damien's demise, none of them knew that the threat of a nuclear weapon wasn't a threat anymore. Honestly, something worse could be coming if their plan didn't work. Oliver couldn't drive through the street and so he stepped out of his car and just watched as the city, and it's people crumble.

" _Because this thing beating in your chest-" she slid a hand to hover above his heart. "This city could use it."_

Katie's words floated into his head once again. It was the little voice in his head that told him what he needed to do, and so Oliver pushed through the crowd, and climbed on top of a car that was stopped in the middle of the street.

"Hey, stop!" he called, but they continued. "Stop! Please." their eyes suddenly turned to him and Oliver took a deep breath. "I know what you're feeling right now. I'm feeling it too, the sense of- of helplessness, of hopelessness." the words were completely true in this moment. Not only for this city, but for himself, and what was happening with Katie. "I don't know how we even begin to process what might happen to us right now, but there are a few things that I do know. I know that this city has been through tough times before, and we have pulled through. We survived the Undertaking. We survived the Siege. We survived the Outbreak, and somehow, someway, we will survive this."

The darkness inhabiting a doctor sat in the ravaged Queen mansion, her eyes on the screen of her laptop as she listens to Oliver's speech. " _We live here, because this is our home. This is our home! It is our friend, our family, our lives, and we will not- we will not throw those precious gifts away by descending into chaos. We will look to each other for hope. We will cling to each other for strength, and if we do that, no matter what happens, then we can all stand here united."_ she rolled her eyes before closing the screen.

"Oh Liver, there isn't enough hope in the world to prepare you for what's coming." Katie glanced back to the unconscious form of Thea who was lying on the couch. Her eyes looked back to the clock behind her and she smiled. "We should be getting ready.

Eventually, Felicity did step outside trying to breathe and rid herself of nervousness and doubt, but it was pointless. She heard footsteps behind her, but she didn't need to turn to know who it was.

"I called Curtis." Felicity said when Bruce appeared beside her. "He can assist with the search, and anything else you may need him for." Bruce didn't say anything, and so Felicity turned to him. "I will head up to Coast City with the kids. Bruce, I can't-"

"Hey," Bruce brought his arm around the woman, and held her tight, and she tucked herself into the embrace. "I know, it's ok."

"It's not ok. None of this is ok." Felicity said, her face buried in his chest.

Oliver was glad that there was a bit of peace after his speech, but he's sure it won't last. Especially if Katie really does go through with this plan to open their world to another universe. Oliver needed a couple of moments of quiet. He needed to think, really think about everything. He ended up back at the bunker, his eyes staring up to the suit of his Guardian.

" _No." Katie said suddenly, and she didn't miss the confusion that washed over Oliver's face. "You were right before. About what you said about Nura. She's the creation of the demon...his monster and it's time I finally end her."_

_"So who would be watching my back?" Oliver asked and Katie turned away in thought for a few moments, before turning to him with wide eyes and finally grabbing his hand._

_"Your Guardian." Katie said with a smile, that Oliver could only return._

Oliver closed his eyes and sighed. Too much time was passing, and with that time came doubts about this decision. What if she really was still in there? There'd been countless times where her plans were put aside as she focused on the safety of Ari and Robyn and yet she never got near them.

"Twinkie wouldn't let you near them." Oliver muttered to himself. The sound of the elevator snapped Oliver from his thoughts and he turned at the sight of the man he texted to meet him here.

"Mate?" Constantine walked over. "Everything alright?" Oliver looked at the man for a moment before turning back to the suit. Constantine followed his eyes, and he suddenly realized what was happening. "Hey, if you don't think you can-"

"What if she's not gone?" Oliver asked turning back to the man. "What if she's in there? Just not able to pull herself free?" Constantine looked at the man for a moment.

"Before, you said you had no doubt that your wife was gone. Has that changed?" Oliver once again turned away. Had it changed. There was a sudden doubt Oliver didn't expect. He'd felt it in the moment he saw her kill Darhk. That wasn't his wife, he felt her gone. She was dead in that moment, and yet right now Oliver felt something else. There was a flicker of hope. Hope he didn't think was possible. "Oliver, I need you to tell me what you're feeling right now." Oliver turned back to the man. "Forget about the plan, right now I only care about what you feel, because you and your wife's connection is what makes the two of you special. When you said you had no doubt that your wife was gone, when you said you felt it in your bones, then and only then did I believe it was true. But Oliver if you feel that she's still there, if that thing that connects the two of you is still there, I need you to tell me."

"And what would it change?" Oliver asked with a shake of his head. "My words won't mean nothing to the others. Nothing I say will stop them, and I'm not even sure they should be stopped."

"Yes you do, mate. Your wife, the love of your life, do you still feel her?" Constantine asked. "It doesn't matter what they think, because if you tell me she's still there, I will help you get her back." Oliver looked back to the Guardian's suit for a moment and the feeling was undeniable. Oliver turned back to Constantine, and told him the only thing he could.

The sound of thunder cracked above her head, but Katie didn't look up. Her eyes looked to the words of the grimoire in her hand. When her eyes looked up to the full moon, she smiled. She could feel the moon's energy and power.

"It's time." Katie said before turning and walking over to where Thea lied, still unconscious in the center of the circle of candles. With a wave of her hand, the woman's eyes snapped open.

"Katie, where-" Thea's eyes looked around, tugging her limbs that weren't moving. She looked up to the sky, realizing they were outside. She glanced around. She was lying on concrete, a roof of a building. "Where are we?"

"The tallest building in Star City." Katie said dropping to her knees beside Thea. "Robins Incorporated." she chuckled. "Kind of poetic don't you think?"

"Katie, listen to me. Whatever you doing, you don't have to do this. We can get you help, we can find a way to save you." Thea pleaded and Katie placed a hand on the woman's cheek. "We won't give up on you." her eyes went wide when Katie pulled out a dagger. "Katie, please, don't-" there was no hesitation when Katie jammed the blade right into Thea's heart. The life left the woman instantly. Blood slowly seeped from the wound and Katie pulled out the blade and cupped her hand near the wound to collect as much of the blood she could before pouring it into a a bowl. Katie smiled down to Thea before reaching up and closing her eye lids.

"Your sacrifice will not be in vain Thea." Katie said before placing a kiss to Thea's head. Katie closed her eyes, and when she opened them, they were dark, coal black. She dipped her hand in the bowl of blood, and smeared it across her face before picking up the book. She'd only opened her mouth before a suddenly gust of wind blew out the candles. When she lifted her eyes, she was graced with the sight of none other than Superman.

"Katherine, so I hear you've been busy?" Superman said as he began stepping toward the woman.

"Well you shouldn't believe everything you hear." Katie says standing to her feet. "So I get a Superman, huh?" she smiled feeling a bit proud that the team of idiots were pulling out the big guns to stop her. There was another gust of wind behind her, and she turned to see Supergirl. "And a Supergirl!" she laughed as she looked between the two Kryptonians. "Is that it?" she began looking around when suddenly a familiar cracking in the air happened upon her ears and when she turned, she saw the Flash. "Oh, Barry's here!" there was a shuttering and Katie lifted her eyes to see a helicopter now hovering above her. "And ARGUS brought some guns. That's cool I guess."

"Katie, " The Flash said taking a step toward her. "We're here to help you." she looked over to him and shook her head.

"Do you remember when you told me to learn how to control my abilities?" she asked and they watched as her hands began illuminating a blinding bright white light. "Well I took your advice."

"Katie, don't-" Katie took a step toward him.

"Jump off the roof." she uttered, and Barry couldn't explain what was happening, but the moment the words came out of her mouth, he turned and began walking toward the edge of the roof.

"Flash!" Supergirl sped over in front of him. "Stop!"

"I can't!" Barry said as his feet continued to move. He was screaming in his head to stop, but it was as if he no longer had control of his movements. "I can't stop!" Supergirl stepped forward and tried pushing him back but he wasn't stopping.

"Stop this!" Superman said rushing over to Katie and forcefully holding her shoulders.

"How about I don't and say I did." she said with a smile before turning just as Barry took the last step off the edge of the building, Supergirl flying after him. "And there he goes." she laughed turning back to Superman who glared down to her. "Now if you don't mind, I was sort of in the middle of something." Superman watched as the bright light began emitting from her hands again, and from the light an explosion threw him backwards. "Ok, whose next?" she spun around only to be suddenly wrapped in something. Her eyes glanced down to see the glowing rope now tightly pulling her and the bat ties now around her ankles. Katie looked up, her eyes looking from the Batman to Wonder Woman.

"Katherine!" Katie looked up at the voice and her eyes widened a bit. Something was happening. "You don't want to do this. Remember who you are!" Katie's eyes snapped closed when a sudden chill crept up her spine.

_They were close. Grace took another step, but stopped when she noticed her daughter wasn't walking behind her. She turned to Katie whose eyes were tightened closed._

_"Sweetie, are you ok?" Grace took a step and placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Sweetie, are you-" Katie's eyes snapped open and Grace took a step back at the sight of the dark eyes that stared back to her. "You-" Katie glanced around, before her eyes looked upon the fortress and she turned her glare back to Grace._

Katie wasn't sure what was happening, but she felt something cutting off the circulation in her arms and legs. Her eyes snapped open and she was surprised to see the olive skinned woman dressed in odd clothing, a glowing rope in her hands. Katie followed the rope, not realizing that's what's tied around her.

"Katherine, you have to remember who-"

"This won't work!" Katie says, her eyes looking over to the woman. "It's too strong, and it will come back." Wonder Woman stared back in confusion before turning to Batman whose expression mirrored her own. Katie glanced around, noticing that they were outside and on a roof. There was a strike of lightening and she lifted her eyes to the sky just as a drop of rain hit her head.

"Robins?"

"Katherine-"

"I think it's too late." she brought her eyes back to woman. "I can feel it coming back. You have to stop it, you have to-" The darkness underneath her skin was reigniting and she could feel it coming back. "The blade-" she turned back to the woman. "You have to-" Katie's eyes snapped closed. The darkness was clawing its way back. "You have to get the blade!"

"Katherine, just fight it. You are stronger!" Wonder Woman said, and Katie shook her head. "I've seen you before, on television, in magazines, I've heard stories about you from your friends. You are stronger than this." Wonder Woman saw tears form in the woman's eyes.

"No I'm not, I'm—" Katie dropped her head. "I'm-"

"Hey Robins! Stay with me!"

"Katherine?" when Katie lifted her eyes, Wonder Woman frowned at the cold back eyes staring back at her. "This is impossible, you're not-"

"Oh, Amazon, your ropes are cool. I was actually present when they were created." Katie said, and Wonder Woman watched as the woman in front of her began pulling her arms, and somehow loosening the rope. Wonder Woman's eyes widen.

_When Katie opened her eyes, she found herself back in the dark dilapidated remnants of her home. She spun around looking for Grace who didn't seem to be anywhere in sight._

_"Mom?"_

_**"Look up Liver, it's happening!"** Katie turned her eyes, and there on the screen was Oliver. He was on that roof, staring back to her. Katie walked over and dropped to the floor in front of the television. He was wearing his Green Arrow suit, but there was no mask so she could see his face, and his eyes. Her heart sank in her chest because the look in his eyes as he looked at her. He wasn't here to save her._

_The door burst opened, but Katie didn't turn from the television._

_"Honey, we have to move!" Grace said breathlessly._

_"It's too late," Katie says, her eyes never leaving her husband. "He's here to end it." Grace walked over, and looked to the television, her eyes looking from Oliver to the blade he clenched in his hand and she gasped._

_"No, this isn't-" Grace shook her head before dropping down beside her daughter. "Look at me." Katie refused to turn away from her husband. Graced grabbed her daughter's shoulder and forced her to turn. "It's not too late. There's still too much for you to fight for. Don't make the mistake I made, baby. Your family needs you." Katie closed her eyes and dropped her head. "You have to feel it."_

_"Feel what?" Katie asked opening her eyes and looking back to her mother who just smiled as she placed her hands on the sides of Katie's face._

_"How truly strong you are." Grace said. "Now tell me sweet heart, when do you lose?" Katie looked at her mother for a moment before turning back to the screen._

_"When I stop fighting." she says softly before turning back to Grace. "Ok."_

_"Ok!" Grace says jumping back to her feet and pulling her daughter up as well. "We have to move!"_

Oliver stared over to Katie, still gripping the blade in his hand. Everyone was gone. Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Supergirl, Barry, were just gone. The ARGUS team that was supposed to be another line of defense was no where insight as well, except for a few men unconscious about the roof. He hoped they'd get through to her before he arrived, but when he arrived he realized they couldn't. His eyes glanced over to Thea and he grit his teeth at the sight of the blood pooling around her.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry about that." Katie says and Oliver turned back to her. "But her blood was needed-" her eyes lifted to sky and her smile widened. The crack was widening, and she could practically feel her family returning. "They're coming back." she dropped her eyes back to Oliver.

"Twinkie, can you hear me?" Oliver asked, and Katie turned to him with a quirked brow. His voice was too calm, too soothing, which it definitely should not be at the moment.

"Oliver, I killed your sister, and brought about the possible end to human civilization. If you haven't realized by now that your wife is dead, I just don't know what else to do." she began walking over to him with a shake of her head. "I think you know that. That's why you brought the moon blade. Why your plan b is to shove it into my heart, but it won't end what's happening. At this point nothing can stop the return of the magi." she lifted her eyes to the sky and chuckled with a shake of her head. When she looked back to Oliver something struck her. "Why aren't you being your usual annoying self, trying to save the world and all that?" she glanced around to see that besides Thea, she and Oliver and a few unconscious men were the only ones on the roof. "And where are your super powered friends. Shouldn't they be attempting to stop me, or the second coming." she turned back to Oliver and to the expression on his face that didn't even look worried. Something was wrong. She could now feel that something was wrong. She glanced over to Thea, and that's when she saw the woman lying on the ground flicker, before disappearing all together.

**A few hours earlier...**

Thea's eyes snapped open suddenly, and she sat up quickly. She was still inside the mansion. She glanced around the room, but she didn't see Katie anywhere. The woman stood to her feet and cautiously walked out of the living room to the hall. Her eyes turned to the opened door that lead outside, and she frowned. She glanced around, figuring that this was some kind of trick, or game. She began walking toward the door, hesitating for a moment before finally stepping out. The moment her feet stepped outside, and nothing happened, Thea took a deep breath and began running.

She needed to find Oliver. Thea ran down the middle of the street, a bit surprised no one was actually outside. She didn't focus too much on the thought. When she finally reached Oliver and Katie's house, she ran for the door. It was locked and so she knocked and rang the door bell.

"Hello!" Thea yelled before running around to the back door. She peeked inside the window, but she didn't see anything. "Where's the spare, where-" she spun around before spotting the weird garden gnome. She lifted it, relieved to find the key. Once inside, Thea ran in search of Oliver, or anyone, but the house was empty. Thea stopped inside of the nursery, and took a moment to breathe, and think. "Where are you Ollie?" and that's when it hit her. If Katie was planning something bad, the team would be preparing to stop her. "The bunker!" Thea turned and rushed back down the stairs. She snagged the the keys to Katie's car from the bowl near the front door before hurrying out.

Thea didn't expect what she witnessed on the drive as she got closer to downtown. People were running around, fighting, screaming, stealing. She shook her head and continued until she finally reached the office. Thea ran inside, heading straight for the elevators. Once she stepped inside, she closed her eyes and nervously fidgeted as she waited for the doors to open. Once they opened, she hurried off, relieved the first person she saw was her brother.

"Ollie!" Thea said, and Oliver turned to her, and so did Constantine who was standing in front of him. Both men turned in surprise at the woman they thought they needed to save.

"Thea!" Oliver rushed over this sister, engulfing her into a hug. "Are you ok?" he pulled back, looking up to the scars on her forehead. "You're hurt."

"I'm fine." Thea said, letting out another deep breath. "I'm really fine."

"How are you here right now?" Constantine asked walking over to them. "We were made to believe that thing needed you, needed your blood for opening her bridge." Thea looked over to him before turning to her brother.

"So did I. She said she was going to kill me. I remember trying to run away, and then I blanked. When I woke up, I was in the mansion alone, and the door was opened. When I ran out nothing happened, and so I kept running." Oliver looked at his sister in confusion before turning to Constantine whose expression mirrored his own.

"What does this mean?" Oliver asked and Constantine shook his head.

"She let me go." Thea said and they turned back to her. "It's the only thing that makes sense. When we were in that house, there was no way for us to escape, even when she was gone. We were trapped. Today, the door was wide open, it had to be her." Thea saw the look on her brother's face as he turned back to Constantine. "Ollie? What's-" she looked over to Constantine. "What's going on?"

**Back to the present...**

"Wait-" Katie said before turning back to Oliver. "How?" Katie lifted her eyes to the sky, rain hitting her face, but that's not what she noticed. It was the crack that was there just a moment ago was just gone. Because it was never there to begin with. "No!" she dropped her eyes back to Oliver.

"Twinkie?" Oliver said again, his voice still trying to remain soothing, and now she realized why. "Can you hear me?"

_Katie and Grace ran as fast as they could, finding that dirt path quicker than before. Neither stopped until they burst through the doors of the fortress._

_"Ok," Katie said out of breath. "Now what?" she turned to her mother who looked around the room before her eyes stopped on something behind Katie. Katie turned following her eyes, and that's when she saw it. It was the darkness, still wearing her body._

_"You just couldn't die, could you?" it said with a shake of her head. "I had a plan. We were going to revitalize the world, but you couldn't let me have it."_

_"Yeah, sorry about that." Katie shook her head. "Actually, no, I'm not sorry. You stole my life, my family, and now I'm here to take it back."_

_"And you will lose." that monster said with a smile._

_"That may be true, but I also might win." Katie said with a nod._

_"Well then, let's get this over with." and with a snap of her finger, the room is suddenly illuminated with a flickering lights of candles. Katie's eyes looked around the room, and it was uncanny. She remembered this room. This is where the demon would make her fight. This was also the room she took her first life, and she suddenly realized why this was happening here._

_"This is where you were created." Katie says turning back to her evil doppelganger._

_"No, this is where you were created. The real you. The one you try so desperately to hide." the darkness chuckled. "You can't hide in here. I see you, and you look just like me." Both women walked over, stepping inside the fight circle, their eyes never tearing away from the other._

Oliver stood in confusion as he stared at the woman who closed her eyes, and was now not moving. Heavy steps moved behind him, but Oliver didn't turn away from the woman.

"What's happening?" came the graveled voice of the Batman. Just moments earlier, he and Diana were forced to save the helicopter filled with ARGUS agents that Katie had attempted to send crashing into the crowd below. He came to stand beside Oliver, his eyes looking to the woman as well. "Did you stab her?"

"No, I didn't touch her." Oliver replied. There was a gust of wind, but neither man looked up at the foot steps that followed.

"What's going on?" Superman asked as he walked over.

"I thought you were on your way to the moon?" Batman asked, not turning away from the woman. He didn't see the glare Superman sent him. Moments earlier, the woman standing in front of him ordered him to fly to the moon, and without even second guessing the request, Superman shot up into the sky.

"Yeah, well the urge to sit on the moon went away suddenly." the man said as he too looked to the woman warily in front of him. "Did you stab her with the blade?" Oliver would've glared at the man, but he didn't want to turn away from the woman.

"No, we were talking and then she just...stopped." Oliver replied.

"Hey!" The Flash, and Supergirl appeared on the roof. "I no longer want to jump off roofs. "

"And I no longer have to catch him. Is it over?" Supergirl asked following everyone's eyes to the woman. "Is she-"

"We're not sure." Batman says noticing the slightly twitch of the woman's hand and they all took a step back. There was another thump, but no one turned away at the footsteps that neared.

"What's going on?" Wonder Woman asked noticing everyone staring at Katie who wasn't moving.

"I don't know." Oliver replies. "Someone needs to find Constantine or Zatanna, and get them here now."

"I'll go." Flash said before speeding away.

"What did she say?" Batman asked.

"She didn't know about Thea. There was an illusion, it was Thea lying there dead. She thought she killed Thea, and that her plan to bring the original Homo magi was still in tact. It's like someone tricked her."

_It was strange how every lesson from the demon, every kick and punch she'd learned came surging back the moment she entered the fortress and into this room. She threw another kick that sent her evil doppelgänger flying, but it didn't stop. Nothing stopped. It was as if all the punches and kicks weren't hurting either of them, because they just got back up. The doppelganger jumped to her feet, and bolted toward Katie tackling her to the floor._

_"You haven't realized it yet!" the monster said straddling Katie's waist before throwing a punch to the woman's face. "This fight you were so desperately trying to find, will never end. You can't kill me!" another punch, and it was as if Katie could taste the own zing of her blood in her mouth. Soon hands wrapped around her throat, and tightened. "And I can't kill you, but I can make it hurt." Katie stared up to the woman, suddenly realizing her words. They couldn't kill each other, so fighting was pretty much pointless. That's when it hit her. "The only way out of here is for you to finally give up. Just give-" Katie lifted her hands, placing them on the sides of the face that mirrored her own staring back at her with dark eyes. "What are you-" the hands around her throat release. "How are you doing this?"_

_"You're right." Katie rasped. "I can't kill you, and you can't kill me. We are the same. Those pedals just made you something a bit worse. Something I accept now." Katie took a deep breath. "And now I know what to do."_

Katie gasped, her eyes opening and a smile came to her face at the sight of Oliver who took a step back.

"Hi," she said and Oliver looked at her for a moment trying to determine who was talking to him right now. She turned, looking between the eyes around her, and she shook her head. "I'm sorry," she turned back to Oliver and sighed. "I'm really sorry."

"Twinkie?" Oliver took a step toward her, but the woman backed away.

"It's still in here. Still a part of me, and it's not going to give up. It's kind of relentless." Katie said before looking up to the sky, and letting the rain hit her face.

"Twinkie, it's alright now, you're back you're-" Katie brought her eyes back to the man. "You didn't stop fighting, and you came back to us."

"Actually I did stop fighting. Fighting my darkness was pointless. It's a part of me now, and it's not going to go away." she turned and looked over to Bruce dawned in his Batman suit. This was it. Final words time. "Hey Wayne, you keep my friend happy, or I swear I'm gonna haunt your ass." she looked over to Superman and then Supergirl, before her eyes ended on Wonder Woman. "I know this wasn't a fight you all signed up for, but I thank you for helping him." She looked to the glowing rope strapped to the woman's hip before meeting the woman's eyes. Katie gave the woman a nod before turning back to Oliver.

"Twinkie, let's just go home." Oliver took another step and Katie once again backed away, " Please, let's just-" Suddenly Oliver felt the blade slip from his fingers and when he looked up he saw it now in Katie's hand. "Twinkie, no, just-" she looked up to him and smiled.

"Hey Liver, I want you to know that none of this is your fault. You didn't-" she shook her head. "You didn't fail at this." she dropped her eyes to the blade and gripped the handle. She looked up meeting Oliver's eyes. "Tell them I love them, and that this moment wasn't me giving up. Tell them that this moment was me fighting back." she gave the man a nod before holding out the blade. Oliver took a step to stop her when suddenly Wonder Woman's rope is wrapped around him. He glared over to her.

"I'm sorry Oliver, but she's right. If this thing isn't going away, it will never stop trying to tear our world a part." Wonder Woman said as Oliver strained to pull himself free.

"Twinkie, don't do this. We will figure out a way to-"

"I'm glad you're the last thing I'll see." Katie says holding Oliver's gaze for a few moments longer. "I love you, Liver." and with those final words Katie shoved the blade into her gut. She stumbled back a bit because the moment the blade pierced her skin, she could feel it happening. The darkness inside of her was angry.

"What?" they turned at the voice of Constantine who ran over. "No, no-" he watched the myriad of emotions play on Katie's face as her eyes turned to him, and he saw how they flickered from normal, to the coal dark black. She dropped to her knees, the pain beginning to intensify, but she didn't scream out. She turned back to Oliver who continued trying to pull free, trying to get to her. Her entire body began shaking before she finally succumbed to the pain, falling on her back. She snapped her eyes shut, and clench her teeth praying for the pain to end, but it only seemed to be getting worse.

"Let me go!" Oliver ordered angrily. He looked over to Wonder Woman who looked from Katie to Oliver. "Please, let me get to my wife." Diana heard the plea, before turning back to Katie realizing there was nothing he could do to stop this, and so with a tug, the rope unwrapped and Oliver hurried to Katie's side, taking her hand. "Hey, Twinkie, just hold on, just-" Katie's mouth opened, letting out an ear piercing scream, and a black smog that shot up to the sky. Constantine ran over sliding to the other side of the woman, dropping his ear to her chest before looking up to Oliver. "What?"

"She's still breathing." Constantine said before grabbing the blade.

"Constantine!" the man looked up to see Zatanna and Evangeline rushing onto the roof. "Don't, you have to let it finish!" Zatanna saw the look in his eyes and when he shook his head, she knew he wasn't going to listen. She watched as he pulled the blade from the woman, before placing his hands above the wound. Constantine turned to Oliver and gave the man a nod.

"There's still time, but we have to move!" Oliver wasn't sure what the man was talking about, but if there was hope, he wouldn't let it pass by. Oliver gave a nod, before slipping his hands underneath his wife and hiking her into his arms. They were about to run when Superman stepped in front of him. 

"Please, just—" Superman simply held out his arms.

"Allow me, I'm a bit quicker." he said and Oliver looked unsure for a moment, before looking down to his wife.

"Ok." Oliver said before sliding the woman into the awaiting arms hoping they weren't too late.

Oliver's eyes actually ached from being open so long. He shook his head and stood to his feet, his eyes looking to the window that filtered in the sunlight. He walked over, glancing out, and seeing nothing but trees. There was a knock and he turned to see Jacob who had yet another vase of flowers.

"More flowers?" Oliver asked and Jacob chuckled as he sat the vase on the shelf with the man others.

"Doesn't seem right to walk in here empty handed." Jacob replied turning. His eyes went to the pale form laying in the bed in front of him and so he walked over, and took her hand. "Hey there sunshine," he gave her hand a squeeze before looking back over to Oliver. "You should get home." Oliver let out a sigh before walking over and taking the seat beside her bed. "Oliver-"

"There's brain activity, her vitals are fine, she's breathing on her own." Oliver recounted the information from the doctor.

"But she's not waking up." Jacob replied looking over to the man. "There's nothing you can-" Oliver's phone rang, and the man pulled it from his pocket slightly frowning at the unfamiliar number. "I wanted to give you a heads up." Oliver looked over to Jacob who nudged his head. "Answer it." Oliver turned, bringing the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

 _"_ _Mr._ _Queen, this is Thomas Kemp. I chair the city council."_ Oliver glanced over to Jacob with a furrowed brow.

"Yes, of course, councilman. What can I help you with?"

" _That impromptu speech you gave during the city's latest crisis got a lot of people's attention, and there's something I'd like to talk to you about."_ Oliver glanced over to Jacob before looking down to his wife. " _Are you free tomorrow afternoon?"_

"Yes sir."

" _Good, I will see you then."_

When Oliver lowered the phone from his ear he turned to Jacob who simply shrugged.

"Do you know what that is about?" Oliver asked, and Jacob looked down to his daughter before placing a kiss to the top of her head.

"At the moment this city has no mayor," Jacob looked back over to Oliver who eyes widened when he realized what this meeting could be about.

"They're going to-"

"It will be a temporary position until they can have an official election." Jacob said, and Oliver looked over to the man in confusion.

"How do you know all of this?"

"Well ARGUS has ears everywhere, Oliver." Oliver looked over to the man before dropping his eyes back to his wife and just shook his head.

"I can't-" he looked back to Jacob. "I can't leave her, not now, she-" he looked back to Katie taking her hand in his. "I can't go out there and be the mayor of this city when my heart is here."

"Oliver you ran for mayor of this city for a reason. You believed this city needed someone who could stand in front and fight for them in the light. My daughter believed in you, she believed you could do this job. She wouldn't want you to pass it up." Oliver looked down to Katie and placed a kiss to her hand. He wanted her to open her eyes so badly. After everything that's happened, he just needed her to open her eyes and let him know that everything was ok. "Oliver-" Oliver lifted his eyes. "Your wife isn't dead. She fought her way back, and she's still fighting. Give her a place worth fighting for." Oliver brought his eyes back to Katie, placing another kiss to her hand. There was that little voice in his head, that one that sounded an awful lot like the woman lying in front of him, and so he made the decision.

Arianna Locke was annoyed as she fiddled with the hem of her dress. She glanced down to Robyn who sat playing with her blocks on the floor in an equally uncomfortable dress before Oliver walked back into the room.

"Is it time yet, because this dress is kind of scratchy." Ari said standing to her feet and walking over to Oliver. Oliver looked down to the teen and sighed. "I can't believe they're letting you be mayor. You can't even properly tie your tie." Ari walked over and grabbed Oliver's tie, straightening it a bit. He couldn't help but think of Twinkie in this moment. Maybe it was some sort of sign that this is something she would want for him."There, now you have the illusion that you can run a city." she looked back up to the man who smiling down to her. "What?"

"You know we're going to be alright, right?" Oliver asked her, and Ari looked to him for a moment before dropping her eyes. "We really are going to be alright. You, me and Robyn-"

"Until Katie wakes up." Ari said lifting her eyes back to Oliver. "She's going to wake up, I just know she is. She kind of did the impossible."

"Yeah, she did." Oliver said looking down to his daughter and picking her up into his arms. He turned back to Ari and gave a nod. There was a knock at the door, and they turned to see Mr. Kemp.

"It's time." the man said and Oliver gave a smile before turning back to Ari who gave a smile.

"I guess this is it bullet magnet." Ari said grabbing the baby. "Let's go make you a mayor."

Ari stood off to the side watching as Oliver placed his hand on the bible. She turned away from the camera flashes, as she held Robyn firmly against her chest. She couldn't believe the dork had actually made it here. She was actually pretty proud of him.

"I, Oliver Queen, do solemnly swear to support the charter and laws of Star City and to faithfully and impartially perform and discharge the duties of the office of mayor according to the law and to the very best of my ability." with those words, everyone applauded. Oliver turned to the crowd with a smile before turning to Arianna and Robyn. When he turned back to the crowd, Oliver realized there was something else he needed to do today. He held up a hand to calm the crowd. "Thank you! Thank you!" Oliver said. "I am honored and humbled to take on the position of Mayor for Star City. I look forward to working with this city, and showing the world the light this city holds." more applause followed and Oliver gave a nod before looking over to Ari and Robyn. "I would like to give a special thank you to my family, and friends and the people of this city, who've supported me and helped me get to this point." He turned back to the flashing cameras. "And I would like to take this moment to name one person specifically. My wife, Katherine Queen-" this would be the first time Oliver publicly spoke of Katie since the funeral, but there was just something he needed to do. "I wouldn't be standing here in front of you if it wasn't for her." Oliver dropped his eyes for a moment, before looking back up to the eyes on him. "The capture of Damien Darhk was very intricate, and there was a lot that went into getting him off the streets. Me, and my family were targeted by that man, and that night when he stabbed my wife, we were presented with a choice." Oliver paused for a moment before continuing. "In an effort to capture Damien Darhk, my wife faked her death." gasps and murmurs filled the room, and Oliver looked back to Ari whose eyes were wide. She didn't know he was going to do this now. Oliver turned back to the crowd. "Katie worked closely with law enforcement, and was able to assist in his capture." Oliver dropped his eyes and sighed. "During the riots, she was in a car accident and she was injured. Right now my wife is in a coma, but doctors have given me assurance that she will wake up." the murmurs continued, and Oliver knew there would be questions. "But I think right now it is important for everyone in this city to know that my wife is alive. Katherine Queen is alive." the words brought relief to Oliver, and he hoped it brought hope to this city as well.

Felicity stood staring blankly at the television in her living room, still stuck in the initial shock of Oliver's words. There were footsteps coming down the stairs, but she didn't turn.

"Ms. Smoak?" Bruce said walking over to her. When she didn't respond or turn away from the television, he followed her eyes, and when he read the banner across the screen with Oliver's face above it, he realized what shocked the woman into silence. "I can't believe he did it?"

"I can." Felicity replied still reading the television, a smile suddenly coming to her face. "I think he has wanted to scream those words from roof tops for a while now." Bruce reached down, grabbing the remote and flicking off the television, and Felicity finally turned to him.

"We should talk." Bruce said and Felicity looked at him for a moment before turning away. She expected this conversation since everything finally settled down. "I'm sorry." she turned back to him with a furrowed brow. "Keeping the fact that Darhk was Katie's father from you was-"

"I actually get it." Felicity interrupted. "I mean who knows the world of trouble that could've happened if Katie knew who Damien was." Felicity shook her head. "If you told me, I would've told her." she turned back to Bruce. "I know that for certain, and maybe it would've helped, maybe it would have been a catastrophic fuck up. We will never know. Right now we can't change what happened."

"You're right, we can't, but I can make you a promise." Bruce said reaching forward and taking the woman's hand. "I can promise that I-" there was a sudden knock at the door, and both turned. Bruce sighed, pulling back and walking over to the door. The moment he pulled it opened, he definitely didn't expect who was standing there.

"Hi Bruce."

"Diana, what-" Bruce glanced back to Felicity who stared in confusion as well. He cleared his throat and turned back to the woman. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to head home, and I thought we should talk." she replied with a smile before peeking inside and spotting Felicity. "Hello Ms. Smoak."

"Um, hi Ms. Prince." Felicity said turning to Bruce who she noticed looked slightly nervous. Her eyes turned back to Diana, and she suddenly realized what was happening. "Wait, were you two-"

"No!" Bruce said suddenly turning back to Felicity with a shake of his head. "I just need five minutes." Bruce said turning back to Diana, grabbing her arm and pulling her out into the hall, closing the door behind him.

"Bruce, what are you-" Bruce pulled her by the arm toward the elevator, where she finally pulled out of his grasp. "So I take it that you want me to leave."

"What were you thinking coming here?" Bruce asked looking to the woman. "How did you even know I was here?"

"Well you're predictable." Diana said before glancing back to the door. "So that's her?" she turned back to Bruce and he noticed the slight edge to the woman's voice.

"Is that why you're here?" Bruce asked. Diana just shook her head.

"No, it's about Katherine." she replied. "What happened that night was-" Diana turned her head because she couldn't get the events out of her head. "It was impossible." she turned back to Bruce. "What she could do... the power she possessed was far greater than anyone I've ever come across."

"Yeah, well now it's gone and she's alive and everything is right with the world." Bruce replied, but he noticed how unsure of those words she seemed. "Everything is right with the world isn't it?" the woman didn't respond right away. "Diana?"

"She broke through the lasso of truth." Diana replied looking to Bruce. "Those ropes were forged from the bodice of Aphrodite. She made it powerful and indestructible." Bruce wasn't sure what to say to that. He never could wrap his head around anything when she mentioned the things he thought was myth. "And I watched as Katherine pulled herself out of it's grasp." Diana turned away once again with a shake of her head. "That thing inside of her said she was present when the ropes were forged." she turned back to Bruce. "I think I know where the source of Katherine's powers stem from."

"Why does that worry me?" Bruce asked and Diana sighed. "What is it?"

"Well I've only heard stories, if I'm right, the only homo magi present during the forging of the Lasso was called Hecate. I think—" Suddenly the door opened, and they both turned to Felicity.

"Uh, just wanted to make sure everything was alright." Felicity said as she looked between Bruce and Diana.

"Everything is fine." Bruce said turning to Diana. "What are the chances of what happened that night happening again?"

"Well given she hasn't awakened yet, I don't know, but I thought you should know." Diana said before glancing over to Felicity with a smile. "It was nice seeing you again Ms. Smoak." with that the woman turned, pressing the button for the elevator and once it opened she turned to Bruce one final time. "It was nice to see you again Bruce."

"You too Diana." he replied as he watched her step onto the elevator. She gave him a final wave before the doors slid closed. Bruce turned back to Felicity who still stood at the door, and he could tell she was waiting for answers. "Right," Bruce walked over to Felicity. "What did you want to know first?" Felicity looked at him for a moment.

"Did you and Wonder Wonder use to date?" she asked and Bruce chuckled. "That's so not an answer."

"Well it was a complicated relationship that didn't really have a title." Bruce said looking down to the woman. "I didn't really do those kind of titles back then, but now-"

"Now..." Bruce reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box, and Felicity's eyes widened the moment she saw it. She turned back to his eyes, and saw him take a deep breath.

"I want you to know that I trust you completely. That I will share with you all the secrets of the universe if that's what you want to know."

"Well you don't know all the secrets to-" she noticed the smile on his face and she just shook her head. "Bruce, we've done this numerous times, and it always ends the same. We can't just-" she dropped her face to her palms before looking back up to the man. "What makes this different?"

"Nothing." Bruce said taking the woman's hand, and sliding the ring on her finger. "And everything." he looked up meeting her eyes. "I love you and I will do anything to prove to you that I am here to be the man you need me to be." Felicity kept his gaze before looking to the ring on her finger. "Hell I'll move to Star City if you want." she looked up before taking a step forward and placing her hands on his chest. He smiled as he brought his hands around her waist. "Is this a yes?" her hands slid up to cup the sides of his face.

"If you lie to me again, I will destroy you." she said with a sweet smile and Bruce laughed before leaning into capture her lips.

"Never." he muttered against her lips. The kiss took on a life of it's own, both realizing how long it’s been since they've been this close, since they've kissed and it seemed they were trying to catch up on lost time. When they finally pulled apart, they kept their eyes on each other as they tried to catch their breaths.

"You know after all of this, I think I could use a vacation." Felicity replied with a smile. "How is Gotham this time of year?" the smile of Bruce's face only widened.

Doctor Ethan Mills had only taken a bite of his sandwich before his eyes looked up to the television in the Doctor’s lounge. They were replaying Oliver's introduction as the Mayor of the city, and also his speech afterward revealing that Katie was alive. The door behind him opened, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the television.

"Ethan?" a voice spoke, and Ethan turned to see Laurel. He pointed to the television and when she followed his eyes she sighed. "I was hoping to catch you before you watched that."

"So it's true? She's-" Ethan turned back to the television. He couldn't wrap his head around it at all. He was there, he replayed every step of treatment when she was brought in until the moment he realized that there was nothing more he could do for her. "This can't-" he turned back to Laurel. "She was dead. There was zero brain activity, she wasn't responsive to any treatment. She was gone. She was-"

"Ethan, it's alright, it's-" Laurel walked over to him, placing her hands on his chest hoping to calm him down.

"It's not alright. I haven't slept since that day I walked in and told my friend's husband that she was gone and that pulling the plug was the most humane thing to do. She was gone." he couldn't stop saying it because it was the words he told himself that day she was brought in and he realized there was nothing he could do.

"Ethan, it was a trick. That monster that was in her body faked everything. Apparently it was one of it's powers. Illusion. It could make us see what it wanted us to see." Ethan looked down to the woman in confusion. "I know it's hard to believe, but it's true." Ethan slid his hands across his face with a shake of his head.

"He said she's in a coma, where-" he turned back to Laurel. "Where is she? Who's treating her?"

"She's being treated at an ARGUS medical facility where Jacob has the best doctors looking in on her." Laurel replied and Ethan let out a heavy sigh. "But she's alive, that's the good thing."

"Why fake her death?" Ethan asked and Laurel deflated a bit.

"It's a really long story that I will tell you about later, but I haven't seen you in a while, and I finally worked up the courage to finally come here and do this-" she pulled her lips to his gently, but soon it turned heated. Ethan pushed Laurel's back against the lockers as he deepened the kiss, swallowing the moan that escaped her throat.

"Doctor -oh!" Ethan and Laurel pulled apart quickly, suddenly remembering that they were in a public area. "Um, sorry, but I paged you, but you didn't answer and-"

"What is it Spencer?!" Ethan called back.

"Mrs. Langston is awake, and you said to notify you when that happens. I'm just going to-" the young man rushed out of the lounge quickly.

"Interns have such bad timing." Ethan said turning back to Laurel who looked completely breathtaking in his moment as she panted, her lips a bit swollen from the kiss. "I have to go." the woman just silently nodded, but noticed how the man didn't actually move away. He stood there for a moment before smiling as if remembering something. "Back at the airfield, you said yes."

"I did." she replied with a smile. "You haven't asked anything, but-" his lips slammed into hers once again, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. When he pulled back, he looked down to the woman.

"Will you-" she smiled at the man. "Be my girlfriend again?" the woman laughed before bringing her lips back to his.

"Not the question I expected, but the answer's still the same." she muttered against his lips.

That evening Oliver stood at the end of Katie's bed staring down to the woman. He let out a deep sigh. "I know you're still in there Twinkie." Oliver whispered walking over and taking a seat on the edge of the bed beside her. "You're my Guardian. You fought to come back, now I need you to keep fighting to stay with us. I thought it was me who had to save you. I forgot my Guardian isn't a damsel." Oliver leaned over and brought his lips to hers. He pulled back, hovering above her lips for a moment. "Come back to me, Twinkie." There was a knock at the door, and Oliver looked up to see Thea who walked inside. "Thea, hey."

"Hi," Thea said walking over, her eyes going to Katie first. She doesn't think she will ever get used to the sight of seeing the woman like this. "Any change?"

"No." Oliver replied with a shake of his head before turning back to his sister, and he noticed something was off. "Speedy?" Thea looked over to her brother. "What's up?"

"I jumped straight out of the Lazarus Pit right into this, into-to Speedy, but, um, I've just been wondering if this is even who I really am." Thea said with a shake of her head. "And then I realized my blood could be used to tear open worlds, that darkness that's still inside of me and I-I realized I'm my father's daughter, so I-I thought about Twinkie and-and what she'd say to me if she were here. I think she'd tell me to get out... Before I lost too much of myself." Oliver stood to his feet and walked over to his sister. "I'm sorry, Ollie." Oliver brought his arms around his sister in a hug.

"Oh Speedy, you never have to apologize to me. Ever." Oliver said placing a kiss to the top of her head.

That evening, Oliver stepped off of the elevator that lead to the bunker, and walked inside where he found Felicity and John standing there waiting for him. Felicity walked over first, bring her arms around him in a hug that he returned. "And then there were three. The original gangstas." Oliver laughed. "I can't believe you're the mayor." Felicity said and Oliver shook his head as he pulled back to look at the woman. "Like I know that was the original plan before Damien Darhk appeared and screwed everything up, but it's actually happened."

"It's temporary." Oliver said looking over to John who walked over to pull the man into a hug as well. "Two hugs, why does that worry me?" when he pulled back, he looked between his friends and saw the nervousness. Felicity and John turned to each other as if trying to decide who should speak first. "Hey, John, you ok?" John turned back to his friend. Felicity gave John a pat to his shoulder before walking away to give the guys a moment.

"Not really." he replied. "I told Lyla the truth about Andy."

"What'd she say?"

"She's a soldier. She understood." John replied. He shook his head because the more he thought about it, the more he let himself think over that moment he took his brother's life, he just couldn't understand it. "But I don't, and I don't think I ever will." Oliver wasn't sure he was going to like the answer to his next question, but he had to ask.

"What are you going to do?"

"Take some time away from this team, away from the city... To figure out where I went off track and how to get back on." John replied and Oliver dropped his head because those words were what he feared.

"John-" Oliver looked back over to the man. "I have never done this without you. You're the one whose been keeping me in line." John just shook his head before walking over to Oliver.

"Oliver, I don't know if you've been watching lately, but it's been the other way around, man." Oliver dropped his head, but gave a nod before looking over to John who held out his hand.

Oliver took a moment before finally reaching out and shaking his friend's hand. When John had left, Oliver looked over to where Felicity stood, her eyes looking up to the suits and Oliver was almost afraid to walk over, because at this point he's already recognizing the trend. She felt his eyes and turned to him.

"What?" she asked and Oliver dropped his head and Felicity walked over. "Hey, what's-"

"You're leaving too." Oliver finally said before looking up to meet the woman's eyes. Felicity didn't say anything at first which was all the confirmation he needed.

"It's not forever. Actually right now it's only temporary." Felicity replied with a shrug. "I'm going to Gotham with Bruce." Oliver looked at the woman and smiled.

"So you and Bruce are..."

"Me and Bruce aren't completely fixed. We have some stuff to work through, but I-" she held up her hand to show him the engagement right. " I couldn't see my life without him and I promised him a while back that I would give the whole Gotham thing a try." Oliver didn't say anything, and Felicity suddenly felt guilty. "Oliver, if you tell me that you need me to stick around to help with this, or to help with the kids, I will." Oliver looked over to the woman and shook his head. He knew she'd do just that if he asked.

"I don't think Bruce would let that happen." Oliver walked over and brought the woman into another hug. "I completely understand, and I'm happy for you Felicity. I'm so grateful for everything you've done for me and my family, and no one deserves this as much as you."

"Thank you Oliver." Felicity said pulling from the hug with a smile.

"And just so you know, I expect every moment of Robyn's life to be documented, because I don't want to miss any of it. Send me pictures and videos, I want it all." Oliver laughed, but gave a nod. Felicity reached out and took Oliver's hand. "And when Twinkie wakes up-" Oliver dropped his head. "And she will wake up-" Oliver looked back to her. "I expect a call immediately, and I will be back here in a flash."

That night when Oliver drove for hours until he pulled in front of the house he imagined he'd call his home. Oliver stepped out of the car and looked up to the beautiful white house, and he smiled at the faint memory of he and Twinkie in Coast City. When he showed her this house, and told her that this was their home he saw that light in her eyes, the happiness she was filled with. This was their fantasy. Fantasy is defined as " _the faculty or activity of imagining things, especially things that are impossible or improbable."_ A lot of people fall victim to fantasy, confusing it with reality which can sometimes be easy to do. Fantasy was the illusion they slipped into without hesitation, and if given the chance would do it all over again. Oliver let out a sigh, before walking over to the house. He expected at this time of evening for the house to be quiet, but when he walked inside, Oliver was struck with the sound of laughter. Oliver smiled before walking in search of the sound. It's when he found Ari and Nyssa in the kitchen sitting at the table, playing cards between them did he realize what the laughter was about.

"You're hopeless!" Ari said laughing. "Scary ninja lady can't play poker. I so should've suggested we play for money." Nyssa glared over to the girl before staring down to the cards in her hand with a pensive look before setting the cards down, and suddenly Ari stopped laughing.

"Royal flush." Nyssa said with a smile on her face as she looked up to Ari. "Maybe we should've played for money." Nyssa laughed, as Ari looked down to the cards.

"Ari, it's late, and we're heading home early tomorrow so head up to bed." Oliver said walking into the kitchen and making his presence known.

"But she-" Ari looked up to Nyssa. "You said you didn't know how to play, you were pretending? Why?"

"Sometimes to see an opponent's true strength, you have to make them believe you are weak." Nyssa replied and Ari looked back to her in confusion.

"Is that from a fortune cookie, or something?"

"Bed Ari, now!" Oliver said and the teen groaned before standing to her feet and heading upstairs. "Don't quote your father to her. She doesn't need to know his lessons." Nyssa turned to Oliver with a quirked brow.

"Maybe she does." Nyssa said standing to her feet. "With your life Oliver, she will only be pulled into more danger. She will need to know how to defend herself."

"And you'd like to teach her?" Oliver asked and Nyssa nodded. Oliver looked to the woman for a moment, and he couldn't help but think about explaining this to Twinkie one day. Oliver shook his head. "No thank you Nyssa. I think right now things just need to settle down. Tomorrow we're going to go home and hopefully get back to some kind of normalcy."

"Suit yourself." Nyssa replied before stalking out of the kitchen.

Oliver shook his head before walking over to the stairs and climbing up. Oliver headed down the hall, stopping at Ari's door where he looked in to see the girl packing.

"You were suppose to already be finished packing." Oliver said and Ari looked over to him and shrugged.

"Thea was here. She told me she was ditching the hero gig." Ari said and Oliver sighed.

"Yeah, her, John and Felicity are taking a step back from the team." Oliver replied and Ari stopped packing and turned to him. "I will figure this out."

"But you're going to be all alone. How do you do this without any help?"

"I will figure it out." Oliver said again with a nod. "It's late, finish packing up and get to bed, ok?" Ari just nodded before watching the man leave, closing her door behind him. Ari stood there for a moment, thinking about Oliver's words and she shook her head.

"He can't do this alone." she turned and headed over to her laptop, flipping it open. She began typing away. She needed to learn as much about the hero business, and fast, and she couldn't think of a better place to start than the bunker's central mainframe. She hit a road block, and knew it was probably Felicity trying to keep her out. Suddenly Ari's cell phone rang, and when she looked over to the screen, she saw Felicity's name. Ari took a deep breath before answering the call and bringing it to her ear. "He's going to need help." the line was silent for a moment before Felicity finally spoke.

" _Are you sure you want to do this?"_ Felicity asked.

Ari turned, glancing over to the picture on her wall of her, Katie, Oliver and Robyn, and she silently nodded.

"Right now I'm all he has." Ari replied. "I'm sure."

When Oliver pushed open the door to Robyn's nursery, he definitely didn't expect to find Constantine standing above her crib. The man turned to Oliver with a smile.

"Oh, hey mate." Constantine turned back to look down to the sleeping child.

"Constantine, what are you doing in my daughter's room while she's sleeping?" Oliver asked glancing back now wondering something else. "Why hasn't Nyssa killed you?"

"She doesn't know I'm here." Constantine replied as Oliver walked over, and looked down to the sleeping girl as well. "Just had to make one final stop before moving on." Oliver looked over to the man with a frown.

"You're leaving?" Oliver asked and Constantine looked over to him. "I assumed you'd stay until Katie woke up to make sure...make sure it's gone."

"Hey, like I've told you before, I'm not sensing any darkness from her at all. I truly believe that the blade did what it was supposed to do."

"Which is what exactly?" Oliver asked. "I thought it was supposed to kill her."

"No, that blade is made with an ancient steel, meant to draw out dark energy using the power of the moon." the man replied. "She only would've died depending on how deep that darkness had gotten, and in that moment our girl pulled through." he looked over to Oliver. "She separated herself from the darkness."

"So why isn't she waking up? Something happened to her, something that's causing her not to wake up right now. I thought you were going to fix it.

"There's nothing to fix, mate. Your wife is fine."

"No, my wife is in a coma and isn't waking up. Oliver replied looking over to the man. "She is not fine."

"Trust me Oliver, Katie will wake up when she scrounges up the courage to open her eyes and face what's happened." Oliver looked over to the man in confusion before Constantine looked back down to the little girl. "I was just a bit curious. Wanted to see if the little sprog here picked up any of those cool tricks like her mum." Oliver eyes widened slightly. He didn't know Constantine could even determine that.

"So?" Oliver asked and Constantine looked up with a shake of his head. "How is that possible? I thought it was passed down."

"I'm starting to believe that the power is only passed down after death. After Grace's death, the magic was shifted to her daughter."

"But Grace died when Katie was fifteen, and she showed no signs of mystical abilities." Oliver replied.

"Well not that you know of. Hell she probably wasn't completely aware." Constantine said with a shrug before looking down to his watch. "Look I have to head out." he looked back over to the man. "We all have our missions, and I think it's time I got back to mine." Constantine walked around to Oliver, and held out a hand, to which Oliver shook. "It's been fun."

"It's been anything but." Oliver replied. "But thank you. For-" Oliver shook his head because in thinking of everything Constantine has done for him, he doesn't even think he could name it all. "Thank you for everything."

"I really had no choice in the matter." Constantine chuckled as he glanced over to see the spirit of Grace Robins smiling down to her sleeping grandchild, He turned back to Oliver and gave the man a nod. "Hey, give me a ring when she wakes up, and I'll swing back around just to make sure, alright?"

"Alright." Oliver said before watching the man turn and leave. Once alone, Oliver walked back over to look down to Robyn who hadn't stirred and he smiled. He just stood there, and watched her sleep contently. "We got her back, sweetie." he placed a hand on her belly gently. "One day we're going to have so many stories to tell you." Oliver sighed as he pulled back his hand when she stirred. "We're going to tell you how you and Ari and our entire family were our sanctuary. How we discovered dark secrets that threatened to tear us apart, and almost did." he smiled before turning and walking over to the window. "One day we're going to tell you how your mommy was willing to sacrifice her life so you and the world would be safe." he dropped his head against the cool glass of the window and sighed. All of his friends were leaving, and he would have to figure out a way to keep up both the fight of the Arrow, and the fight of the Mayor all on his own. And on top of that, he had to be a father, and make sure Robyn and Ari were safe and happy, and got a chance at real lives. He just held out hope that one day Twinkie would be back. She had to. He doesn't think he could survive losing her again. Oliver turned and looked back over to the crib. "A story of sanctuary, secrets and sacrifice." he walked back over to look down to the little girl. "I doubt you'll believe half of it. "

Constantine strolled down the dark street, smiling as he spots the yellow taxi up ahead. He sure had a story to tell Chas. He took another step before stopping.

"Shouldn't you be cooing over your granddaughter?" Constantine said, turning to see Grace. "You know I meant to tell you that you did a great job back there. You did what me and Zee couldn't. You got her to fight."

" _No, I got her to realize what she was fighting for."_ Grace replied with a smile. " _And now I believe your debt has been paid."_

"Seriously?" he asked. "I just assumed you'd haunt my ass for the rest of my life."

" _No, I just needed her to get through this, and she did."_ Grace let out a sigh before looking up to the sky.

"Wait a minute. Are you-" she looked back to the man and that's when he saw the light suddenly appear over her head. "You're finally going to get some peace yourself. You know I hear it's not all gum drops and daisies up there."

" _Me too, but it's time. I have to believe my family will be ok."_

"If you're leaving, that means you think there's no chance of this happening again?" Constantine asked. "It's gone." Grace looked at the man for a moment.

" _Those pedals only magnetized a darkness that was already there. The blade removed most of it, but it didn't completely remove the darkness that life created inside of her. My daughter will continue to struggle with keeping her darkness in check, but I know she can."_ Grace began backing away. " _She will be tested, she still has enemies. Enemies that are closer than any of them know."_

"What are you saying?"

" _I'm saying that you may see me again if what's heading her way is too much for her?"_ Grace gave the man a wave. " _Stay out of trouble Mr. Constantine."_

"Always." the man replied with a wave, and in an instant the woman was swallowed by a bright white light that was gone in a blink of an eye. The man let out a sigh, before turning and continuing to the taxi. He glanced inside to see Chas who looked back to him before wordlessly pointing a thumb to the backseat. Constantine quirked a brow before walking back and opening the door to the backseat where he found Zatanna sitting. "You still mad at me, luv?" she turned a glare to him as he slid in beside her. "I wasn't going to let her die."

"I hope this turns out the way you want it to John." Zatanna said. "I really do, but if there's still an ounce of that darkness in her, if it has that drive and that persistence it had before, it will try to return again."

"And she will beat again." Constaine replies closing his eyes and letting his head fall back to the seat.

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always-"

"She's gone." Chas said and Constantine didn't even open his eyes.

"Oh, I know." the man replied. "Let's get out of here Chas. We have work to do."

**Four months later...**

The curtains were drawn as the rain rapt against the window echoing through the room. Jacob Robins sat beside his daughter's bed, holding her hand. He'd taken up the seat once Oliver left that morning. He knew Oliver would be back soon though, and so he decided to soak up as much time as he could.

"You know I remember that damn goldfish." Jacob said, and he couldn't help but laugh. "You wanted to take it everywhere with you. It was the cutest thing." Jacob looked to his daughter and sighed. She'd been in this bed for months and no sign of change. "What's going on in that head of yours, sunshine?" he placed a kiss to her hand before dropping his head. He let the sounds of the rain, and the machines fill the room. Suddenly a new sound entered the room and Jacob lifted his head. There was a sharp intake of breath that didn't come from Jacob. He looked down to his daughter, and he felt her fingers move. "Sunshine?" her eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice, and she turned to him and the smile on his face grew so wide. "Oh, sweetheart, you're-" Jacob felt tears because a part of him wasn't sure this moment would ever happen. That he would look at his daughter and her eyes would look back to him.

"Daddy?" Katie rasped, her throat dry. Jacob turned, grabbing the pitcher of water and pouring her a cup before holding it over to her, but she pushed it away. "How-" she looked around the hospital room in confusion before turning back to his father.

"Sunshine, I know you have a lot of questions, and I-"

"I do." she said sitting up in the bed with a groan at the aches and tension as she moved. She turned back to her father. "I'm wondering one thing right now though." she looked down to his hand that still held hers before she once again met his eyes. "Why aren't you in a coma?" Jacob looked at the woman in confusion. "I was told you were in a coma, that you weren't going to wake up, and now you're -" Jacob furrowed his brow. "You’re awake."

"Sweetheart, what's the last thing you remember?" Jacob asked, and Katie turned away, for some reason she couldn't answer the question right away. Everything just seemed a bit fuzzy.

"Um, I was at Starling airport." she turned back to her father. "They lost my suitcase." she shook her head. "I just stepped into a cab and was on my way to the Rehab center to visit you. I wanted to talk to Dr. Trent to see if there was really no hope." Jacob simply stared at his daughter, unsure what to even say. "Dad, what-" she looked down to her hand that he was holding, and pulled it back when she noticed something. She looked down to her hand, her eyes fixed on the ring that was on a very important finger. When she looked up to her father, he looked nervous.

  
**_The End_ **


End file.
